Should I take ds to the ER?

[Harriet Vane]

Ds stubbed his toe pretty badly running around the house.

 

There is a little swelling in the pinky toe and just below the pinky toe (on the foot), as well as in the two toes next to the pinky toe.

 

We iced for twenty minutes. Walking up the stairs was hard for him. I tried putting a sport sandal on for him to sleep with, just to keep the foot safe and straight, but the strap was really painful.

 

After taking off the sandal, he said he had a flash of pins and needles, and now some slight numbness. He says it feels wierd.

 

I am concerned he might have broken his toe. I'd really prefer to bring him to an orthopedic doctor tomorrow. Should I bring him to the ER now?

 

Edited to add--We have dealt with broken bones before, and normally we go in when I can get an appointment with the orthopedic doctor.

 

This time I am specifically nervous about the pins and needles and numbness. Should I be?

[Flowing Brook]

I am not sure they will do much for him in the er they will probably stabilize it and send him to the ortho tomorrow. If he is not in too much pain I would be inclined to wait. Hugs why do these things always happen after hours?

[Harriet Vane]

I am not sure they will do much for him in the er they will probably stabilize it and send him to the ortho tomorrow. If he is not in too much pain I would be inclined to wait. Hugs why do these things always happen after hours?

 

That's why I would rather wait until morning. We have dealt with broken bones before, and I normally just wait until we can see the ortho.

 

I am specifically concerned about the pins and needles and numbness.

[kiwik]

if he is in heaps of pain or the toe goes blue, otherwise it can probably waif.

[Soror]

I wouldn't in our experience they don't really do anything for broken toes anyway, dh has broken 2 and all he got was a roll of tape. 

[school17777]

Can you call your pediatrician for advice?

[Katy]

If it's continuously numb, shows signs of circulation issues, or is very painful, I'd take him in.  A little hydrocodone is worth it so he can sleep.

[SJ.]

There's not much you can do for a broken toe.  I would give a pain reliever, ice it for 20 min on then 20 min off, and keep it elevated.  I would also skip the sandal.

[HSmomof2]

Can you call your pediatrician for advice?

 

ITA.....There should be an on-call doctor for your regular doctor, or maybe even a nurse line? I would call first. I wouldn't generally think little toes need the ER, even if broken. I've broken my pinky toe twice....they taped it to the toe next to it. But, like others have said, if he's in a great deal of pain, circulation issues, and/or continued numbness, then I'd take him in tonight. 

[SJ.]

Just wanted to add - I wouldn't be surprised if the pins and needles feeling was due to the sandal being too tight from swelling.

[Harriet Vane]

Just wanted to add - I wouldn't be surprised if the pins and needles feeling was due to the sandal being too tight from swelling.

 

We took the sandal off immediately because it hurt. My thought with the sandal was that it would function like those velcro orthopedic sandals they make you wear when you have a sprain or other foot injury. But, since it hurt, we took it off within about 20 seconds.

[Liz CA]

I'd wait until tomorrow. Usually they tape broken toes together or splint them. You could try to immobilize them until tomorrow.

[jenn-]

Your DS is 13, not 3.  He should be able to give you a realistic level of pain.  The ER might not be able to do much other than diagnose the injury and stabilize it until you can get in, but I would do it.  I would also head to the podiatrist over the orthopedist unless you know and trust a foot specialist in ortho.  I broke my little toe and the way it cracked would have healed horribly painfully had I just buddy taped it because the break was being pulled apart.  Trust me, I tried to avoid the doctor with that one and about died in pain when I buddy taped it.  My daughter has broken bones further up the foot as well when she jammed her toes hard.  If he is still complaining of pins and needles now, I would definitely take him in.

[Harriet Vane]

Okay, so I tried to speak to the medical helpline our insurance supposedly pays for. It was unbelievably cumbersome and ridiculous. I knew it was going to be bad when they insisted on speaking to my husband since he is the insured party and I am a lowly dependent. (What if he had not been home at that time? Ridiculous . . .) There was all this registering and confirming and hassle. The end result was that they could not tell us if there is a charge for using the service (but it might be $40?) and they could only take our request and then request that a doctor call us back. IF a doctor was available. I told them I thought I would have better luck searching the internet than dealing with the bureaucracy and canceled the whole idiotic mess.

 

(And may I just say that beyond the fact that it was an idiotic and supremely frustrating conversation, it was doubly so because this is the same insurance company that will not cover my chiropractic care. They pay for the idiot Teladoc and they pay for an idiotic "wellness" program and they pay for an auditor who assessed my account and determined that despite my known, MRI documented nerve compression from bone spurs that causes daily hand numbness, they will not pay for my chiropractor. They say that there is no therapeutic benefit to chiropractic maintenance. They say I have reached maximum therapeutic benefit because my condition is not improving. What?!?! That's like refusing asthma meds for an asthmatic patient because the asthma isn't "cured." WHY ON EARTH will they pay for all these cheesy programs but deny the actual medical services I need!!!!! Rant over.)

 

Anyway, I didn't think my doctor had a help line, but there is a number on the office answering machine, so I called. She was wonderful. She said deal with it in the morning.

 

So that's a load off my chest. I may just bring my doctor some brownies tomorrow, just for being awesome.

[SJ.]

I'm glad you were able to get through to someone.  A local hospital has a nurse line that has been extremely helpful in similar moments.  I hope your son feels better and can rest tonight.