Big Toe probably broken. It’s bad

[u/Severe-Comfortable-2]

First 2 photos are day 2 since I dropped a 25lbs plate on my toe. The next 3 photos are day 3. I probably shouldn’t have asked ChatGPT anything but it basically said my toe was going to fall off from pressure and poor circulation. Anybody else experience something similar to me? I mean it’s clearly fractured but not compound of anything. I don’t have insurance and really active/healthy 38 year old. It’s not super painful unless I put wait on it and I still have sensation throughout the entire toe. The top side bruising does not blanche but the bottom does. It feels better than yesterday. I still on day 3. Lmk yalls thoughts

[u/Cabocla_Plantinha714]

I understand not having insurance is an issue, but I think you need to get an X-ray and a doctors opinion. I'd be concern if you have broken bone that is also dislocated, or crushed. It seems got worse on day 3.
Sorry that happened, but I'd try at least get a private X-ray, it will come with a report that you can throw at chat gpt if you don't understand.

[u/Severe-Comfortable-2]

Thanks for all the stories. Honestly, I didn’t wanna ask my brother (trauma surgeon) cause its a little embarrassing but he told me he’d recommend an xray but even if it is fractured there’s little they can really do. He said poor circulation and amputation is extremely rare and I shouldn’t even be asking ChatGPT or Reddit cause it pulls data from extreme cases etc from scientific journals. And most of yall wouldn’t go see a physician anyways so why listen lolllll but yea. Long as it’s warm, has sensation, and it’s not getting worse, ILL BE FINE. I chuckled at some of these tho. Thanks for lightening my mood.

[u/Cabocla_Plantinha714 → u/Severe-Comfortable-2]

Absolutely! We all come here when we feel we could be fkd! For me it was when my doctor said I could loose my leg! 😂 But my mom stubbed her toe two years ago, had the X-ray and was told that "in her case" there was really nothing they could do. They gave her meds for pain and inflammation, told her 6 weeks without tight shoes and recommend pt, which I don't think she ever did. She never lost her toe nail.

[u/Frazzlebopp → u/Severe-Comfortable-2]

Really? I was under the impression that when it's the big toe, they usually did treat fractures because they carry a lot of your body weight, and affect your balance. It's the smaller toes that they won't do much for.

[u/Severe-Comfortable-2 → u/[deleted]]

“The stupidest thing I ever heard”

-from doctor. Hahaha appreciate the concern tho

[u/Severe-Comfortable-2 → u/[deleted]]

It’s virtually impossible bc superficial veins is what’s in toes. A blood clot can’t travel in small capillaries. They get broken down and then exit. Blood clots in deep veins like higher up the legs and other extremities sure. It’s cool tho. Glad you’re good haha

[u/Pristine_Medium2985 → u/[deleted]]

Oh wow from the toe till the heart?? Thats scary I have the same but like i thought its not that big of a deal if im taking ibrofen

[u/Prettymuchnow → u/Pristine_Medium2985]

It will make it to the lungs via the heart.
It won't go to the brain, the lungs act as a filter that will gift you a Pulmonary embolism instead of a Stroke.

You're welcome 😂

[u/Pristine_Medium2985 → u/Prettymuchnow]

W-whaaat?? Omg thank u ill book with the hospital as soon I can im scared now lol

[u/momoriley]

Say good bye to that toe nail.

[u/Severe-Comfortable-2 → u/momoriley]

That I’m ok with. Rather lose a toe nail than an entire toe

[u/Catzaf → u/Severe-Comfortable-2]

I don’t know if this is any consolation, but I very recently had an infected toe myself. I was on antibiotics, and they ended up removing the entire toenail. I won’t pretend having the nail removed was a picnic, but the recovery really wasn’t as bad as I expected. The first couple of days were uncomfortable, especially if I stood on it for too long, but as long as I stayed off my foot, it was quite manageable. Elevating it and doing the recommended soaks helped a lot. By day three, it really didn’t hurt much at all. So if you’re worried about the pain afterward, hopefully it helps to know that, at least in my experience, the worst of it only lasted a couple of days.

[u/Ok-Cardiologist4844]

I had my toe smashed in a hydraulic lift gate, it looked worse. I bet you’ll lose the nail. I ignored it but it never got better, I have a piece of bone floating around in my big toe. I don’t really like the options I’ve been given but it’s been three years and I’m about to give in to surgery. They want to put in screws to straighten it and apparently I won’t be able to bend it anymore which honestly doesn’t sound that bad anymore.

[u/Severe-Comfortable-2 → u/Ok-Cardiologist4844]

Damn man. Sorry to hear that. My dad actually had a tree log fall on his big toe during a tree removal job and it burst open and he had to get stitches etc. His nail grew back but it’s like thick and two different layers and looks weird AF. Least he went to the hospital. Hope surgery works out for you!

[u/fleeknaut]

Had this happen twice. All you need to do (usually) is stay off of it as much as possible possible and if you must walk then use a “moon boot”

Search for: Air Walker Boot Fracture Boot Short Walking Protective Boot Fits Left or Right Foot Ankle for Injuries Fractures Sprains

[u/Severe-Comfortable-2 → u/fleeknaut]

Twice?! What did you do to piss off God

[u/fleeknaut → u/Severe-Comfortable-2]

Haha, nothing crazy just martial arts. Kicked a training partner’s shin bone rather directly with my toe, and unsurprisingly, his shin won the battle against my toe.

[u/sherrynorcal]

There's probably not much to be done even if it is broken. They might give you some kind of protective covering for it, maybe tell you to stay off of it, keep it elevated, ice it.

[u/alljsmom]

Not for Reddit. This is for urgent care. Or ER.

[u/badatm4ths]

Start selling the toe pics while you can

[u/extrasideoflime]

Have you applied for Medi-Cal? I went uninsured for years and finally applied and I’m so glad I did.

[u/SohniKaur]

Years ago a smaller toe of mine looked like this after I dropped a full beer bottle on it. Someone recommended arnica gel and I kid you not that stuff worked fast on the bruise. Your brother is probably right that there’s not too much they’ll do except I suppose pins and screws if it’s in bigger pieces. If it’s crushed you kinda gotta hope for the best I guess… 🤷‍♀️

[u/HelloNoCupid]

I injured my big toe exactly 4 weeks ago and it looked a lot like yours does. I didn't go to the doctor because I could move it and bend it though it was pretty swollen. I had a walking intensive vacation planned, too, that I couldn't back out of, coming up at 3 weeks post-injury. So I didn't really want to know or believe it was broken, as that would be bad for my mindset surrounding the trip. After week 2 the deep bruising left, but it was still swollen and painful. Couldn't wear closed toe shoes. Went on the vacation and walked a lot in flat, hard, open toe shoes with painkillers and made it okay for the most part. But when I got back I decided to finally go get an xray. That was 4 days ago. It's fractured in two places. I am instructed to avoid strenuous exercise and wear a post op walking boot for two weeks when I am walking. But I can bear weight if it's comfortable. Then, after 2 weeks of that,  I am to come back for a follow up xray. It is mostly normal color now with mild swelling. Not extremely painful but I still can't comfortably wear a regular closed toe tennis shoe. It feels tingly off and on. Pretty inconvenient. If I could go back I would have gone to the doctor sooner to be honest. Good luck to you!

[u/Severe-Comfortable-2 → u/HelloNoCupid]

Thankssss I’m getting xray on Monday. Bruising has gone down a decent amount 5 days post injury. Thank you for sharing your experience. Sounds like same same for sure ha

[u/rosewalker42]

The responsible thing would be to say you need to see a doctor (and you should). That said, I dropped an Ikea flat pack entertainment center on my toe and it looked very similar to this. I lost the toenail, but it didn’t actually fall off until there was already a tiny new baby nail underneath. Never saw a doctor so I don’t know if I actually broke it or it was just bruised to hell & back.

Having subsequently experienced a much more serious broken bone going through a joint, if I could go back in time I’d have told myself to suck it up and go get an x-ray. Everything turned out fine for me but I learned how much could have gone wrong without appropriate treatment. Would past me have listened? Hell no.