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What Causes Inflammation And Pain On The Foot After An Injury?
I dropped a heavy tool on my foot over a month ago my middle toe took most of the damage. the bone was sticking out sideways towards the index toe I quickly pulled the end of the toe striating it out and headed to the hospital I receved stiches inbetween the two toes they took xrays and said there was no fracture and the toe must have been dislocated. in a couple weeks the stiches healed and were removed and the pain went away. Over the last few days the joint in my middle toe seems to be swelling is looking red and very painful. is it infeced? how soon should I see a doctor or should I keep waiting for it to heal by itself?
Wed, 19 Oct 2016
Short answer: Yes, see your local doctor.
Long answer:
It is too soon after the injury to be a coincidence, and since it was an open wound, yes the chance of infection is still there. It is possible that some tiny fragments of dirt was stuck in there that has caused irritation or started off the infection. It is also possible that a tiny fracture was missed at the time (possible because early X-rays sometimes don't show the fracture well), although this is less likely because the pain went away so soon.
A visit to your local doctor will be important to sort this out, and he/she would probably order an X-ray to rule out bone infection/leftover foreign material/missed fracture. Don't wait, because bone infections can lead to long-term problems.
Hope this helps, and let me know if you have further questions.
Regards,
Dr. Teh
Long answer:
It is too soon after the injury to be a coincidence, and since it was an open wound, yes the chance of infection is still there. It is possible that some tiny fragments of dirt was stuck in there that has caused irritation or started off the infection. It is also possible that a tiny fracture was missed at the time (possible because early X-rays sometimes don't show the fracture well), although this is less likely because the pain went away so soon.
A visit to your local doctor will be important to sort this out, and he/she would probably order an X-ray to rule out bone infection/leftover foreign material/missed fracture. Don't wait, because bone infections can lead to long-term problems.
Hope this helps, and let me know if you have further questions.
Regards,
Dr. Teh
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