Do I really need to take DS to A&E for this?

[Hullabaloo9]

At a sport club yesterday my son fell on his little finger. He says it went crunch. It swelled a little but he could move it. He is not a whinger with injuries so just got on with it.

This morning he says it hurts more. It's definitely more swollen and he can't bend it. He's fine though, not fussing.

Do I really need to take him to A&E with this? If it is broken is there anything they can actually do for a pinky finger?

@edwinbear such a different experience to me! And you know what? Mine didn’t heal well and still sticks out at a funny angle.

Don’t muck around with hand function. It’s not the same as breaking a toe.

DH broke mine but with instructions we did a splint. I've broken a finger and strapped up a first aid splint so knew what I was doing. It looks exactly like my other little finger but is still tender at times.

Minor injuries would be quicker than A&E

@Jellycats4life toes are also bad, as they help balance etc shouldn't be ignored if "damaged"

@MammmaG that’s shocking you were treated like that. DS had his follow ups in a ‘hand trauma clinic’ I had no idea there were such things but they really were good. We’re in London and were sent to Guys, might be worth a Google to see if you have one locally?

Just home now. Just an hour in MIIU. Xrays showed a buckle fracture so it's strapped and in a sling till we get seen by the fracture clinic over the next week. Thanks for the advice all.

Just to point out this is a red flag. He should be in pain. In my mind that would actually have made me think was a break.

@BabyFever246 not true at all , friend walked happily for five weeks on a broken leg (2 breaks not close to each other) . Pain levels / tolerance varies hugely . Physical signs matter, shape colour swelling etc

That was @BabyFever246 point though.

Op says child not bothered
Baby says red flag, should be in pain
So I interpreted as without pain it's not broken ? I'm confused now @Bogginsthe3rd

I can see you are confused. OP said DS wasn't bothered. PP said this was a red flag (ie no pain was a red flag). Then you disagreed and said actually no pain was a red flag (ie agreed).

You need to get it fixed sooner rather than later. Its broken and the more days you leave it it will not be straight again.

@Bogginsthe3rd thanks x

Sorry just saw that you are getting it fixed!

I worked at a Community Hospital, which also was a MIU. Those using it were supposed to call NHS 24, for an appointment there (which regularly didn’t happen and the patient would just turn up at the entrance). We also didn’t see children under 12 years old. It didn’t have an X-ray department and only saw patients between 18.30 and 08.00 mon-fri and all weekend. The number of patients NHS 24 sent there for X-rays was a joke.

At night there were only 2 staff, a Staff Nurse and a Nursing Assistant, who also had to look after up to 15 inpatients. It was a bloody nightmare and I often refused to see outpatients, if NHS 24 phoned about them, as we just didn’t have time and more often than not, the patients had to be referred back to NHS 24 (which didn’t go down well), or on to an A&E department. If I did see patients, it meant that the Nursing Assistant had to look after the inpatients, while I was seeing the outpatient in a separate area of the hospital (which was a massive security risk for both of us) and I was “threatened” by an outpatient several times!

Glad you got it sorted.

it’s not “baffling” at all that the OP was reluctant to go to the hell that is a&e if she potentially didn’t have to.

How is this even a question?

With kids, yes. Always. Bones are still developing, they will X-ray and splint it at the very least, to help it heal straight so that he doesn’t have problems as he gets older.

My middle girl fell on her little finger cried for a bit put it in ice gave some ibuprofen. Put her to bed. the next morning she woke up like Shrek‘s hand. You know where Fiona and Shrek have blown up the balloons. If it was broken in my opinion and experience there would be a lot more swelling around it.
But yeah, you probably still need to get it checked

@MyPithyPoster

due to cut backs they've stopped giving extra fingers out!

Definitely get an X-ray can affect the growth plate this happened to my son and needed splinting

This thread is going to fill up now with people saying to take him to A&E. 😩

(I'm glad you took him. My mum didn't bother when I broke my toes because they would "only" splint them. They're proper Frankenstein-looking now.)

You will he absolutely amazed how much physio he will need to regain full function. Make sure you do it.

Hope he heals soon.

I walked a lot, jogged, drove a car and wore high heels with a broken kneecap. Only went to see the doctor because there was a strange swelling on top of the kneecap and the pain was kind of flashing down into the foot. Left the surgery with a brace and crutches.
Just because someone isn't screaming in pain doesn't mean there's no injury or just a minor bruising. Glad you went and they confrimed it was a fracture.