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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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Suggest Treatment For Badly Sprained Ankle And Blackness In Toes

My husband fell on the ice and had a really bad sprained ankle. He wrapped it too tight with ace bandage, when I told him not to. He slept with it on and then kept it on all day today. This afternoon two of his toes looked a little black. I told him to go to the ER, he said that he would go around 10:00 tomorrow morning. The thing is, the blackness has moved up to over his toes and is black! He won t go anywhere. How fast will this spread tonight?
Mon, 6 Apr 2015
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Pathologist and Microbiologist,  's  Response
Hello and welcome to HCM,
Sprain of the ankle is managed by immobilization of the foot by using cast for atleast 21 days.
Sprain can be associated with injury to soft tissues and thus internal bleeding.
Internal bleeding can lead to black discoloration of the skin.
Is the black discoloration of skin present since the time of injury?
If present since the time of sprain then probably this is due to hemorrhage and hematoma formation.
If the blackish discoloration is developing afterwards then this could be due to blockage of blood supply to the toes of the feet.
A tightly tied bandage could be the cause of black discoloration.
However, you need to consult your orthopedician for clinical assessment of the vascular supply to the feet.
In case, the vascular supply is compromised it has to be corrected by corrective measures.

Thanks and take care
Dr Shailja Puri
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Suggest Treatment For Badly Sprained Ankle And Blackness In Toes

Hello and welcome to HCM, Sprain of the ankle is managed by immobilization of the foot by using cast for atleast 21 days. Sprain can be associated with injury to soft tissues and thus internal bleeding. Internal bleeding can lead to black discoloration of the skin. Is the black discoloration of skin present since the time of injury? If present since the time of sprain then probably this is due to hemorrhage and hematoma formation. If the blackish discoloration is developing afterwards then this could be due to blockage of blood supply to the toes of the feet. A tightly tied bandage could be the cause of black discoloration. However, you need to consult your orthopedician for clinical assessment of the vascular supply to the feet. In case, the vascular supply is compromised it has to be corrected by corrective measures. Thanks and take care Dr Shailja Puri