HA and broken big toe

[merryandbrightdelight]

Stupid story. Day 1 of our holiday and it is literal sunbed wars. This morning everyone was running for a bed, and I ran to keep up with my family, didn’t see the concrete umbrella post, kicked it with my big toe and the pain was awful! Anyway, after an hour later it calmed down and I can walk on it, albeit I have to put more pressure on the left side of my foot, and I can wiggle it. The pain has also eased massively. Toe and nail both look fine and how they normally look.

its swollen, and the sides are a little bit purple, so I’m sat on a sunbed with it elevated (on a little table on the sunbed, I look fantastic). Luckily I’m on holiday with both SILs who are both nurses, they have taken a look and said paracetamol for the swelling and to rest it, and there’s no specific treatment for it other than strapping them, and if the pain was so bad I couldn’t walk, it would possibly be an X-ray and a boot, but have seen me walking on it and said it does look broken but rest and painkillers for the swelling.

I suffer massively with health anxiety (which I am getting treatment for) so obviously as well as the reassurance from trained professionals, I’d like stories from those who have also experienced this. Here until next Thursday and really don’t fancy going to a hospital abroad!

maybe I’ll have to pass the on playing referee with my two children to DH and spend more time reading 😂

Years ago, I broke my toes from being thrown into a swimming pool while on holiday, my dad buddy strapped them and I hobbled through the rest of the holiday.
Keep the pain relief up and rest.

thrown in a pool how awful!

thank you - and thank you for replying and reassuring me. If I didn’t have HA I’d just be on my merry way, so this has helped

Big toes sometimes need more treatment than the smaller ones to avoid long term issues

If you or your family members think it could be broken I would get it properly examined.

thank you - I’ve read about longer term issues like arthritis etc, so I’m thinking if it’s still swollen, painful or bruised when I get home next week, I will try and get in with my GP

I'm going to perhaps be controversial and say you should get it looked at. I (also a nurse!) broke my big toe a couple of years ago - I was told at minor injuries they don't recommend buddy strapping big toes as the smaller one isn't going to be strong enough to provide support to your vastly stronger big toe, and so all you really do is put more pressure on the big toe risking it healing slightly misaligned. They x rayed to see exactly where the break was and to check everything was where it should be (which it was, and from what you've said I would expect yours is too!) and offered me a boot or said if I was comfy as I was hobbling round in ex-DHs oversized crocs I could carry on as I did. They sent the x rays to the virtual fracture clinic to double check who said carry on and gave some useful advice on what to expect and who to contact if it didn't heal.

It would be useful to have an X ray so that if you felt you wanted/needed follow up when you get back home you have the X ray from the time rather than part healed 2 weeks down the line. Depending where you are, foreign hospitals can often be far more efficient at this sort of thing than the NHS and if in a touristy spot lots will speak English. If you have travel insurance I would speak to them and see what your options are.

I’m the queen of toe breaking.

2007 - broke my big toe in Cuba wearing flip flops and walking into a concrete step.

2010 - broke the same big toe in Turkey wearing flip flops to an ancient site and walked into a bit of ancient stone work

2014 - broke the same big toe in Germany crossing the road in flip flops and misjudging the curb.

(bit of a theme there)

2024 - broke my little toe on that same foot doing yoga …(don’t ask …)

only had the little one properly seen too as it was sooooooo painful and I couldn’t walk on it. Turns out I’d twisted it and had 4 fractures. Needed a boot for that one! Was also the only one I did in the UK.

tbh with the big toes, being abroad meant I just rested them and strapped it up. It healed but it clearly fragile.

Thanks for this! When you were wearing the crocs, did you feel that it was still painful or was it because there was less pressure wearing them? I have my super comfy pool sliders - just means I will be wearing blue shoes with every outfit 🤣

I feel I need to ask you if you still wear flip flops on your holidays because I sense a pattern here 🤣 I’m glad you have been OK though. Did you just continue on as you were when you broke them? I’ve had a sleep and it’s more swollen now so I’ve got it propped up just to rest it before we go out later

You should probably get it seen, big toes are different to other toes and can cause issues. You don’t want to wait until you get home as if it starts to heal the wrong way that will be worse.