A broken toe, also known as foot fracture, is a condition in which anyone or more bones break in your foot. It can happen if you drop something heavy on your toe or stub it badly. Each toe has three bones except the big toe, which has two.
A broken toe usually does not need much medical care. In fact, it is hard to diagnose it. If you feel pain in your toe after getting hurt, you must go to a healthcare provider. If you have bone pain, you should visit an orthopedic surgeon in Lahore.
Symptoms
The signs and symptoms of a broken toe are;
- Pain and tenderness in your toe
- Bruising
- Stiffness
- Swelling
- Pain during walking
- Pain in your foot when you put weight on it
- Redness
It may take 6 to 8 weeks for a broken toe to heal up properly. Mostly it heals up on its own. But sometimes it may need surgery. Moreover, you may also need a splint, cast, or an orthopedic shoe for its treatment. You must do plenty of rest so that your toe heals soon. Also, eat a balanced diet rich in proteins.
Treatment for a Broken Toe
After you have been diagnosed with a broken toe, the healthcare provider will ask you to go home after prescribing the treatment and self-care tips. To relieve pain, they will prescribe analgesics and over-the-counter pain relievers.
Moreover, they may use buddy tape to provide support to your toe. By using it, they will tape the next finger with your toe, and a gauze piece or cotton inserted in between them, so no friction or rubbing takes place.
They may also make you wear a stiff-bottomed shoe with a cloth top as it stops your toe from bending- a practice that helps in healing soon.
If due to a broken toe, your bones have moved from their place, the healthcare provider will set them back. During this procedure, they will administer a local anesthetic to numb your toe. If your bone pieces do not stay at a place, you may need to get a cast.
If a broken toe occurs with an open wound, the healthcare provider will administer a tetanus shot and give antibiotics to prevent any infection.
Home Remedies For a Broken Toe
To keep swelling down, it is advisable to keep your foot up while you sit or lie down. When you keep it elevated, it gets an adequate blood supply that helps in getting rid of inflammation and swelling.
Do cool compress on the inflamed broken toe. Make sure you do not apply ice directly to your skin, instead, wrap the ice in a cloth and then apply.
Take over the counter pain reliever like ibuprofen or naproxen to get rid of the pain.
Wear shoes having stiff soles that provide support and do not let your toe bend.
Recovery
To recover fully from a broken toe, it may take 6 to 8 weeks. During this period, do plenty of rest and manage your medications. Make sure you stop doing any physical activity and sports until your healthcare provider gives you a green signal for that. During healing, and even after that, you should avoid wearing heels. Once you have recovered from a broken toe, the pain will keep going. If you have pain in your toe after getting hurt from something, you should visit orthopedic surgeon in Islamabad.
