broken toe... need advice on how to tape it

Last night, I dropped a VERY heavy fireplace tool and it landed right on the bottom joint of the toe next to my big toe.  It  is now very swollen and the whole toe and part of the top of my foot is bruised.  It hurts to touch it or try to move it, but it does wiggle a bit.  I broke a toe... verified by an xray... a number of years ago (same foot, actually), so I am pretty sure it is broken, but I also know that they wont do anything except tape it to the next toe... which I can do myself.

I taped it to the next toe before I went to work this morning (thank goodness for casual Fridays or I would have had trouble finding shoes to wear), but the joint is really swollen now so the toe is curled with that joint sticking up higher than the rest of the toes/ I'm not sure whether it is better taped or not (it hurts either way), but if I do leave it taped, should I make any attempt to straighten the curl or just leave it be until the swelling goes down?

Lora

It is best to tape a toe above and below the joint that is broke and taped with the toe that is next to it..Make sure you keep circulation flowing thru it tho..If it gets to swollen to put in shoe you should go in. Also, dont tape to the big toe :)

along with taping, wear hard soled shoes ... but if it is broken at the foot you have to be careful about if the break extends to the bones of your foot.
Be prepared for 3-6 weeks of dealing with it though (and you know that will be the toe that finds the wall or bed post at night!)

Or the toe the 65-pound dog steps on, LOL!

Yes, I remember that the other one took a LONG time to heal.  I don't think the foot is at all invloved because it isn't tender to the touch at all... just the toe itself.

Lora

 I've broken both of my big toes and only once did he cast the one break, but it was a splinter break and to other breaks in the bone.  The bone specialist gave me a partial cast to wear for a couple days.  

When I broke the big toe on the other foot, he didn't do anything, not even tape.  Unless you can tape the toe in a totally normal position I don't know if taping is the best solution for it.  just protect it from more damage.

Gypsy

p.s I broke both my toes by falling down the stairs two separate times...my mama should have named me grace

I have to tell you, my mother was the queen of klutz and broke her toes more times than I can even count.  No kidding.

Anyhow, what she use to do was simply put some gauze padding around the broken toe and tape it to the one next to it. 

The first time she broke it, she went to the doctor and he essentially told her there was nothing they could do for it, and to simply tape it to the one next to it for support.  And this is what she did from that time forward every single time she broke the damn things, which was a lot. 

Hope you feel better soon!!!

Yes, that's what I did to it this morning since that was what they did when I broke the other one years ago.  Two broken toes is enough for me for one lifetime.  I feel silly hobbling around, but it hurts!  I guess I should be thankful that I am only putting 150 pounds of weight on it these days instead of 330 pounds!

Lora

" I guess I should be thankful that I am only putting 150 pounds of weight on it these days instead of 330 pounds!"

Amen!

I have been so accident prone my whole life and being overweight on sprained ankles, busted knees and broken toes is hell.. not to mention when crutches are involved. Maybe I won't be so prone to getting hurt once I lose the extra weight but at least if I do get hurt I won't have to hobble around with a whole extra person on my back!

Hope your toe feels better soon!

If it is sticking up at an odd angle, I think you might need to see an orthopedist. I had a broken toe last year but it was laying straight. After hobbling around, I finally went to the doctor he told me it was past the time where anything needed to be done but I should wear very supportive shoes like cross trainers or running shoes to help support the toe.

I know it can be painful. I once dropped a full jug of Tide liquid detergent right on top of my foot. That really hurt too. I hope you feel better soon.

normally I would say just tape it to the toe next to it but if you are saying it curling in the wrong direction, I think you need to see an orthopedist to make sure the bone didn't break all the way through and need to adjusted back into place.  If you just leave it in this case, it will heal ultimately but in a deformed manner,