Broken toe - what to do

Frequent Innocent Victims

This title should be very appropriate for our toes since they do get hurt the most, almost never being a cause of the problem. Namely, wearing high heels, playing sports involving feet and running in general, or walking clumsily can all have broken toe or toes as their consequence. Therefore, our toes are sacrificed for many of our mistakes. For example, if we do not look where we are going and keep on pulling our legs recklessly, there is a danger of hitting and possibly injuring one or more of our toes. Also, whenever we drop something, there is a high likelihood that either our feet or toes will get hurt. For all these reasons, toe injuries are a quite often state of affairs and being such, people should know when and how to react once having one or more of their toes broken or hurt.

Manifestations of a Broken Toe

Pain is the most common indicator, being significant once we break or injure our toe. Additionally, depending on which toe has been injured, we might even experience difficulties while walking or even be unable to walk. If our big toe is broken, it will have a devastating effect on our walking. However, with a broken little finger or one of the smaller ones, pain will be the only distraction we might have.

Besides pain, there can be bruising around the injured spot accompanied with an unnatural position of the toe itself. However, the list does not end here, since, there are numerous things a broken toe can cause, if not treated timely.

Complications of a Broken Toe

Often, a toe injury may cause blood to get behind one's toenail. In time, this blood may cause infections, therefore it is necessary to be extracted. Doctors can drain the blood using needles and creating small openings in the toenail. The worst case scenario involves too much blood and the necessity of a complete toenail removal.

Additionally, broken toes may cause the bone to be out of the skin, needing surgical assistance. Also, once the bone is treated and heals, there is a danger of arthritis. Finally, in any cases of strange and persistent sensations, deformations or discolorations of the injured toe, it is best to seek medical assistance. Also, if the pain prevails even after the finger is supposed to heal, pay your doctor a visit. After scanning the bone with an X-ray or MRI, the doctor will see what the problem is and therefore choose an adequate solution.

Finally, it is important to rest during the recovery period, and keep your injured leg lifted higher than your heart while lying. If needed, apply ice compression to reduce possible swelling, keep the injury clean and disinfected and avoid any unnecessary motion during the whole healing period.