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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Aibu to not go to AandE with a suspected broken finger?

42 replies

WeirdCatLady · 12/02/2015 19:22

Ive damaged my right hand ring finger. It can bend, a bit, and isn't at a weird angle so obviously not a bad break, if broken at all. It is slightly twisted and has been painful for the past few days. I can't put my fingers together as it sticks out and is twisted a bit.

Dd is bugging me to go to AandE for an x ray but I've read the NHS Internet pages and the advice for a broken, dislocated or strained finger is just to buddy tape it to another finger. I don't see the point in spending six hours sitting around to be told that. It isn't bent enough to need resetting or anything like that.

So, oh wise MN jury, WWYD?

OP posts:

SomedayMyPrinceWillCome · 12/02/2015 20:24

I'm a senior sister in A&E. This does sound as if it needs to be seen, if the fracture is displaced (finger not straight) it may need to be sorted out. If it is your dominant hand this is even more likely.
Sounds perfect for a walk in centre if there is one near you

BestZebbie · 12/02/2015 20:28

Go to A&E - I broke a toe and taped it to the next one myself on the basis that saved the wait for a doctor to do that for me in six hours and now I have a toe that is firmly attached again but totally numb from the break point upwards.

waithorse · 12/02/2015 20:31

You do need to get it checked out I'm afraid. Get yourself to minor injuries in the morning.

Osmiornica · 12/02/2015 20:38

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

woodhill · 12/02/2015 20:48

Please go, you will need physio and advice, been there recently

Duskydawn · 12/02/2015 21:42

Definitely get it checked out, pref at minor injuries or walk in that either have their own X-ray or are attached to a hospital with one. But it's probably ok to wait until morning.

Could be a simple fracture that just needs strapping, ice and rest (which you can do tonight). Could be a bad fracture that requires resetting or even surgery, could be a dislocation or something else.

Bodicea · 12/02/2015 22:36

Go during office hours - they won't thank you for turning up in the evening.

LithaR · 12/02/2015 22:42

Just got something similar with a broken thumb. I can still use it just taking pain meds and using it less.

Don't see the point in wasting doctors time to just be told to do what I'm doing anyway.

a2011x · 12/02/2015 22:43

Don't go to A&E. You need to go to minor injuries unit as most have X ray there which is quicker for you. Why would you need to go to A&E when you can go to your GP or MIU?

SockQueen · 12/02/2015 23:02

GPs do not (mostly) have x-rays so are probably not going to be enormously helpful in this scenario. Minor injuries would be totally appropriate for this but it depends on what the service setup in your area is - they don't always exist nearby!

Do go and get it looked at OP, take a good book if needs be as you will have a long wait, but a few hours is nothing in the grand scheme of things when it's potentially affecting your grip in your (presumably) dominant hand.

Icimoi · 12/02/2015 23:17

LithaR, you have to be insane not to get a broken thumb checked. If for any reason the use of your thumb is diminished or even lost it has the potential to mess up your life in a big way. Seriously, go and get it sorted tomorrow.

cherrytree63 · 13/02/2015 07:47

I broke my finger when I slipped and hit it on a work top in my kitchen. My GP said it was an insect bite....despite it being black, swollen and floppy.
About 3 weeks later, my son broke his wrist, and when I took him to a & e the triage nurse spotted my finger, and said it looked like a Mallet injury, and to go book in and get it checked.
The joint had been chipped and there was nothing for the ligaments to attach to. After three months in a splint it hadn't healed, so I needed an op to fuse the floppy joint, which is now permanently bent.
If I'd gone to a & e straight away the joint may have been saved.

SnottySundays · 13/02/2015 07:55

Actually if your finger is twisted you need to get it xrayed and you would probably end up with something being done (likely an operation) to straighten it. Hand function is very important and a broken twisted finger can interfere a lot with that.
To the PP with the thumb, you also need to be xrayed as thumb function even more critical than finger function for the use of your hand!

Sallystyle · 13/02/2015 08:12

Why would you need to go to A&E when you can go to your GP or MIU?

Well my gp wouldn't see me for a broken finger. They don't have any of the equipment to give a proper diagnosis for a start and the second you tell the receptionist you want an appointment for a broken finger they would refuse to see you. This is not an area the gp would help with in my surgery.

We also have no minor injury units.

So that is why the OP may need to go to A&E.

Original poster

WeirdCatLady · 13/02/2015 09:49

Morning all. I rang 111 and a nurse phoned me back.

They reckon it's ligament damage and I have been advised to splint it and buddy tape it to my little finger for a few days.

OP posts:

crapatmultitasking · 13/02/2015 10:00

*Morning all. I rang 111 and a nurse phoned me back.

They reckon it's ligament damage and I have been advised to splint it and buddy tape it to my little finger for a few days*

Do they x ray telephones now ?

If you really think its broken please go to A&E - depending on where the break is the nerves could be affected leaving you with long term damage.

I broke a finger a few years ago - ended up having it pinned and then some physio sessions,and was also off work for 6 weeks ( right hand) It was bloody painful.

People also said not to bother with A&E as they'll only tape it etc - Hospital said " a broken bone is a broken bone and you can get the same complications be it a leg or finger"

woodhill · 13/02/2015 10:29

I would go to A & E for an x ray or minor injuries. It is important to strap it correctly and then you may have to attend a hand clinic. I still have problems with my hand after 6 months'.

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