Broken toe, do I need to go to A&E?

Morby

I think I may have broken my toe, my big toe, so I reckon it probably needs to be x-rayed.

What's the situation with having to go and get an x-ray done, do I need to go to my GP first to get a doctor's referral later, or can I get an appointment for the x-ray department via my GP or do you just need to go straight into A&E and queue for 48 hours there?

The last option is my least preferred, I'm trying to avoid A&E of a Saturday night if at all possible.

Not sure how to proceed in this scenario though.

Can anyone offer any advice?

mikhail

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/broken-toe/

Pauliedragon

Go to the A&E but cancel all appointments for the next few days you might be there for a while.

Manitoban

Have you a minor injuries unit near you? Better option than A&E, they’ll be able to X-ray it and refer you to orthopaedics if it is broke.

corner of hells

Morby wrote: »

I think I may have broken my toe, my big toe, so I reckon it probably needs to be x-rayed.

What's the situation with having to go and get an x-ray done, do I need to go to my GP first to get a doctor's referral later, or can I get an appointment for the x-ray department via my GP or do you just need to go straight into A&E and queue for 48 hours there?

The last option is my least preferred, I'm trying to avoid A&E of a Saturday night if at all possible.

Not sure how to proceed in this scenario though.

Can anyone offer any advice?

Unfortunately, we're not allowed give medical advice.
However, I am a vet and may be able to circumvent the rules.
What I want you to do , is eat some dog food , left your leg when going for a slash and try sniff your balls.

If you can do all these your toe is not broke .

goat2

First you should have gone to freezer and put toe between ice packs, wait a while and see how that goes, A and E would be a nightmare if you have to wait all that time , but seeing first how you are after a couple hours home

smelly sock

corner of hells wrote: »

Unfortunately, we're not allowed give medical advice.
However, I am a vet and may be able to circumvent the rules.
What I want you to do , is eat some dog food , left your leg when going for a slash and try sniff your balls.

If you can do all these your toe is not broke .

Left your log?

Leg End Reject

Drop something heavy on it and see how much it hurts. If it's unbearable cut it off.

jam_mac_jam

Where are you? The mater has a small injury clinic and there is another one in Drumcondra. If you have Vhi you can go to the swiftcare clinic to get x rayed. I think Laya or one of the other insurance companies run one where you do not have to be a customer.

Wait until tomorrow and try to get an injury clinic you will be a long time in A and E because its not serious.

corner of hells

smelly sock wrote: »

Left your log?

Yes , correct your log.

radia

Are you a VHI member? If so, one of their Swiftcare clinics could be your best bet.
https://www.vhi.ie/swiftcare
Dundrum and Swordss in Dublin, Mahon in Cork.

El_Duderino 09

Yeah with the big toe you need to get it x rayed. The rest of them just need rest as long as they're set properly and pointing the right direction.

Big toe is more important though needs to be seen by a pro.

MMXX

Don't waste your time with the A&E, post a pic here and we'll get it diagnosed for you, I have one of those x-ray apps on the phone - I'll scan the photo on my screen, see if there are any abnormalities - and let you know, and much quicker than a doctor would.

This is it

Few large whiskeys, be grand.

riclad

Go to a and e tommorow around 11am,
go there tonight, and you,ll be sitting in a chair,
for 12 hours at least,before you see anyone
go at 11 am i,d you,ll be waiting 2 hours maybe to see a doctor .
a broken toe is not an urgent medical condition.
do not put weight on your foot.
If you go to your doctor he,ll arrange an appointment with the local hospital to get an xray.
I WILL never to an a.e at night unless its really a medical emergency.

riclad

https://www.hse.ie/eng/about/who/acute-hospitals-division/patient-care/emergency-care/

MMXX

riclad wrote: »

Go to a and e tommorow around 11am,
go there tonight, and you,ll be sitting in a chair,
for 12 hours at least,before you see anyone
go at 11 am i,d you,ll be waiting 2 hours maybe to see a doctor .
a broken toe is not an urgent medical condition.
do not put weight on your foot.
If you go to your doctor he,ll arrange an appointment with the local hospital to get an xray.
I WILL never to an a.e at night unless its really a medical emergency.

Don't listen to this terrible* advice OP, listen to me - post a pic, and we'll get it sorted for you now.

*Not really terrible advice, listen to it - not me.

Thelonious Monk

If you're in Dublin and you can afford it, go to the VHI private clinic place in DCU, they'll see you right away for about 180 quid i think and sort you out, no queues. I needed stitches a while back and they were great to deal with.

PoisonIvyBelle

Go to A&E in the morning if you can handle it painwise in the meantime. Don't out any weight on it. Would be zero craic waiting there tonight though.

I've broken both big toes (one's been broken twice!) so I feel for you!

Wetbench4

If you go to A&E you will be charged for it but if you goto the doctors first and he refers you to a & e, then you only pay for the doc, which should be a lot cheaper. I've broken my big toe twice. When it changes colour to blue or green, then its more than likely broken..

PS: Who did you kick? :D

MMXX

OP? Are you still with us? OP!? OP!?

ANSWER US!!

Oh my God guys, I think there's something wrong... OP!? Are you there!?

OP!? Oh my God, what are we going to do!?

WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO!?

Quick, quick - anybody!? What can we do!? What can we do??

This is it

MMXX wrote: »

OP? Are you still with us? OP!? OP!?

ANSWER US!!

Oh my God guys, I think there's something wrong... OP!? Are you there!?

OP!? Oh my God, what are we going to do!?

WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO!?

Quick, quick - anybody!? What can we do!? What can we do??

Large whiskey.

sullivlo

Thelonious Monk wrote: »

If you're in Dublin and you can afford it, go to the VHI private clinic place in DCU, they'll see you right away for about 180 quid i think and sort you out, no queues. I needed stitches a while back and they were great to deal with.

Must have been a long while back. The VHI closed the DCU branch in 2011...

Also you need to have VHI to go to the VHI clinic.

Thelonious Monk

sullivlo wrote: »

Must have been a long while back. The VHI closed the DCU branch in 2011...

Also you need to have VHI to go to the VHI clinic.

Yeah it was about 2008 and at the time I had VHI insurance. Apologies

mfceiling

Because it's your big toe I would have said leave it.

3 years ago I fell down my stairs one morning. Half way down I heard a crack (fùcking spindle gone I thought). Nope. Checked all the spindles and they were grand. Checked my left foot and the top of my middle toe was pointing towards my smallest toe.
Never bothered getting it looked about...it's grand now. Looks a bit stupid but what odds.

Funny thing was my mum was staying with us to mind the kids cause my wife was in the states with work. As I went arseways down the stairs she shouts from the room..."who's that...who's there?" I'm on the ground and shouted back "it's me...I'm after falling down the stairs". Silence for about 10 seconds then..."oh right".

MMXX

OK! ...so I managed to get the OP's IP... it's 78.111.. IT DOESN"T MATTER WHAT IT IS!... look.... I've got the OP's home address, I've rang 3 separate ambulances, 2 out-of-hour private ambulance services, the guards - and the fire service, just in case...they should be with him very, VERY shortly...

OP - if you're reading this, it will be OK, we'll have you sorted soon - don't worry, hang in there bud - PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE hang in there...

razorblunt

If you can limp around on it you’ll be fine in a few days. They won’t do much it apart from x ray and confirm it’s broken.

riclad

I went to ae twice in dublin, i went around 9pm, it was 10 am the next day before i saw a doctor.
it may be better outside dublin.
theres a private ae service in dublin .
https://www.materprivate.ie/dublin/centre-services/emergency-department/price-insurance-cover/

open 9am to 6pm

Irish_rat

Go to doctor to request an xray so you can go straight to xray dept in hospital. Trivial stuff like this blocks up our A&E system for real emergencies. If it's a small toe it can be buddy taped but prob not for the big toe

PoisonIvyBelle

MMXX wrote: »

OK! ...so I managed to get the OP's IP... it's 78.111.. IT DOESN"T MATTER WHAT IT IS!... look.... I've got the OP's home address, I've rang 3 separate ambulances, 2 out-of-hour private ambulance services, the guards - and the fire service, just in case...they should be with him very, VERY shortly...

OP - if you're reading this, it will be OK, we'll have you sorted soon - don't worry, hang in there bud - PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE hang in there...

...are you sure it's the OP needs the ambo?

PoisonIvyBelle

razorblunt wrote: »

If you can limp around on it you’ll be fine in a few days. They won’t do much it apart from x ray and confirm it’s broken.

Would want to be sure about it TBH. If it's broken at the base of his toe he could well need a cast on the foot. And even if it's just his toe, if it doesn't heal right it can cause hassle down the line.

Sephiroth_dude

MMXX wrote: »

OP? Are you still with us? OP!? OP!?

ANSWER US!!

Oh my God guys, I think there's something wrong... OP!? Are you there!?

OP!? Oh my God, what are we going to do!?

WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO!?

Quick, quick - anybody!? What can we do!? What can we do??

Replace snake with morby

Allinall

riclad wrote: »

........
I WILL never to an a.e at night unless its really a medical emergency.

You should never go to a & e at any time unless it really is an emergency.

coffeepls

As mentioned, Do not go to A&E. It is not your first port of call.
if you do, you are going to be there for an inordinate of time as this is not an emergency. Plus you will be charged - what is it now? €100.

You have 2 choices.
- you go to a private clinic such as the swiftcare clinic and pay a lot more than 100 but it will be seen to quickly
- you go to your GP on Monday morning and he/she refers you to the hospital for an X-ray. This is not an a&e procedure then and you should be done in no time.

There is only one reason I think you should go to A&E for a broken toe, and that’s if you think you are having circulation problems or are in extraordinary pain.

corner of hells

I'd be very wary of not seeking medical assistance for even the smallest of fractures or breaks.

An uncle of mine died years ago from a broken finger , granted he was picking his nose at the time when a bus drove over his head but it broke his finger al the same.

Blaze420

Sit it out tonight if you can and go to doctor in the morning for an X-ray referral. Go to a Local Injury Unit but DO NOT go to the main hospital in to area for it - to give you an example, I can get to Nenagh LIU in about 35 mins, will be assessed, X-rayed and discharged in about 1 hour 20. If i go to University Hospital Limerick for the same thing, it will be 5-6 hours+

Spanish Eyes

No way would I go to AE for a broken toe on a Saturday night. Sorry. And you know this too.

Get some Duct tape and tape it to the next toe for the moment. Then take a day off work on Monday for an Xray outside of the madness of the weekend.

Wimp. (Sorry now).

ILoveYourVibes

Go. You might need to get it set. Imagine if it heals wrong and you need to have it broken and reset.

That happened to a friend of mine. She needed to have several toes REBROKEN.

Kimbot

Walk it off..... Are you a man or a mouse :P

This is it

ILoveYourVibes wrote: »

Go. You might need to get it set. Imagine if it heals wrong and you need to have it broken and reset.

That happened to a friend of mine. She needed to have several toes REBROKEN.

NO WAY!

riclad

i see no need to go to a and e,
you go to a doctor,he sets up an appointment for an xray,
it may need a cast ,
A and e is for emergencys, people with a serious ailment, or people in pain .
just go to bed ,rest, call your doctor in the morning.

ILoveYourVibes

This is it wrote: »

NO WAY!

Yep. Some of them healed in a way that shortened the tendons. It disrupted the other toes then made them all curl under over time. She ended up with severe hammer toes.

Then it started to hurt her when walking. And the joints swelled up.

So she had to get many more broken and reset than the original broken toe.

Toes are really malleable. Even wearing the wrong shoes can deform them.

The only way is to correct it through surgery where they break and reset the toes to heal straight.

The had to cut through her tendons and ligaments to try and get them to heal longer ...they cut through part of the bone too.

Then they use pins to set them....then they heal hopefully straighter.

MMXX

PoisonIvyBelle wrote: »

...are you sure it's the OP needs the ambo?

You're right..! GREAT IDEA!!!

This is why I love boards... working together, helping each other out!! OK, OK, OK... so I've sent another few ambulances... .... .... to the houses either side of what I THINK is the OP's home, you can never be sure with IPs... sometimes they are... inaccurate... PLEASE, PLEASE GOD LET EVERYTHING BE OK!!

OP - if you're reading this, everything's going to be OK, I promise - just hang in there, we'll have sorted real soon, we have you're back - don't worry...

corner of hells

MMXX wrote: »

You're right..! GREAT IDEA!!!

This is why I love boards... working together, helping each other out!! OK, OK, OK... so I've sent another few ambulances... .... .... to the houses either side of what I THINK is the OP's home, you can never be sure with IPs... sometimes they are... inaccurate... PLEASE, PLEASE GOD LET EVERYTHING BE OK!!

OP - if you're reading this, everything's going to be OK, I promise - just hang in there, we'll have sorted real soon, we have you're back - don't worry...

Sounds like someone's jealous they don't have a broken toe.

Ninthlife

I thought being After Hours the logical answer to the OPs dilemma,would be either

A. Set it on fire

Or

B. Blast it with piss

Both really remedy any situation

MMXX

corner of hells wrote: »

Sounds like someone's jealous they don't have a broken toe.

No... she's not jealous - she... she just want's to help!! ...just like me... it's going to be OK. PoisonIvyBelle - I know you're not jealous, and you don't sound like you're jealous... that's not... true... - and it's silly... it's ridiculous... we're just... at our wits end...

OH GOD, What if... no, what if... no... NO!!

NO, NO, NO, NO NO!! It's not possible...

Everything's going to be just fine, just fine... positive thoughts... - OP will be fine, he will... of course he will...

OH GOD!!

blinding

Cut the toe off and send it to the hospital by post . Turn up at the hospital in a few days to visit your toe .

Warning ; do not actually do this !

RacoonQueen

Please don't clog up emergency depts unneccessarily with minor injuries. Go to your local HSE Rapid Injury Clinic

https://www.hse.ie/eng/services/list/3/injuryunits/

ILoveYourVibes

Op either go to A&E there isn't a way to tell whether its a fracture or a break and it can cause damage to blood vessels that surround it and damage circulation. It can also cause muscle damage.

If you are serious and you really think its broken get it seen to sooner rather than later.

The DR may not set it right away depending (for instance they usually set children's bones right away as they heal faster) but at least you will get it seen to and they will immobilize it.

MMXX

You're not there, are you OP?

I can't... I can't believe it.

OP, I'm so... I... I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry. We tried. We tried OP, we tried.

We... tried, we tried, we tried... but... I guess...

I can't believe it.

I can't... I... I...

MMXX

Say it's not true?