A bruise of the toes is one of the most common domestic injuries, familiar to everyone without exception. Under the injury is meant damage to soft tissues: skin, ligaments and muscles. Among the causes are falls, occasional hits on hard surfaces or objects, dropping a heavy object onto the leg.
Under these circumstances, combined injuries are possible when bruises are accompanied by dislocations, fractures or cracks in the bones, including the bones of the metatarsus. Injuries to the toes are very painful and can interfere with normal movement, so the victim must provide first aid.
Content
- 1Symptoms
- 2First aid with bruises
- 3Treatment of a bruised toe
Symptoms
The severity of the symptoms of a finger injury on the leg depends on the degree of its severity.With mild damage, subcutaneous tissue is damaged, sometimes without compromising the integrity of the skin.
Injury is accompanied by sharp pain, the damaged joint swells quickly, but the overall health does not change significantly.
In more severe cases, violations of the mobility of the injured finger are observed, in addition to the edema, a hematoma develops.If the blow fell on the nail phalanx, damage to the nail plate and the formation of a bruise under the nail is possible.
The damaged nail plate exfoliates, eventually replaced with a new one and disappears. In some cases, hemorrhages may occur in the joint cavity.Pain calms down within a few hours after injury, swelling at the same time increases.
With a strong injury, deeper layers of skin and muscles are damaged. The pain hampers movement, the hematoma usually appears on the second day after the incident that caused the injury.
Symptoms of injury and toe fracture are very similar, it is impossible to distinguish these injuries from the intensity of pain.However, with a bruise, the finger retains mobility and a natural position. A possible fracture indicates a crunch at the time of injury and when trying to move a damaged finger.
At the same time, mobility after trauma does not exclude the possibility of a crack on the bone in the area of damage, therefore it is better to contact the trauma doctor as soon as possible to clarify the diagnosis and the appointment of the appropriate treatment.
First aid with bruises
First aid in case of a toe injury is not fundamentally different from the first aid for trauma accompanied by tissue damage.The injured finger should be immobilized and urgently applied cold to relieve pain, to restrain the development of edema and bruises.For these purposes, any cold object that is at hand: a bottle of water, a piece of ice, metal objects.
Cold compress should be applied within the first 10-12 hours after injury. Effective is a light massage with an ice cube, which should be repeated hourly for at least 10-15 minutes. This procedure can not be carried out to people suffering from diabetes, since the cold narrows the blood vessels and aggravates the existing circulatory difficulties.
If the nail of the thumb is damaged as a result of the blow, it must be carefully fixed with adhesive plaster. With minor damages, the nail plate can grow, if this does not happen for a few days, the cut piece should be cut with a manicure scissors.
On the injured finger should be imposed a tight bandage, which will limit its mobility and stop the development of edema.In this case, the dressing should not be too tight and prevent blood circulation.
With very severe pain, you can take an anesthetic, better from a group of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, for example, ibuprofen, diclofenac or orthophene, and then always seek qualified help.
Treatment of a bruised toe
Treatment of a bruise of the little finger or other finger on the leg is not a difficult process, in the simplest cases it is enough to follow the doctor's recommendations, and the trauma will pass by itself without serious consequences.
In severe pain, the doctor may prescribe an anesthetic drug in tablets or an ointment containing non-steroidal anti-inflammatory components.Among the most commonly used -ketanol, ibuprofen, analgin, solpadeinetc.
Half a day after the injury, you can use external means in the form of a gel or ointment.In such cases, doctors recommenddiclac-gel, voltaren, indometacin ointment, diclofenac-gel.These drugs normalize the capillary circulation which helps to relieve swelling of the puffiness and other manifestations of inflammation.
During the day after the injury, it is advisable to refrain from walking and spend as much time as possible lying or sitting.After removing acute symptoms, you need to provide the injured limb with the maximum rest and try not to go outside the house, because the shoes will cause pain and recovery processes slow down. During the rehabilitation period, it is recommended to wear shoes with a hard soles and with open toes.
When the edema completely subsides, the physician can prescribe physiotherapeutic treatment, as a rule, this is dry heat.
If the blow was not strong and there is no suspicion of a fracture, then there is a home for treating a bruise on the leg.A compress made of fresh plantain leaves is very effective.The leaves are ground into a gruel and applied to the affected area. The compress should be changed every 3 hours.
Instead of plantain, you can takepowder sponges,mix it with water until the consistency of sour cream, apply on the affected area and bandage the finger. The bandage is changed every 12 hours.
For compresses you can use potatoes cooked in a uniform.Welded potatoes must be kneaded, allowed to cool slightly, wrapped in gauze and attached to the damaged finger for 4 hours. After the indicated period, the bandage should be replaced. On the injured nail plates potato compresses do not impose.
A compress made from a decoction of marigold is effective.On the surface of the sore spot, iodine mesh can be applied. Any warming compresses can be done no earlier than a day after the injury, otherwise they will only aggravate the condition of the victim.
With the external frivolity of injury completely rely on one's own strength is undesirable. Bruising your toe is a good reason to contact a traumatologist to avoid possible more serious injuries.
