Is this your symptom?
- Injury to the toe
- Injury to a bone, muscle, joint, or ligament
- Excluded: muscle pain caused by too much exercise or work (overuse). Covered in Toe Pain care guide.
Types of Toe Injuries
- Fractures are broken bones. Toe fractures can occur if the toes are stubbed against a hard object, such as a bed leg or rock. They can also happen if a heavy object is dropped onto the toes. The little toe can break by catching it on something when walking in bare feet. Fractures of the big toe can be very painful. They make it hard to walk, since the big toe bears a lot of weight when walking.
- Dislocations happen when a bone is pulled out of its a joint socket. Dislocation of the small toe joints can occur with toe injuries.
- Sprains are stretches and tears of ligaments. These often occur in sports injuries. Ligaments in the foot can pull away from the bone they are attached to.
- Strains are stretches and tears of muscles.
- Bruising can occur from a direct blow.
- Skin Injury examples are a cut, scratch, scrape or bruise.
- Nail injuries. These can occur from a direct blow which causes a bruise under the nail. They also happen from a nail being partly or fully torn from its nail bed. Pain may be severe.
Pain Scale
- Mild: you feel some pain. But, the pain does not keep you from your normal activities. Work, activities and sleep are not changed.
- Moderate: the pain keeps you from doing some normal activities. It may wake you up from sleep.
- Severe: the pain is very bad. It keeps you from doing all normal activities.
When to Call for Toe Injury
Go to ER Now
Call Doctor or Seek Care Now
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Contact Doctor Within 24 Hours
Contact Doctor During Office Hours
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Self Care at Home
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Go to ER Now
- Toe or toes have been crushed or amputated
- Bleeding that won't stop after 10 minutes of direct pressure
- Can't move the toe(s) at all
- A large or deep cut that may need stitches
- Puncture injury. An object (broken glass, nail) has gone into the skin.
Call Doctor or Seek Care Now
- Nail is torn or torn off
- Base of nail has popped out from under the skin fold
- Loss of feeling in any part of the toes
- Toe or toes are pale (could be from lack of blood flow)
- Skin is cut and No past tetanus shots
- Toe looks crooked or deformed (like a dislocated joint or bad fracture)
- Severe pain
- You think you need to be seen, and the problem is urgent
Contact Doctor Within 24 Hours
- Blood under the nail is causing more than mild pain
- Wound looks infected (spreading redness, red streaks)
- Increasing pain, redness or swelling around the wound
- Weak immune system. Examples are: diabetes, sickle cell disease, HIV, cancer, organ transplant, taking oral steroids, kidney problems.
- Very large bruise or swelling
- Dirty cut or hard to clean and no tetanus shot for more than 5 years
- Clean cut and no tetanus shot for more than 10 years
- Sudden increase in pain and/or swelling a few days after the injury
- You think you need to be seen, but the problem is not urgent
Contact Doctor During Office Hours
- Injury limits work, sports or other activities
- Pain lasts more than 2 weeks
- You have other questions or concerns
Self Care at Home
- Bruised toes from direct blow
- Minor toe injury
Care Advice for Stomach Pain
What You Should Know About Stomach Pain:
- Mild stomach pain can be caused by something simple. It could be from gas pains or eating too much.
- Sometimes, stomach pain signals the start of a viral infection. This will lead to vomiting or loose stools.
- Watching your child for 2 hours will help tell you the cause.
- Here is some care advice that should help.
Lie Down:
- Have your child lie down and rest until feeling better.
Clear Fluids:
- Offer clear fluids only (such as water, flat soft drinks or half-strength Gatorade).
- For mild pain, offer a regular diet.
Prepare for Vomiting:
- Keep a vomiting pan handy.
- Younger children often talk about stomach pain when they have nausea. Nausea is the sick stomach feeling that comes before they throw up.
Pass a Stool:
- Have your child sit on the toilet and try to pass a stool.
- This may help if the pain is from constipation or diarrhea.
- Note: for constipation, moving a warm wet cotton ball on the anus may help.
Do Not Give Medicines:
- Any drug (like ibuprofen) could upset the stomach and make the pain worse.
- Do not give any pain medicines or laxatives for stomach cramps.
- For fever higher than 102° F (39° C), acetaminophen (such as Tylenol) can be given.
What to Expect:
- With harmless causes, the pain is most often better or gone in 2 hours.
- With stomach flu, belly cramps may happen before each bout of vomiting or diarrhea. These cramps may come and go for a few days.
- With serious causes (such as appendicitis), the pain worsens and becomes constant.
Call Your Doctor If:
- Pain becomes severe
- Constant pain lasts more than 2 hours
- Mild pain that comes and goes lasts more than 24 hours
- You think your child needs to be seen
- Your child becomes worse
Extra Help - Worried Stomach:
- Help your child talk about events that trigger the stomach pain. Talk to your child about how to cope with these the next time around.
- Help your child worry less about things she can't control.
- To treat the pain, help your child get very relaxed. Lying down in a quiet place and taking slow deep breaths may help. Make the belly go up and down with each breath. Then try to relax all the muscles in the body. Think about something pleasant. Listening to audios that teach how to relax might also help.
- Make sure your child gets enough sleep.
- Make sure that your child doesn't miss any school because of stomach pains. Stressed children tend to want to stay home when the going gets rough.
- Caution: your child should see her doctor for an exam. Do this before concluding frequent stomach pains are from worrying too much.
