How can a toothpick do so much damage?

[tastylancs]

Not sure what to do about this... just after midnight I trod on a toothpick, felt a sudden pain where toe meets foot. Put foot down and realised I couldn't put weight on it and was hobbling around till guests left half an hour later. DH checked foot, said oooh yes there's been a trauma there and put sudacrem on - we have young DC, sudacrem goes on everything.

Then 4am I was woken by pain extending from my toe, still can't put foot down without horrid pain. Constant dull ache in one toe. So.... what could I possibly have done? Should I bother a doctor with it or just take painkillers? No NYD walk for me. 😤

Any swelling or bruising?

I can only see top of foot. The painful toe does look a little swollen but not too bad. Just doesn't correspond to the pain I'm feeling!

Is there a bit of toothpick stuck in there?

I don't normally say this but head to A+E.

You may have some toothpick embedded

DH couldn't see anything but I will ask him to check again when he wakes up. And then ask him to take me to the walk in while he takes DC to Asda for breakfast. Oh the glamour. Hmm wonder if Asda is open today?

if you press your flesh in the region where it went in, does the pain suddenly become sharp? if so then yes a splinter is still inside somewhere. if not then it might be that the wound is infected - you may need some antibiotics. agree with pp you need medical assistance either way.

Pea yes the does suddenly become sharp. Ok thanks very much for the replies, that's clarified in my head what I need to do. Going to wait for everyone to wake up though. Hello 2019!

Tasty, I had similar only in the garden & with something metal. Foot very swollen & painful. I went to the walk-in unit. Had an x-ray, anti tetanus jab (maybe not necessary in your case) & the wound was thoroughly cleaned & dressed. Job done! Hope your foot is OK.

Call 111 and they will try and find you an out of hours appointment. It sounds painful but not an emergency. I would feel stupid going to a&e on one of the busiest days of the year saying 'I stood on a tooth pick and my toe hurts'

Yes, get DP to check for leftover bits of toothpick. Did you look at the toothpick afterwards? You might be able to tell if any of it broke off, if you still have it to check.

In future, something like savlon would be better than sudocrem, as it's antiseptic.

Take some paracetamol

In fact on second thoughts, if this was me even 111 would be a stretch.

Guaranteed if you just take some anti inflammatories and put your foot up you'll be fine.

Get someone to take the splinter out (if there is one) with some tweezers.

magnesium sulphate can help to draw a splinter out of a wound. ask for it at a pharmacy.

Well I'm soooo glad I went to the walk in! I had half a toothpick still inside my foot! They nearly gave me a GA but then decided to remove under LA. Incredibly painful but it's sorted. I've had a tetanus booster and am on antibiotics. Thanks for all your advice.

So glad you went and got it sorted OP. Make sure you rest!