does sprained ankle require a dr. visit?

[tmarie]

surely it does not, right?

need a good laugh? i am SUCH a klutz. last night i was trying to break in my new heels to wear to tomorrow's interview, when i slipped and went flying, landing on my ankle. it bruised instantly and was very painful. i iced, elevated and took aleve. this morning i could walk on it with pain...but i doubt anyone noticed a limp. this afternoon it kills. i'm icing and elevating again. it's swollen, but not to the point my shoes don't fit, thank goodness! :)

tmarie

[elephantmeg]

not if you're sure it's a sprain. Ace wrap it as well. RICE: rest, ice, compression, elevation. Hope you feel better

[TwinFoxes]

Are you sure it's a sprain? My DH won't let his mom forget the time he "sprained" his ankle. They didn't take him to the doctor's for a week. Yeah, it was fractured.

[Tondi G]

I sprained my ankle really bad about 4 years ago. I ended up going to the doctor cause it got so swollen and I was unable to walk on it. X-ray showed it wasn't broken and I was sent home told to elevate, take ibuprofen and stay off of it. I had to use crutches for a few days. It was tough being home with a baby who wasn't walking yet! Within a week I was back in the doctors to re-check and she was amazed that I was walking around on it based on how much pain I was in at the first visit. When you are a mommy to 2 small children you can only deal with crutches for so long and then you gotta get back up on your feet!

[tmarie]

Are you sure it's a sprain? My DH won't let his mom forget the time he "sprained" his ankle. They didn't take him to the doctor's for a week. Yeah, it was fractured.

this is what i'm afraid of...only because it hurts so much and looks so gruesome. can't have crutches for an interview though...i'll get through tomorrow and then reevaluate i guess.

[wimama]

Yes, it warrants a doctors visit.

[KrisM]

I sprained mine in Dec and it still hurts now. But, I did get xrays and an aircast. They wanted crutches, but I couldn't figure out how I'd do that with young kids, so we went with the cast.

[tmarie]

I sprained mine in Dec and it still hurts now. But, I did get xrays and an aircast. They wanted crutches, but I couldn't figure out how I'd do that with young kids, so we went with the cast.

Wow. Thank you for sharing. Did you go to get it checked right away? I just called my dr and they recommended I come in for a check, then they would send me to get an xray at the hospital, then they would refer me to an ortho if necessary. I hate the idea of going to all of those places with my poor 18mo in toe, and racking up all those bills.

Is it crazy to go straight to the ER for a sprained ankle/potential fracture?

[Penny's Pappa]

Is it crazy to go straight to the ER for a sprained ankle/potential fracture?

I did that a couple years ago when I sprained mine real bad (it still "pops" painfully every now and again). I don't think that's unreasonable at all, and if your family doc is going to recommend you get X-rays (which he/she will), you might as well cut out the middle man and hit the ER.

[crl]

You might also see if there are any urgent care places with x-ray machines. I went to one for my toe (the pain was radiating up my foot and I wanted to make sure I hadn't broken something in my foot) and they were able to x-ray there. I'm sure my wait was a lot shorter than it would have been at an ER.

Catherine

[mamicka]

You might also see if there are any urgent care places with x-ray machines. I went to one for my toe (the pain was radiating up my foot and I wanted to make sure I hadn't broken something in my foot) and they were able to x-ray there. I'm sure my wait was a lot shorter than it would have been at an ER.

Catherine

:yeahthat: This happened to me back in Sept. I would get it checked now to make sure you don't need any intervention for it to heal properly. Best to find out sooner rather than later.

Sorry about your ankle! :hug:

[Tondi G]

Wow. Thank you for sharing. Did you go to get it checked right away? I just called my dr and they recommended I come in for a check, then they would send me to get an xray at the hospital, then they would refer me to an ortho if necessary. I hate the idea of going to all of those places with my poor 18mo in toe, and racking up all those bills.

Is it crazy to go straight to the ER for a sprained ankle/potential fracture?

if you go to the ER they can do the xray but if it warrants an air cast or is fractured they will more than likely send you to an orthopedic surgeon to follow up anyways. I second the rec for trying to find an urgent care rather than ER if you can!

[nov04]

For me, no. For the kids, yes. I (and they) can't tell how badly they're hurt.

In gr. 4, I broke my finger during tag. My teacher assumed it was sprained and I was at school in moderate pain all day as my parents weren't called. My parents let the school know in no uncertain terms they were to be notified next time anything like that ever happened again.