Injuries in the toe can be of various degrees and one must identify this before deciding to seek medical help. Some pain in the toe may result out of regular stress, some might result out of hitting a hard object or a heavy object falling on the toe. A broken toe may be identified by excruciating pain, soreness, tingling toes and numbness. If any of these persist, at once use the following procedure:
Make arrangements to visit a doctor
It is very important to immediately visit a doctor so that he can apply medical procedures on the injured toe. So, take help from friends and folks, whoever is nearest in fixing an urgent appointment with the doctor. You can also go down to the emergency section of a hospital to receive instant medical help. Do not delay as serious injuries may lead to undesired complications or additional injuries.
Prevention of swelling and pain
Immediately after the injury, try to lay down on a bed or a sofa (as situation allows), in a manner to keep the toe above the heart level. Using a padding of a few cushions or pillows might help to make the stance comfortable. The idea is to lessen the flow of blood from the injured area and thus making it less vulnerable to inflammation/swelling.
The above might help in partially reducing the pain and swelling.
If the pain still persists, one may take a dose of pain-killing drugs such as ‘Ibuprofen’ which is easily available. But make sure that only a small dose of the pain-killer is taken to suppress the pain temporarily until a doctor is consulted. After visiting the doctor, one must strictly follow his prescription.
Application of ice
Try to freeze down the injured toe with a packet of ice or chilly peas/corns. This step should be taken immediately after the injury. One may crush the ice in such a way that when put in a packet and applied around the toe, the injury gets uniformly exposed to the cold. Inserting the toe into a bowl of ice or chilled peas might be uncomfortable in some situations, thus it is advised to use a procedure which is comfortable and at best doesn’t lead to any further injury.
Applying ice helps in bringing down the temperature of the injured portion that in turn prevents swelling and also reduces pain.
Making the respective foot immobile
This step might prove helpful in cases of severe injury with a lot of pain. Making the foot immobile to prevent additional injuries to the fractured toe, will help a lot while on the way to professional medical help.
One can take a wooden plank or any object of a firm material that fits below the foot like a flip flop and using a few strands of waste cloth, tie the plank firmly below the foot. It should be done in such a manner so as to make the whole foot immobile, without any relative movement between the toes of the injured foot.
If foot immobility seems inconvenient one can also use ‘buddy taping’. Take medical gauze and wrap it around the broken toe and the bigger toe next to it. Place a cotton ball between the toes so that they hold straight. Now wrap a medical tape around the gauze to hold it in place.
Breathing well and rest
Pain is an obvious factor in any mishandling of the toe, thus it is very necessary to have a strong and positive mind-psychology. One thing that helps to build mental strength is long breathing. Thus take deep breaths and release your breath with patience, trying to maintain a stable heartbeat. Good breathing also leads to greater oxygen intake and helps the brain act more vigilantly in such circumstances.
It is also highly recommended to provide good amount of rest to the toe after having visited a doctor. In severe cases, one may be advised to use crutches. If proper care is not taken, the toe might incur more damage and might become extremely vulnerable to more damage. Such provocation might lead to the need for surgery of the toe.
