To think I should go to hospital?

[Soreashell]

I stumbled down the last few stairs 9 days ago and injured my foot. I went A & E and was x-rayed and told it was bruised and was I given crutches and told to take pain killers.
Bruising has come out but it is still killing me, a bad ache like toothache and enough to keep me awake at night. Also by late afternoon it is swollen again and hot. It hurts from my big toe running to my ankle and underneath the foot on that side.

Is this usual with a bruising injury and will it just take a bit longer or do I need to go back do you think?

Call 101 if you're not sure and they will tell you to go or not - i'm surprised no one else has suggested it!

Definitely get it seen - I'd suggest GP or walk-in centre first.
I had a tiny foot fracture that wasn't diagnosed for a year and caused all sorts of problems. Mine wasn't diagnosed until I had an MRI btw. Good luck.

Our A&E would turn you away based on it being an 'old' injury. Call the GP today and ask their advice. Don't leave it all weekend as it may need seen sooner, but ask your GP where it needs or be seen at.

Go to minor injuries as they will have shorter queue and x-ray facility. This is the type of injury minor injures is meant for. Going to the GP will just build in the wait to see them.

Thanks I obviously need to do something then, I can walk on it now though whereas I couldn't for the first 2 days. My Dp suggested Ibuprofen gel and a tubi grip to see if that relieves it but he isn't a Dr :)

I'd push it. I don't like the sound of 'sore and hot'. Remember that awful recent case of a woman who was told her broken femur was a hamstring strain? Reader, she died.

Some years ago I had a similar accident and after being x-rayed was told that my ankle was not broken but badly sprained and bruised. Some days later I went back as there was no improvement, they x-rayed again and discovered a broken bone,

If I were you I would go back.

You need to go to somewhere that has an X Ray department, OP.

A & E it is. Take many books and chocolate.

Go back to A&E. Don't even question yourself, especially if you're going abroad. My DD fractured her tibia, and it was missed in A&E the first time. Hot and sore doesn't sound good. At all.

I broke my foot recently - the only other thing they will give you at A&E is a big boot which you can buy yourself online.

It makes walking around much less painful. I don't think you'd be able to walk around on your foot after a few days if it was broken.

It would have been a good couple of weeks before I could put any weight on mine and it was a month of using the boot before I could start taking it off and walking without it around the house for short periods of time.

So personally I would just do the following:

• Make sure you are taking ibuprofen to reduce swelling
• Keep your foot elevated whenever sitting
• Consider buying one of the boots yourself (will post a link)

They won't do anything else at A&E or minor injuries beyond this anyway.

@wheresmymojo that completely depends on what type of break it is. So I think op should get actual medical advice.

This is the injury boot £15 from Amazon.

You wear just a sock on that foot (and normal flat shoe or trainer on the other). Main thing is that when you put it on you need to make sure your heel is right down to the bottom and foot flat before doing up the straps. Straps should be reasonably tight but without cutting circulation.

If your foot is broken you will find it very painful putting it on and making sure your foot is flat so take ibuprofen 30 mins beforehand.

I needed to sleep in mine for the first couple of weeks because of the pain when turning over in bed.

Kingdom GB Fixed Walker Fracture Medical Surgical Ankle Brace Leg Injury Support Protective Boots (Small (3 UK - 5.5 UK), Black) https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07N4486WF/ref=cmswwrcppapiii_atoHDbV9KB2R9

friends an exray nurse.she says its so hard to tell on the feet.there are so many bones in their! and swelling on the feet can often cover or mask things.and if a tendon is caught in between a swelling or fracture it can result in major problems.
i think it should have been reducing in symtom like your mentioned not increasing.
go back.your not wasting time becasue there is something wrong.

Perhaps but personally I think if you can walk on it after 2 days it's highly unlikely to be broken.

Unless it's just a very small hairline in which case A&E won't do anything with it anyway...

I'm not sure what else you think they will do for a broken foot?

The only other treatment as far as I'm aware is surgical for very complex breaks which this clearly isn't. 🤷🏻‍♀️

I would go to the doctor if it is hot as that does not sound usual.

There is no clinical indicator to rexray a site within the first 10days (providing you havent reinjured it). There are radiation guidelines. The original xray will be likely reported on at this stage though so a second pair of eyes will have seen it, and I hope would have recalled you if there was any issue.
You need to elevate, ice, and take regular pain relief. If you are still non weight bearing at day 10, then you need re examined and probably rexrayed. A sprain can take 8 or more weeks to settle.
Also, bear in mind, tiny avulsion fractures (a little flake of bone taken off with injury) are treated as a sprain in most instances. Physio may be a good option to consider too.
Do not self treat with a boot. Boots are used in specific injuries and come with similar risks to casts. Ie, blood clots. Only put a boot on if it's provided by a medical professional.

wheremymojo you are completely wrong. Mine was a missed break, was told to walk on it as it was a bad sprain.

Ended up have to have it rebroken and set properly

Also she's talking about her ankle not her foot

OP go and get it checked out, esp if you are flying next week

Ultimately you need examined if you're in a lot of pain.

wheresmymojo I disagree, I fractured my foot and was walking on it. I was xrayed and told it was fine and it got progressively more swollen and sore so went back and they refused to xray again and just looked at the old one and said it was fine - probably plantar fascitis . Eventually GP sent me to a foot pseiclaist who re-xrayed and showed me the break! I walked on it that whole time. My DS also broke his foot earlier this year (which was showing up on the xray) and he was walking on it fine within a week.

'Hot and swollen' a full nine days after you injured it doesn't sound right. I've had actual broken bones that were nowhere near as sore as what you're describing nine days after the event.

I'm not sure A&E would be the right place to go but I would definitely try to get an emergency appointment with your GP or get a taxi ASAP to your nearest walk-in centre to get it looked at again. They can send you to hospital if they're concerned.

I broke my foot once and was walking around on it for a week before being persuaded to get it xrayed (well, limping!)

It ended up needing surgery.

I'd definitely get it checked again to be on the safe side.

I work in orthopaedics (non medical) at a large teaching hospital. Call through to switchboard and ask to speak to the orthopaedic department and see if they have, what we call, a virtual fracture clinic. Basically, a consultant will review your previous x-rays and decide if you need to come back in for further imaging. A specialist nurse will call you back and give you some advice.

@whereismymojo that's not really the case. Even small breaks carry risk of non-union and infection if not treated correctly. Certain breaks, however small, should be immobilised in the correct way to ensure good healing, callous formation and to avoid future complications which can be anything for stiffness to, as above, non-union. Some people may require physiotherapy in addition to treatment in fracture clinic. Also, we cannot presume to know what other conditions a someone has which has influence their ability to heal.

Go back to a&e. It was obvious to me my sister had broken her wrist, xrays supposedly said no. The pain was unbearable but she put her trust in the hospital and didn’t go back. She ended up going back months later as still in pain, xrays showed she had in fact broken a bone, three operations later it’s still not right.

Please go back and ask them to re X-ray. The fact it’s hot also doesn’t sound right

No to the tubi grip!! If it's swollen and inflamed it does NOT need to be squeezed into a tube.
You need a GP to call you over the telephone - they can give you some medicine and if necessary they can make an outpatients referral for an emergency x-ray.
Ring NHS111 if you haven't been able to get through to your GP but I strongly advised that your speaking to a medical professional tonight.