To NOT get this checked?

[chessica]

I’ve injured my foot.

I don’t recall noticing I injured it other than I did a lot of walking the weekend before the one just passed. Last Monday morning I just woke up and it was beginning to hurt. Since then it’s progressively got worse. Today I walked around a town centre on it and it is now very painful. The pain seems to be coming from the joint of my second toe- a very sharp pain. Hurts to bear weight on, hurts the more I walk on it & hurts to wiggle and stretch my toes. No obvious bruising but it is tender and looks a bit swollen.

I am very busy at work and know getting it seen won’t be quick. I would be wasting my time and the GP’s if I went to them, because they haven’t got X ray vision. I am guessing they will want to X ray to rule out fracture of any small bones. I could be waiting around in hospital for 8 hours plus for that, right?

YABU- needs to be seen, work will have to understand
YANBU - hospital would be a waste of time

Minor injuries unit?

Could do but it’s usually 5 hour wait from the minute they open and they don’t have X ray

what could they do even if it was broken? Do they still strap toes together?

Within 14 days of an injury go to Minor injuries. You can check wait times on the NHS website.

No idea actually! I was just trying to read up online but it’s all American so probably not correct. If anyone comes along to advise that would be great haha!

If it’s just the toe and not the big one it’s unlikely they’ll do much about it. I fell recently and instantly knew I’d broken my toe. The pain was breathtaking (literally had a panic attack shortly after) and it instantly got so swollen/painful/bruised that I couldn’t fit my foot in my regular shoes. Due to the way I fell I did get checked out as I worried I’d broken something in my foot as well. It was just one fractured toe and one badly bruised thankfully so was just told to strap them up and wait to heal.

if you’re in any way concerned about the damage, go to the hospital.

If there's been no specific injury I think I'd watch and wait for a few days.

I had similar a few months ago OP - pain in a similar area without any obvious injury having taken place. I ignored it for a few weeks thinking minor injuries couldn’t do anything I couldn’t do at home. Pain just got worse and worse so I had to get it checked out. Turned out to be tendonitis and need physiotherapy (it’s fine now). So bear in mind it may be something other than a broken toe.

Is your foot swollen at all? I tripped, foot swelled but I thought it was a sprain. Did RICE on repeat. 10 days later the pain was unbearable, couldn’t get a shoe on. Tiniest break imaginable in a small bone in my foot. I was impressed the A& E doctor spotted it, it was minute. 2 weeks in a plaster cast 🙄but the relief when the pain stopped was worth it.
If you do RICE several times and it’s still swollen, painful then it needs X-ray.

Up to you if the wait is worth it or not really

A little bit over toe joint area

Probably an overuse 'injury'. A&E isn't right place for that.
I imagine waiting for it to improve, and then seeing GP if I got fed up.

Mortons neuroma hits the joint in the foot near the baby toe. Your toe is fine for hours and then it’s agony until you take your shoes off and rest the toe.

Unless you're particularly frail it's unlikely to be a fracture if there wasn't a distinct impact/injury you've noticed.

More whether it could infected or gout. I would do what others have suggested, RICE, ibuprofen if you can take it, +_ paracetamol. If it settles then not to worry, if persistently worsening, becomes recurrent, or you develop an agonising pain with movement then be seen.

I had something similar, ignored it for ages as I hadn't had an injury. When it hadn't cleared up 6 months later, I finally got it checked out, and it turned out to be arthritis. Treated with massive orthotics and naproxen.

Could be a stress fracture, you said you walked more than usual at the weekend.

Thanks everyone x