What to do for a possible broken toe?

[traces7]

My 10 year old DD stubbed her toe last night. (2nd to the last toe, next to the little toe). I didn't think much of it when she did it, figured it would be fine. It was red and swollen last night, we put ice on it. Today it's really bruised, the toe and under her toe on the top of her foot. It also hurts when she walks on it or bends it.

Should I take her to the ER? There's really not much they can do for broken toes, is there? Anybody have any advice? I've stubbed my toes lots of times, but nothing like this. Thanks!

 

[wdwmom2]

Years ago my DD broke her little toe. It was sticking our sideways. Took her to the ER, gave her the choice of numbing it first or just pulling it back into place. She choose not to numb it. Doc grabbed it, yanked it back into place, and buddy taped it.

Ice and ibuprofen were her friend!!! She did fine and it healed well.

Several years ago I believe I broke my little toe, no xray to confirm. Swollen, painful, extremely bruised all around and down the side of my foot. Again, buddy tape and ibuprofen got me through.

 

[Octoberbride03]

There's really not much you can do for it. I've broken toes twice myself. I handled them both the same way, an ice bath in 1 of those foot massage tubs. Afterwards put my foot in one of those cast boots, you know blue with velcro. That gives a rolling motion so there is no pressure on the toe from anywhere. If its not out of joint I wouldn't bother with a hospital. There's not much they can do that you can't at home.

 

[LaraK]

I broke my toe pretty badly about a year and a half ago. I did go to the urgent care center to get a quick x-ray because the bruising went down my foot and the doctor wanted to be sure none of the bones in my foot were broken. They weren't and I buddy taped it to it's neighbor for a couple of months. That's about all I did.

 

[MM27]

I broke my big toe once at the airport. I was coming home from a vacation with my mom and being the nice daughter that I am I was taking her luggage for her onto the airport shuttle. She sort of threw the bag towards me and it hit my foot in such a way that it jammed my toe. The doctor pulled it out to realign it and then taped it up. It went through every color of the rainbow and hurt really bad for months. I still don't let my mom forget it. Every time she complains about something I say, "Remember when you broke my toe?" I told you I'm a nice daughter

 

[Tinkh]

You should take her to the doctor Monday or make a quick trip to an after-hours care center. Usually, a broken toe is just a broken toe; however, there are times that a bone can be broken in the foot from the original injury. If there is a lot of bruising or swelling, I would have it checked out. Better to be safe than sorry.

 

[iwrbnd]

If it's obviously displaced they will have to set it and then tape it. Been there, done that.

If it's not out of place you can just tape it yourself. Been there, done that, too.

Yep, I'm a klutz!

 

[DisneyBamaFan]

When my son broke his foot last year, the doctor told us that it was a good thing that we brought him in. The break was on a growth plate, and it was very slightly mis-aligned. He said that if it had been ignored, it would have created a problem that would have gotten worse over time (as he continued to grow).

For growing children, I think that you are supposed to get breaks checked.

 

[golfgal]

Generally there isn't much they will do but it would be worth calling the dr tomorrow morning to see if he wants to see her. When I broke my toe I found the buddy taping made it worse so I didn't do that. I would make sure she wears shoes to protect the toe and keep the pressure off while walking. Make sure the shoes are roomy in the toe box though.

This past fall DD broke her toe walking into the back of another student's shoe walking in the hallway at school. She was busy talking to her friend and not paying attention to where she was going wearing flip flops of course. We had her ice it and wear shoes. She stayed out of gym class one day and marching band practice one day and was fine after that with shoes on.

 

[SpaceGirl]

To help with the swelling and pain have her soak her foot in Epson Salt, I have no idea how it works but it does.

 

[englishteacha]

Since she's growing, I agree to take her to the doctor. Better to be safe than sorry. I broke my big toe in 1998. It hurt for ages. I didn't go to the doctor but my MIL was a nurse and checked it all out for me. I spent the rest of the summer in Tevas with a very bandaged toe because all my sneakers caused a lot of pain.

 

[livie1205]

my ds broke his toe when he was 11 and they put a cast on all the way up to his knee!

 

[traces7]

Thanks for all the responses everyone! My DD's toe doesn't look as bad anymore. It's still a little swollen and bruised, not as bad as it was this morning though!. She says it really doesn't hurt unless she bumps it, but she is limping on it. So, I guess we'll wait and see what tomorrow brings.

 

[Dancemom03]

DD20 broke her big toe years ago on DCL Magic in the kids' club. They let the kids take their shoes off to be comfy and she stubbed it skipping across the floor. It was the only day we'd agreed to let her stay with the group as long as she wanted and she wasn't going to let a broken toe ruin the opportunity. She was having so much fun that she begged the counselors not to call us when it first happened (before dinnertime) and trecked all the ship hobbling with the group for the rest of the evening.

I picked her up late that night and got partway to our cabin before realizing she was not just walking slow, but limping. Her toe and the surrounding area was literally black & blue. A visit to the ship's hospital area and xrays followed, then they taped her toes and sent us on our way with orders not to let her get it wet for a few days. A DCL security head interviewed us as we were leaving. I mentioned to him that I was surprised they let the kids take their shoes off and disappointed that nobody notified us or even mentioned it when I picked her up.

Ironically, the next day at castaway cay she was denied entry to the kids' club b/c she could only put one shoe on and shoes were suddenly a requirement. Needless to say, DH and I spent the whole day pushing her around in a wheelchair b/c it was too painful to walk on the sand and none of us got in the water, while in the kids area the other kids played games and had blast.

It healed quickly after we got home as I remember, but served as a pricey lesson learned for all of us: for DH, to always buy travel ins on cruises (we hadn't); for DD, to complain a little more; and for me, to wait until I had the proper time/person to voice a complaint at all.

 

[kacaju]

You should take her to the doctor Monday or make a quick trip to an after-hours care center. Usually, a broken toe is just a broken toe; however, there are times that a bone can be broken in the foot from the original injury. If there is a lot of bruising or swelling, I would have it checked out. Better to be safe than sorry.

agree, I have broken two toes over the years and it hurts!!
Also how often does she have gym class? You may need a note to get her out of gym if it is broken.

 

[traces7]

agree, I have broken two toes over the years and it hurts!!
Also how often does she have gym class? You may need a note to get her out of gym if it is broken.

She has gym 3 or 4 times a week and of course she has it tomorrow, than 2 days off and than again on Thursday. So I was going to write her a note for tomorrow if she thinks she needs it and hopefully by Thursday it's better. We're really going to see what tomorrow brings and see how she's doing, than I may take her to dr. But it really seems to be getting better as the day goes on.

 

[OK!]

I'm pretty sure I broke mine in January at the MK while leaving after Wishes (long story short, I was trying to duck around a family of about 6 who were holding hands with arms stretched to maximum length, taking up the entire sidewalk and part of the street , so I could catch up with my brother. One of the men stuck out his leg as I went around and I tripped, falling hard on my left knee and coming within--literally--3 inches of smashing my face off of one of the lampposts.) My knee hurt so badly I didn't feel anything wrong with my toe/foot, so I didn't even notice til then following morning when I woke up and it hurt to walk. My big toe was swollen on the side and underneath (always felt like I was standing on something) and bruised at the base of it. It was bearable until I was kneeling on the floor and had to shift position and accidentally moved my foot sideways, thus jerking my toe to the side. I actually screamed out loud, it hurt so bad. It's still discolored and hurts a bit but doesn't bother me unless I've just done a long training run or something. I ice it then and elevate it, and that's about it.