Does a broken bone in the foot require a trip to the Emergency Room or Doctor?

Question

My daughter was hit on the foot, just below her big toe, with a horseshoe. It is extremely swollen, painful & bruised. I am sure it is broken. Does she need to go to the ER or can she wait until tomorrow and go to the doctor? It is also very cold and pale at the site of the injury. The remainder of her foot and her toes are normal in color.

Answer 1

i would take her into an urgent care or emergency room just based off of the fact that it is cold and pale at the site of injury-this indicates that bloodflow to that particular area is not getting through which could worsen and cause circulation problems throughout the entire foot.

there is a pulse on the top of everyone's feet right below the ankle. with your pointer and index finger-check to see if your daughter still has a pulse in that foot-if you cannot find it (the pulse here is pretty strong and should be easy to find) then you need to have her seen immediately.

for the pain and swelling you can apply ice packs to the foot as needed and also take ibuprofen-it works best to relieve pain and swelling b/c it has an anti-inflammatory in it.

i'm not sure how old your daughter is but if she is over the age of 12 she can take the adult strength motrin. take 200-400mg every 6 hours as needed but no more than 1200mg in 24 hours.

if she's under 12 follow this chart:

age 4-5 years 1.5 tsp of the suspension liquid every 6 hours
age 6-8 years 2tsp
age 9-10 years 2.5tsp
age 11 and up 3tsp
she can take no more than 4 doses in 24 hours.

you need to report to emergency room immediately if the foot start to swell more,becomes blue in color,or is cold to the touch-this indicates that the loss of circulation to the foot has worsened and she'll need medical attention immediately...

Answer 2

If you go to the doctor, he's only going to send you to the hospital. Save yourself some money and take her straight to the ER, and quickly because if the bone has been broken at an angle it needs to be set. The longer you wait to do that, the worse it's going to be.

Answer 3

If you see any deformity compared to the other foot its probably broken.

If it is swelling and bruise then I would recommend icing it.

I would go to the ER if its broken.

And go to the doctor tomorrow if its just swelling..

But If you want to be on the safe side just go to the ER

Answer 4

She should go to the ER. She needs to be examined; there may be injuries you can't see (will have to be x-rayed) Only a doctor can rule out any other injuries than broken bones, like crushed blood vessels, torn cartilage.

Answer 5

Do you have an urgent care facility? She definitely needs to be seen, but if you go to an emergency room in a big city, you will probably have a very long wait. Look for an urgent care facility. They get to you faster and can generally determine whether to immobilize it and treat her for pain or decide if she needs to be seen by an orthopedic surgeon or podiatrist. Good luck.

Answer 6

She can wait until tomorrow, unless she's in a great deal of pain and will need pain meds( If she can't get by with Motrin)
She needs to stay off of it completely, especially if you think it is broken. You can ice it and elevate it.
I really don't think you have to run to the E.R. and wait 8 hours to be seen. To marrow will be fine.
Hope she feels better!

Answer 7

she can wait for the doctor. I broke my little toe once and although it is small I have dtermined that it is very important as I was not able to walk without using crutches for a week. If she can take to pain and discomfort then I would wait.

good luck.

Answer 8

Take your kid to the doctor if it is the foot area , if it is the toe area buddy tape to the next toe.

Answer 9

Anything that causes extreme pain, bleeding, broken bones, life threathening is ready for an emegency room visit.

Answer 10

Your daughter has had an accident and she is in pain. What makes you ask question on yahoo instead of taking her to ER ???