How do I know if I've broken my little toe?

[PinkSparklyPussyCat]

That might sound a silly question but the NHS website says treat at home which I'm doing but nearly 3 weeks later it's still swollen and I still can't walk properly.

I did it by accidentally kicking a shoe in the middle of the night, the shoe was up against something and didn't move so my pinky toe took the full force. DH said he's never heard me scream like it before and I felt sick and faint afterwards. I've stubbed my toe before but nothing like this!

You probably have broken it. But even if you went to hospital and had an X-ray there is nothing they can do for a broken little toe.
It just takes 6 weeks ish to heal. Best thing is to rest and ice when you can. Wear comfy shoes or sandals that keep the toe from being squished.

You won't know for sure without seeing a health care professional. You've tried to self manage for this long and you still have pain affecting your day to day life so I'd say go see the GP/nurse practitioner and let them assess if you need further treatment or intervention. You could have done some soft tissue damage further past the toe joint which is causing the ongoing pain. I hope you get sorted out soon

Yeah, sorry, it's probably fractured. I am a massive klutz & have broken probably every toe at least once, usually by falling over imaginary obstacles.

Not much to be done - it just takes several weeks to heal.

Yep sounds broken, I've broken my little toes 3 times plus the toe next to it once and i know the sick faint feeling.
Tape it to the toe next to it, rest as much as you can, painkillers when needed, takes about 6 weeks for the bone to start knitting back together

They won’t do anything if you have broken it. It just needs time.

I bought ugg style boots from primark to give me more room as hardly the weather for sandals now

I've broken at least 3 of mine so sounds like yours is too.

As PP suggested tape it to the toe next to it (not too tight) and take ibproprofen for the pain. Elevate as much as possible.

It sounds broken. I’m clumsy and have broken most of my toes- the pinky is by far the most painful and made me limp.

Have you strapped it? Put gauze in between the two toes and tape them together.

Thank you everyone, sorry for all of you who've broken their toes! Also thank you for not saying 'how do we know?!' I'll be patient (not easy for me!) and try to rest it, and thanks for the Ugg tip @whoruntheworldgirls, I've got some so I'll try those rather than shoving it into trainers every time I go out or to the office.

I will also not leave Birkenstocks lying around any more, they are evil...

It is tough trying to rest it enough, hope it's better soon, my latest break was end of summer, wasn't watching and kicked a wall, bad break!! No more bloody flip flops for me! Need sandals that cover the toes

Sounds like it probably is broken.

I thought I had broken mine last year after stubbing it on our bed, it swelled up and went purple/black it got better quite quickly so I assumed it was actually just bruised.

Try to rest it as much as you can and strap it if needed.

I broke my little toe a few years ago. Turned round too quick and kicked a radiator pipe. Never felt pain like it, it shot up my leg and my knees bucked under me. Ever helpful, rather than jumping up to assist my mum asked why I wasn't wearing my slippers.

Sympathies OP.

All you can do is strap it to the next toe.

I broke one once - confirmed by X ray just before we went on holiday 😩 - I was hobbling around for a few weeks.
I’d been barefoot and had bashed it hard against a table leg - a good reason for always wearing shoes!

I'm pretty sure I broke mine a few years ago. Very sore.

Don't wiggle it to check if it's better. I found I kept stubbing it...

This.

I spectacularly stubbed my little toe on a wooden chair about 5 years ago. Cue lots of swearing and grimacing. Massive swelling, I couldn’t fit my foot in shoes, bruising across several toe ‘knuckles’ and up/across the metatarsal. I had it confirmed by X Ray about 3 days later (I was travelling when it happened, that was a fun airport hobble home).

Nothing they can do. Strapped it to the adjacent toe and job done. Just had to wait for it to heal. Given how A&E is now I wouldn’t go if it happened again.

3 weeks of swelling is a long time. Teen DD broke hers last month and was fine after a week.
I think I did mine once, purple over half the foot and swollen for a few days but was running on it two weeks later strapped up.

I did this a couple of years ago and honestly, it really hurt

I regret not going to hospital tbh, because it still hurts these days

I broke a toe on honeymoon. Didn't have a xray, but felt sick when I did it, and it went black. It took a good few weeks to fully heal.

Have broken both my little toes. One was a particularly bad break. I didn't seek medical advice but years later had to have that foot x-rayed for another issue. The dr said the bone was dislocated and I should have had it repositioned before it healed in such an awkward (and very unsightly) fashion. It's cause me endless problems over the years and makes it difficult to find comfortable shoes.

So I would see a dr or go to minor injuries if I were you.

I've broken a few. Broke one about 2 months ago. Get some cohesive bandage and a cotton wool pad, strap to the next toe. Wear thicksocks and your biggflat shoes.

The only way you'll know for sure is by getting an X-ray but even if that confirms it there's not a lot they can do for it.

I stubbed a toe badly a couple of years ago. Finally went for an x-ray as it wasn't getting any better but there was no break. I had about four v. uncomfortable months before I could get all my shoes on painlessly but it did resolve.

I found wide at the toes, flat and not too soft soled was the way to go.

If it's still agony after three weeks it's probably worth an XRay in case it's dislocated as per a pp.

If it isn't dislocated and simply broken, can you get hold of a pair of wooden clogs? When I broke mine I found the only think that didn't make it hurt more as I walked was a rigid shoe - it was summer and I had an old pair of Dr Scholl exercise sandals.

Only thing I could wear for about three months after I broke next one to little toe was crocs. You need something with wide toe box and stiff sole /👍

Buddy-tape it to the toe next door (put a bit of padding in between the toes too - cotton wool or kitchen towel is fine).
Keep your foot up as much as you can.
Don't squeeze your foot into shoes if you can avoid it - wear roomy shoes / trainers / croc style shoes if you can.
But, to echo PP, three weeks is a long time for you to have swelling, so it might be worth getting it checked.