toe

[taxlady]

I went outside to enjoy some tea with swestrup this morning. I didn't bother to put on shoes. Suddenly one of my toes started to hurt something fierce. There was a red spot.

This just got worse as the day progressed. It didn't hurt most of the time, just with some movements. The red spot got bigger. The toe started swelling in a limited area. I got bitten by ants on my feet yesterday and wondered if it was some sort of reaction to that.

Eventually I called info-santé. The nurse couldn't figure out what it was. She said that if it was flesh eating disease, it would hurt all the time. I called three walk-in clinics. Two were closed, so we went to StatCare. By the time we got there, they weren't taking patients. So, we gave up. We were going to go to supper at a friend's house and she is a doctor, so we figured that's good enough.

I showed the toe to my friend. By then the red spot was much larger, but it looked like a bruise. I remembered that I had stubbed a toe earlier in the day. She agreed that it looked like a bruise and might be a broken toe. I can't believe that I am relieved that I have a broken toe. At least it isn't a mystery. I might go to the clinic tomorrow. There isn't much they do for a broken toe.

Comments

[joenotcharles.livejournal.com]

Is there swelling around the red spot? Gout usually starts in the toes, and sometimes the swollen part gets red. And it definitely only hurts when you move, because it's a joint problem - when I first got diagnosed, I thought I had broken my toe.

[taxlady.livejournal.com]

You know, the nurse at info-santé actually mentioned gout as a possibility. She said that it often starts very suddenly, but that it is usually the big toe.

There was a bit of swelling, but it wasn't in the red part. And, the red turned to purplish bruise appearance. It's my middle toe. I taped it to the ones on either side and that helps. I will probably go see my own doctor at her walk in clinic Tuesday.

What do you do about gout?

[joenotcharles.livejournal.com]

For prevention, mostly you're supposed to change your diet, which hasn't worked for me. I've had several doctors tell me, "Just don't eat red meat, and you'll be fine." I've cut out red meat entirely for long periods and then suddenly had a gout attack out of nowhere, and then at other times I've gone for months eating lots of hamburgers and had no problems. There are sites with lots of other dietary recommendations, but none of them have worked for me. (That is, I haven't been able to find a specific trigger. I'll have a gout attack and think, "The only thing odd about my diet is that I ate a lot of sushi last weekend, and fish is on the list - I'll try cutting out fish." And then eat no fish for a month and then have another gout attack.) Once I get over my current bout, I'm going to start keeping a food journal so I can keep track in a systematic manner instead of guessing.

Once you actually have an attack, they'll give you a prescription for anti-inflammatories, which for me clears it up in 2-3 days. I take Naproxen, and after having a history of several attacks per year for several years they gave me a refillable perscription so I don't have to drag myself to the doctor for every attack.

Did they take any blood while you were there? When I got diagnosed they needed to do a blood test to confirm it.

[taxlady.livejournal.com]

I didn't get to see a doctor. The clinic was taking any more patients at 15h30 - they close at 18h o_O

The nurse with whom I spoke was at info-santé - 811. I won't see my own doctor 'til Tuesday. She might take blood. She might give me a referral for an X-ray.

[skjalm.livejournal.com]

The only thing that's worse than suffering from some kind of illness is not knowing which illness it is!

Hope it heals up soon!