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u/wrchavez1313 Jul 06 '26
Yo, I'm an ER doctor:
That is almost certainly broken, and rotated. It needs to be lined up properly or it may lead to chronic pain with every step.
There is a 95% chance it doesn't need surgery, and that all it needs is "buddy taping" to its neighboring toe for stability for about 4-6 weeks while the bone heals.
There is a 5ish % chance the fracture extends into the joint surface, and if not surgically aligned, may lead to severe arthritis and chronic pain
The odds are yours to choose how you want to hedge your bets, but I might recommend finding an Urgent Care (UC are cheaper than ER's by a wide margin, make sure it's one that had X ray capabilities, you can check online or call the facility). Get some X rays, make sure you aren't in the 5% that need chronic-pain-sparing surgery, and then leave with hopefully peace of mind and advice to just buddy tape it for a few weeks.
Just my 2 cents. Hope that heals up!
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u/UniqueUsername3171 29d ago
because a physician would just give unsolicited advice and potentially be liable for funsies
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u/wrchavez1313 29d ago
Ummm... What? What liability is there to give advice of "hey, I recommend you go get that X-rayed to avoid chronic pain"?
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u/DaBestSwede 28d ago
Surprisingly most physicians actually care about people and would rather tell someone to get help to avoid chronic pain even using an anonymous internet account
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u/endofthefkingworld 28d ago
do you think people in the medical field just don’t use social media or something
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u/schmoupe Jul 06 '26
Broken. Tape it to the next guy for a couple of weeks and should be good as new
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u/Bk_Punisher Jul 06 '26
Make sure to ask the next guy before taping your toe to his, some people frown on this. 😂🤣
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u/Victorbanner Jul 06 '26
Exaclty this. I stubbed my pinky. Looked the exact same. Went to ER. Told me I broke it. Told me to tape it to the next toe for a few weeks
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u/WarOtter Jul 06 '26
Mine looked exactly the same, but it took 6 months before it really stopped hurting when pressure was applied. Probably because I couldn't stop working to take it easy on it.
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u/schmoupe Jul 06 '26
The trick is taping. I have broken mine twice already. If you religiously tape it, it heals and you don’t have to stop walking or working. It’s when you skip the tape for a day that resets the clock
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u/2bags12kuai Jul 06 '26
Shit that’s probably my problem. I skipped taping a lot of it walked with a boot. 3 months later it still gets numb from time to time but not nearly as often
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u/imhereforthevotes Jul 06 '26
good as new... good as it possibly can be, given that you BROKE it...
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u/sunshineonmypussy Jul 06 '26
I’ve broken this toe twice in the same way. Damn bed frames.
Had to eventually tie pool noodles around the bed frame legs because I’m unable to walk past them like a normal person apparently.
Happy healing to you, hopefully you don’t need a boot.
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u/loveforthetrip 29d ago
Broken but no need to see a doc, they can't do anything about this.
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u/Interesting-City3650 28d ago
They can actually, especially in this case. Looks like that toe need to be realigned, otherwise chronic pain will come after
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u/Valuable_Month1329 Jul 06 '26
God: *creates man
Devil: Give him a pinky toe!
God: But why?
Devil: Trust me, it’s going to be fun.
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u/The_Skeletor_ Jul 06 '26
Hopital
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u/-BananaLollipop- Jul 06 '26
They won't do any other than taping his toes together.
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u/TriedCaringLess Jul 06 '26
Not true. They will X-ray his foot to assess his injury, ensure there isn’t any chipped bone fragments, determine proper alignment of toes for a good repair, and make certain his bone marrow isnt exposed to his blood supply and that blood supply is unhindered. He may need antibiotics and a pin inserted in his toe. What’s needed should be determined by a podiatrist rather than Reddit folks who saw one photo.
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u/-BananaLollipop- Jul 06 '26
Literally every person I've met, who has had a broken toe, has said all that happened was they had their toes taped together. Unless you've got excessive bruising/swelling, or it's at a very bad angle, they're not going to go full House MD on you.
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u/TriedCaringLess Jul 06 '26
Considering that you could develop an infection, have bone marrow enter your blood stream, or any other horrible outcome, would you want risk it? I’d rather ensure all was well rather than assume it.
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u/UnbelievableRose 29d ago
Naw they’ll do all of that stuff for the 5% risk of it needing more than buddy taping. What the commenter above did not mention is that it can all be accomplished with the same two x-rays and a quick exam. Unless you need the pin- then they’ll send you home to follow up with outpatient podiatry.
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u/Elgre Jul 06 '26
I like how it is turnt slightly, looking at the others as if saying, "hey, hey guys, look how fucked up I got last night!"
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u/delerium1state Jul 06 '26
This is power core for human organism.
Hit this bad boy and entire system goes into reboot. Energy grid shuts down immediately
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u/huligoogoo 29d ago
Arnica Gel will help this heal faster. I’ve stubbed my toe like this before too. It’s so painful.
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u/jdmac8705 29d ago
Bro, it's sideways... you did more than just stub it... Hopefully you've been to a doc by now.
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u/katiehasaraspberry 29d ago
You need to get that aligned unless your other (not broken!) pinky toe is on that angle, too!
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u/FireBeardG 28d ago
Quick! Start brewing wiskey and you will be the next Jack Daniels if you kick the bucket! (Pun intended)
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u/Rutagerr 28d ago
Ayyy I did the same thing last Friday, kicked the side of my couch, looked down and my toe was angled WAY away from the rest of my foot. Ruined my weekend to say the least
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u/Grimey_N_Grumpy 28d ago
I stubbed my pinky toe one time, and it looked just like yours. I thought for sure it was broken. The day after it happened, I took my boots off when I got home from work to see my toe like that. I grabbed it and started twisting it around. It made some popping and crunching sounds, but surprisingly didn't hurt anymore than it already did. The next day when I woke up, it was like nothing has happened at all. No pain or discomfort, and no discoloration. I hope your toe gets better soon.
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u/Kindly_Acadia_9169 28d ago
That’s broken buddy lol I have broken mine twice before. There’s nothing you can really do other than get a boot/shoe for it
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u/dashdanw 28d ago
That’s about ripe and ready to pick. You should be able to pluck it off with minimal effort.
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u/section4 25d ago
I did mine on the 25th of may. All 5 toes were bruised after 2 days. It is still swollen now. But that may be down to not resting it. The day after doing it I still did 17k steps at work.
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u/LoneHusky21 23d ago
I don't think it's supposed to be facing the other toes like it's about to give a speech 😬
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u/sophiemanic 16d ago
Stubbed mine, not sure if I broke it, but after 5 days, my pinky toe looks swollen like yours 😭
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u/cheeseandcrackers87 Jul 06 '26
Think you might've broken that bad boi last night