Playing tennis, I stubbed my big toe on the pole that holds up the net, running full speed. I took a bad tumble and bruised my arm and leg falling, but by far the worst pain is in my big toe, where I hit the pole.
It’s swollen, but not badly so. It’s been about 15 hours since I hurt it, and the swelling hasn’t gotten much better or worse in that time. The toe bends downwards, with some pain, but it’s pure agony to try and bend it upwards. The area around the bruise is not numb or anything, and the pain is all concentrated at the top of the joint in the middle of the toe.
Does this sound like a bruise that will get better soon, or should I go see a doctor? What can the doctor do for it, anyway? He’ll just end up wrapping it up and sending me on my way, right?
Of course, seeing a doc is always your best bet. When I broke three toes (on three separate occassions :rolleyes: ) I would just put ice on it when I could, tape it the the adjacent toe and walk very carefully. After a few days to a week, the pain subsided quite a bit and a bonus is now your toe may be able to predict the weather.
Seriously, as Satyricon said, you may have knocked it out of joint. Maybe you broke it. If it’s broke my guess would be infection could be a possible factor. Perhaps you should call your doctor to see if it warrants a visit.
If you have to ask, then you should call your doctor and let her/him decide. When in doubt, see a doctor. You lose nothing but the money and a little bit of time, compared to the possible risks of (to take an extreme) gangrene and losing your toe.
I concur with the “see a doctor” chorus, and add that if our lay opinions don’t sway you then see if there’s a nurse hotline in your area and call it for a medical opinion.
I saw a Quick Care physician. Apparently they can take my insurance, but the same hospital that operates Quick Care wont accept my insurance for primary care doctors, which are apparently the only people who can refer me to a pediatrist.
I have some news though. It’s broken. The doc drew a little picture of a curvy wavy thing, and then two slashes through where it broke. That one bone is now three, I guess, and the doctor told me that it “basically exploded”.
I tried working (customer service, standing all the time) on it for 2 hours today. I had to leave because it was just not bearable.
So this guy says to his friend, “Ever since I stubbed my toe playing tennis, I’ve been seeing spots in front of my eyes!” And his friend asks, “Have you seen a doctor?” And the guys answers, “No, just spots.”
Ow! An exploded toe bone sounds a lot more painful than any dislocation. Did he give ya any sort of mini-splint, or did he just tape your first and second toes together?
Hmmm…Exploded Toe Bone…good band name…
I think this is becoming epidemic. I finally broke a bone for the first time yesterday, also a toe (one of the little ones though)- forgot that I left the heavy old scale in the hallway when I washed the bathroom floor :smack: . Mine seems in far better shape than yours though, since it’s still in one piece. I was told to just “leave it alone” since it’s not as big a deal as breaking your big toe.
Maybe we should try to invent something that beeps when your toes comes too close to peril
