I managed to break my pinky toe back in the early spring of this year by whacking it against a doorframe. It hurt a heck of a lot a for long after it should have stopped, looked vaguely swollen and purplish, and really, really hurt if I tried flexing it, so we went off to the urgent care center. They eventually x-rayed it and determined that it had a hairline fracture, so they taped it to the neighboring one and gave me a so-called orthopedic shoe, by which they meant a crappy flip-flop too small for my giant feet despite being the biggest one they had, and which cost $48 because it was "medical", though my insurance refused to pay for it because they claimed they didn't cover orthopedic devices. (After six months of arguing back and forth, the claim got dropped.)
Anyway, there was nothing magical about the taping. They even expected the tape to fall off and told me to replace it, using ordinary surgical / bandage tape you can get at your supermarket. It's just a matter of gently holding it in place against the neighboring toe so it doesn't heal crooked.
Even then, by the time you get to hospital it's too late. Bones start to knit within twenty minutes of breaking. That's why they always have ambulance guys at soccer and rugby matches, so they can push your broken nose back into (sort of) the right place straight away - I even did it for myself once.
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regna
(no subject)
Date: 2009-12-07 06:42 am (UTC)Anyway, there was nothing magical about the taping. They even expected the tape to fall off and told me to replace it, using ordinary surgical / bandage tape you can get at your supermarket. It's just a matter of gently holding it in place against the neighboring toe so it doesn't heal crooked.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-12-07 01:21 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-12-07 03:29 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-12-07 04:51 pm (UTC)I was just glad I didn't faint :)
(no subject)
Date: 2009-12-07 03:28 pm (UTC)