I was stung on the top of my foot by a stingray a couple of weeks ago in the Gulf in Florida- the pain from the puncture wound was bad, but the pain from the venom an hour later was excrutiating. Here is a summary of treatment:
12/29 - sting- treated by soaking in hot water to neutralize venom, took codeine for extreme pain
12/30- went to urgent care clinic- got tetnus shot, antibiotics (10 days) and steroid pack
Back in Tennesse, 1/3- went to podiatrist due to pain in walking- she took x-rays and said the barb was not stuck in my foot, that the bones were okay but assumed that a tendon was probably damaged from the puncture- she suggested staying off of it for 4 more days
1/8 I'd retruned to work on the 7th, foot was pretty swollen and red,school nurse suggested I see a DR- went to a nurse practitioner at a walk in clinic- foot is infected around wound - got 7 more days of antibiotics and a steroid shot
Today 1/15- foot still swollen, soreness and pain, some numbness and poor movement of toes- went back to the nurse practitioner- she gave me an anti-inflammatory and wrapped the foot for compression- she felt around injury and could tell the tendon is damaged- we talked about that I needed to see a podiatrist again- so I have an appointment for Thursday.
My question is- what will the podiatrist do? How much should I be on my feet? I have tried to research this but really have just found info on ankle tendons- not those on the top of the foot- The puncture from the stingray went in about an inch (or so it felt). Do I need an MRI? if the tendon is severed can it repair itself without surgery?
I am a 42 year old female teacher with 2 teenagers- it is my right foot. I have been walking on it in crocs some and have been back to work a few days now. When I am home I keep it elevated. It is swollen even when I wake up in the morning. There is a raised purplish area around the wound bt it is no longer infected. It hurts on the inside of my foot. I am limping around.
Any advice anyone could give me would be greatly appreciated- when I got stung I had no idea it would be such a big deal- thanks!