How to relieve pain from bruised toe caused by door slam?

[eaeaea]

I was coming in from outside and my little nephew was without shoes from the inside really close to the door. I opened the door with a fast swing and I hit his little foot. His little middle toe was instantly purple... I put cold water for a while and he is now running outside as if nothing happened. His little toe is so purple, I don't know if that's dangerous our not.. is there anything to make it go away? and at times he says "owie owie owie" and holds his foot, but then goes right back to playing.

He's only 2 years old and I'm scared. :(

[aMuse]

He probably has a sprained toe. A professor of mine who is also a podiatrist once told me that you don't break your toes from jamming them, it is almost always broken from a chopping action from above like something heave falling on them. Anyway, sprains are injury in a joint, caused by the ligament being stretched beyond its capacity. This would lead to a lot of bruising . To treat a sprained toe do the following.

Rest—Avoid using the injured toe.

Ice—Apply ice or a cold pack to your toe for 15 to 20 minutes, four times a day for 2 to 3 days or until the pain goes away. Wrap the ice or cold pack in a towel. Do not apply the ice directly to your skin.

Compression—If the injured toe is the big toe, wrap a two-inch elastic compression bandage around it. Put several wraps around the big toe and then include the rest of the forefoot within the bandage. This will limit swelling of your big toe. Other toes cannot be effectively compressed with a bandage. It is important not to cut off blood circulation to your toe or any body part when using such wraps – do not make them very tight.

Elevation—Keep the injured foot raised above the level of your heart for 48 hours (such as up on a pillow). This will help drain fluid and reduce swelling.

Protection—Wear a shoe with a stiff sole to help protect the injured toe.

Good luck with the little guy, miss vampire. =P

[aMuse]

*heavy

[eaeaea]

Thank you so much. Makes me feel a little better reading this, hoping I didn't break it. I feel awful thinking it.. :(

and thank you for the tips. I'm not vampire... >_<

[aMuse]

Well what's your name then? =)

[eaeaea]

Awesome. :]

[aMuse]

You called? Yeah I know I'm awesome, but what's your name again? =P

[eaeaea]

haha you are crazy. I'm going to sleep..

sincerely... Awesome.

[aMuse]

Cold. I knew you were a vampire. =D

[eaeaea]

Haha. Good morning! to you!

[Inq100]

Your nephew most likely had a toe sprain. The best course of action is to take him to a doctor. This kind of injury requires an examination by a professional to avoid complications in the future.

See the article

Toe Sprain by Laurie LaRusso, MS, ELS

link

The article contains self-care tips.

[eaeaea]

Well, he fell asleep now and said he has no pain... but the bruise is really purple. His mommy will probably take him to the doctor if it's needed. I would think he would still be in pain if he needed to go? I feel horrible.

[Inq100]

Please, don't feel horrible. It was an accident. It can happen to anyone, anywhere. Make sure you read the article. It contains the necessary guidelines. The doctor's advice is highly recommended because you can't possibly tell what's happened inside the toe. A X-ray or MRI will be ordered if necessary by the doctor. A blood vessel was ruptured and the blood entered the surrounding tissue. That explains the color. Don't be afraid, call his mom and tell her what happened. Everything will be fine.

[eaeaea]

Yes, I did read the article. Thank u.

[DandelionGirl]

Kids are very resilient at his age, but if its a huge concern to you, you should take him to the pediatrician and she/he can tell you exactly what to do. But make him put cold ice on it and wrap a band aid around it, the long one that looks like material...I seem to have forgotten the name..ggr.

But I'm sorry about what happened, I hope he feels better soon.

[eaeaea]

thank you. :(

[sfauo]

He should be fine, but probably would be best to have put ice on it for half an hour and for him to definitely not be running around. It'll probably hurt more later on, so if needs it you can give him some Ibuprofen or other pain meds for young children.

A hit like that will leave the toe purple for a while, but as long as it's not broken, he'll be ok!

[eaeaea]

Oh, Thank you. The purple color has me worried. I didn't put ice because I thought that would hurt more for some reason... idk.. OK I will put some ice on it... thank u!

[sfauo]

Yeah the purple is from the swelling, completely normal. I doubt you swung it hard enough to break anything so it's just been jammed.

The ice is for the swelling to go down, plus will relief him a bit. If he keeps running around, it'll only hurt more so make him sit tight for a while.

And you're welcome, just be careful next time :)

[eaeaea]

Thank you for the info! :) I hope he's better tomorrow, he went to sleep.