To refuse to take DS to hospital for a sprained ankle

[Paurie]

He twisted it badly enough that it can’t weight bear. I’m confident it’s not broken. Strapped it up, iced, elevated - & picked up a crutch so he can be mobile without stepping on it while it heals.

School say the crutch can’t come to
school unless it’s signed off as necessary by a doctor and is fitted by a professional.

AIBU to refuse & just keep him home?

It seems really not sensible in this climate to burden doctors with signing off on a self-limiting problem that I’m confident I’ve treated correctly - and batshit crazy to take a healthy child to sit being sneezed on in minor injuries unit for however many hours it takes to be seen.

i've sprained the same ankle 5 times. I now have arthritis and a permanently unstable ankle that I have to be careful and often wear strapping to support as its liable to roll at any moment.

This is because of bad/non treatment with the initial couple of sprains.

I worked for 2 weeks on my ‘sprain’ before I got it xrayed and the fracture diagnosed (mumbles embarrassedly considering I’m a radiographer)

@AllDruggedUpWithNowhereToGo

Are you seriously suggesting that your fractured in 3 places ankle should have been home treated

I'm sorry but that's bullshit. Nobody treats 3 breaks with ice and a bandage.

Without medical training you can't make a diagnosis like that. Take him to A&E like any reasonable parent. If he needs a crutch they'll give him one and show him how to use it. From you saying you got him a crutch and sent him to school, and them sending him home, it sounds as if the school has had dealings with you before.... where did you find a spare crutch hanging around?

Take him to A&E. I have no idea why you have decided they wouldnt xray for 48hours. They will xray especially on a child. I could stand on my foot but had a sharp pain and couldn't walk - it was broken. You risk him doing further injury and an SS referral for neglect. You attitude is concerning cavalier and I say that as an SS professional. You seem to have decided its nothing and too much effort to get him checked out.

OP, here's another reason you're being U.

It's not a neat trajectory of twist-sprain-break, especially with developing bones.

I've had sprains that have left me with lifelong consequences and breaks that have been walked off within hours only to result in intense physio later.

I had a bad twist where my husband and I heard a big crack only for it to prove unbroken.

These situations were ALL worked out by a doctor with an xray - the last time the poor sod had a hell of a time examining the area because I have a massive bone growth now on the site of repeated twists that will need surgery at some point.

Bottom line is that YOUR assessment of whether it was a sprain or not was irrelevant to the long and short term treatment.

Trust the opinion of someone with fucked up ankles!

He could have a fracture which requires a boot or cast, best to take him to A&E, just to be sure... This way you can also get a bloody DR's note for school!

Yabu. I sprained an ankle a few years ago and avoided going to a and e for a few days. It was swollen, bruised, painful. I went in the end and the nurse had an air of vfor gods sake' when I told her it happened 2 days ago and I didn't want to waste their time. After taking my sock off she apologised - my door was badly bruised all over and 3x the size of normal. It was a bad sprain, and my delay in going to a and e only delayed me getting treatment and caused a weakness in the ankle years later. I don't blame the nurse for being annoyed initially - or for the mild telling off she gave me about not going sooner. My own stupid fault for not going when it happened.

Bloody hell... can't believe this thread is still rumbling on with posters not checking to see that the OP actually DID take her DS to be seen.

Cancel the cheque!

@bemoreeverything that was what I was told... Apparently there are lots of bones in the ankle, and the ones I fractured would have responded better to ice and mild/medium support... and given the damage I live with from “correct” treatment I can’t imagine it being worse unless it was amputated (this is a possible slight exaggeration, but I am in constant pain and fall at least twice a week due to my ankle giving way)

If this were you or a pet would you carry on with the pain 😮 how do you know it’s not broken ? Think you havnt done the right thing here !

I self diagnosed a badly bruised elbow. Turns out it was fractured. You don’t know. You aren’t a doctor. Get it X-rayed. If you don’t want to go to A&E call up BUPA or something similar and pay to get it done privately.

Boy, you must be akin to God !

Not even the trained professionals in A & E can tell if your DS has broken bones without an x-ray ! So what the hell makes YOU think that YOU can ????

And you got a crutch from somewhere ? Only 1 ?? Not measured, or taught how to safely use it of course, just given one and told son to crack on ??

You are an idiot ! And what's more, I'm bloody well sure that if it was YOUR ankle, and YOU were unable to weight bear on it, YOU'D bloody well go to A & E to have it properly assessed and treated !

If you did the same to your pet dog, you'd have the RSPCA round !!

It's neglect................get your DS to a trained professional ! ASAP.

SHE'S TAKEN HIM TO A+E

FOR THE LOVE OF GOD READ HER UPDATES.