Hi everyone!
Unfortunetly whilst rushing to the changing room for an emergency drill, I have stubbed my toe whilst wearing sneakers on a metal door frame. Initially i've felt the pain but I guess due to the adrenaline it took me a while to notice I might have fracture, most likely a crack in the knucle of my toe.
At the time I am writing this it has been 12 hours since the accident. I have applied ice indirectly every 2h for 20minutes on the toe and I am keeping my toe above my heart,at rest as much as I can.
Unfortunetly , I have watch duties and I can not take time off nor do I have the chance to see a clinic ashore for at least a week. I would like some advice on how to best manage this and make sure I do the best to help it heal. What type of shoe should i wear ? I have tried using crocs or even flip flops but they seem to cause more pain and movement on the fracture than a sneaker or hard soled boot which allow me to use my weight on my heel as I walk. Would a safety shoe with reinforced steel toe be suitable? I can get those a few sizes bigger so that i can wear them throught my duty and protect the area in some form of poor man's cast.
The toe looks in relatively good condition, there is some bruising that showed after about 6 hours and some swelling on the bottom of my toe(sole side). It does not show any kind of deformity, i have checked carefully against my other big toe and it looks as straight as it should be, and there is a degree of mobility to it also(however i will of course avoid moving it)
Would a makeshift splint on the exterior side of my toe help? In the meantime i will continue to RICE as much as I can. My main worry right now is making sure i use the right type of shoe whilst on duty that. I will visit a clinic as soon as the situation allows. Should i use ibuprofen? Any advice is welcome , thank you very much for your time!