Do I need a and e?

[raspberrycordial]

I'm on my own tonight but can get someone to come and watch dd if need be. Ds has a friend round earlier and when playing he wrenched his thumb right back and screamed. That was 45 mins ago and he's still saying it hurts. I have iced it since then and he's just told me his little finger hurts too. It's probably a sprain isn't it? He can wiggle it and move it without complaining but says it does hurt when he does. He has has broken his arm before and was so brave that you might not have known which is what is making me doubt it now. I don't think it looks really swollen and the red could be from the ice pack. I'm not convinced it's broken, can anyone tell me what would likely be the symptoms if it was broken?

I'd wait until morning personally. I don't see any bruising etc. Doesn't mean it's not broken but practically it won't be an emergency that can't wait until morning.

If you think A&E might be needed then for God's sake call 111 and get their advice rather than asking mumsnet!
If needed they might even be ablr to send a doctor to your house

Don't put your little boy at risk of longer term damage by asking people who are not medical experts and who think an ambulance should only come out of you have lost at least two limbs

111 will know what signs to check for to rule out blood clots etc. MN won't

Hope he's ok.

I'm not stupid, clearly I would take him to a and e immediately if I thought it was warranted, when he broke his arm I knew instantly that something was badly wrong and stuck him straight in the car and took him. My instinct is that it's not broken, I trust my instinct but wanted to check whether there was anyone here who had experienced the same and might be able to tell me what to look for. Obviously I'm not trusting "people on mumsnet" to "diagnose" him, I'm just asking what to look out for. If I rang 111 what am I going to say-no bruising, no swelling and he can move it with ease...but thanks for your judgement

@Ninjawannabee that was

Sorry, not meant to sound judgey. I've just seen a few MN medical threads recently which horrified me, the awful advice.
Bottom line if you think he's fine then don't worry, if you think there's any chance there is an issue then call someone medical. I really think asking medical advice on MN, especially for a child, is worse than useless.

If he still says it hurts tomorrow then - yes - he should be seen. 111 should know whether your local Minor Injuries Unit will see children. Some soft tissue injuries (e.g. thumb ulnar collateral ligament rupture) need treatment even if no bones are broken.

Thank you Johnhunter, he was absolutely fine in the morning and hasn't mentioned it since. I have asked him if it's okay and he says fine luckily!

Well in our experience, 111 was no help at all. Our 7yo daughter fell at school and badly broke her arm in two places, with a few loose fragments for good measure. The arm didn’t look badly swollen, but she was clammy and weak and fainted when we tried to move her. 111 were called, and told us to see a gp within 24 hours. I had to drive her to hospital myself, passed out in the car, had to have emergency surgery..horrible experience all round.