Broken finger?

OL, I think I'd call my pediatrician straight away and describe what's happened. You never know. I bet your doctor will give you the right advice based on what you say.

A few years back, Alex was snowboarding and injured his arm and we waited, just thinking it was bruised. It was broken.

Just picked Sam up early from school. She called and said she thought she broke her finger. She closed one of her fingers in her locker...rt index to be exact. It's a little swollen, we have ice on it but she's not moving it. I'm thinking it might just be really bruised and I'm sure it hurts but wouldn't she be in ALOT of pain it it were broken? I'm trying to wait this out a little before rushing off the the ER.

Y'all may remember a couple of years ago when she closed 3 fingers in the van door...nothing broken at that time but the dr burned holes in her finger nails to relieve the pressure. No nail caught this time it's the knuckle are.

I just don't want to spend the whole night there for nothing.

I'd do what you're doing - wait a bit, see how it goes. You most likely will have to go to the dr for an xray anyway. There's no other way to know. You might even be able to wait 'til tomorrow morning (avoiding the late night ER). But even it's badly bruised, it will still feel about the same as a broken finger. It will swell too.

Good luck.

mermaid and I cross posted at the same time -
See what the dr. says. To be safe, he will have you bring her in and then have it xrayed anyway. And this is coming from a mom whose son has broken the same arm 3 times!

My parents always told me that if I could move my finger/toe, it wasn't broken and it would feel better when it stopped hurting. ;-)

Don't know about small bones like fingers (I always go for the gold and break big ones), but generally if it's broken you'll know based on how much it hurts within a short time/your experience with her pain threshold.

Since it's a finger, maybe you can skip the ER and see your regular Dr?

Per WebMD:
Broken Finger Symptoms

Broken fingers rarely go unnoticed. Frequently, you have immediate pain after trauma and sometimes a deformed finger either at a joint (commonly a dislocation) or through the bone as a fracture. If there is no deformity, a sharp pain usually is felt very specifically at the injury site and will get your attention.

* Sometimes you are not really sure if the finger is truly broken, and you try to bend the finger in question. A true fracture usually will be painful, but do not be fooled by a finger that has some range of motion and dull pain. Fractures are common. Depending on their stability, some may hurt more than others.

* As time goes on, usually within the next 5-10 minutes, you will notice swelling and redness of the finger. The finger will become very swollen and stiff to move. Swelling is not as specific as pain and therefore may affect the adjacent fingers as well.

* If the fracture is severe, bruising from released blood may be seen.

* Finally, if the swelling gets too massive, numbness of the finger may occur because the nerves in the fingers are compressed.

My parents always told me that if I could move my finger/toe, it wasn't broken and it would feel better when it stopped hurting. ;-)

Don't know about small bones like fingers (I always go for the gold and break big ones), but generally if it's broken you'll know based on how much it hurts within a short time/your experience with her pain threshold.

Since it's a finger, maybe you can skip the ER and see your regular Dr?

Per WebMD:
Broken Finger Symptoms

Broken fingers rarely go unnoticed. Frequently, you have immediate pain after trauma and sometimes a deformed finger either at a joint (commonly a dislocation) or through the bone as a fracture. If there is no deformity, a sharp pain usually is felt very specifically at the injury site and will get your attention.

* Sometimes you are not really sure if the finger is truly broken, and you try to bend the finger in question. A true fracture usually will be painful, but do not be fooled by a finger that has some range of motion and dull pain. Fractures are common. Depending on their stability, some may hurt more than others.

* As time goes on, usually within the next 5-10 minutes, you will notice swelling and redness of the finger. The finger will become very swollen and stiff to move. Swelling is not as specific as pain and therefore may affect the adjacent fingers as well.

* If the fracture is severe, bruising from released blood may be seen.

* Finally, if the swelling gets too massive, numbness of the finger may occur because the nerves in the fingers are compressed.

The Dr will usually just send you to get it x-rayed so I've learned not to even bother there. Swelling seems to be down and I put a splint on it. She's doing her homework now without too much of a problem.

Thanks for the article..I was looking for something like that.

sorry ol - i don't break bones, i just manage to cut myself all the time. or staple myself (yes i've done this) or burn myself. i'm a bit of a klutz

splint and tape it to another finger.

where is that skunky when you need him?

The Dr will usually just send you to get it x-rayed so I've learned not to even bother there. Swelling seems to be down and I put a splint on it. She's doing her homework now without too much of a problem.

Thanks for the article..I was looking for something like that.

Small town thinking - kids w/ broken bones just went to their normal doctor and got sent down the hall for an X-ray, then they gave you a cast and a lollipop.

splint and tape it to another finger.

where is that skunky when you need him?

What you said! Keep it elevated, take ibuprofen or naproxen and 'buddy tape' it to its neighbor. Even if it is fractured, this is most likely what would be done anyway.

All is well with the finger! I came home from a movie and she was waving it at me. It's still a little swollen but she can bend it. In my younger parenting days I would have rushed her off to the ER and been out a $50 copay and 3-4 hours of my time. Yea me!
Thanks for all the input tho!

All is well with the finger! I came home from a movie and she was waving it at me. It's still a little swollen but she can bend it. In my younger parenting days I would have rushed her off to the ER and been out a $50 copay and 3-4 hours of my time. Yea me!
Thanks for all the input tho!

;-)
Glad you waited it out!

I sound like such an uncaring parent...I mean yea!!! Sam is okay! ;-)

She can be a tad on the dramatic side when it comes to illness and injury so glad it turned out the way it did.

All is well with the finger! I came home from a movie and she was waving it at me. It's still a little swollen but she can bend it. In my younger parenting days I would have rushed her off to the ER and been out a $50 copay and 3-4 hours of my time. Yea me!
Thanks for all the input tho!

Good for you & her...I learned my lesson a few months ago.

Got finger slammed in car door, red, swollen...hurt like hell.

9pm: Arrived at ER

10pm: Xray taken

--waited, waited, waited

12:30am: Saw Dr for first time, he looked at his chart and said your finger is not broken -- recommended tetnus shot & splint (Asked Dr if he would at least like to look at the finger...I stuck it up in the air...it was middle finger )

--waited, waited, waited

1:30am: Went out to nurse's station to see what the holdup with my splint and shot was. They told me that they were busy and would be with me. I told them since my finger wasn't broken I was just going to check out--"See Ya," and headed for the door. Three medics put down their coffee cups and sprang into action. One darted for the cabinet with the tetnus meds & needle; one went to get the splint material; the other lead me back to the room.

2:15am: I finally left the hospital and walked to my car--as the bandage holding the splint on my finger unraveled and fell to the ground.

My insurance company got the following bill:

Emergency Room Doctor: $210
Tetnus Shot: $63
Radiology/Dianostic: $259
Xray Exam of Finger: $23
Emergency Room Visit: $295
Application of Splint: $27

Giving the doctor "The Finger:" Priceless?

/

Good for you & her...I learned my lesson a few months ago.

Got finger slammed in car door, red, swollen...hurt like hell.

9pm: Arrived at ER

10pm: Xray taken

--waited, waited, waited

12:30am: Saw Dr for first time, he looked at his chart and said your finger is not broken -- recommended tetnus shot & splint (Asked Dr if he would at least like to look at the finger...I stuck it up in the air...it was middle finger )

--waited, waited, waited

1:30am: Went out to nurse's station to see what the holdup with my splint and shot was. They told me that they were busy and would be with me. I told them since my finger wasn't broken I was just going to check out--"See Ya," and headed for the door. Three medics put down their coffee cups and sprang into action. One darted for the cabinet with the tetnus meds & needle; one went to get the splint material; the other lead me back to the room.

2:15am: I finally left the hospital and walked to my car--as the bandage holding the splint on my finger unraveled and fell to the ground.

My insurance company got the following bill:

Emergency Room Doctor: $210
Tetnus Shot: $63
Radiology/Dianostic: $259
Xray Exam of Finger: $23
Emergency Room Visit: $295
Application of Splint: $27

Giving the doctor "The Finger:" Priceless?

/

Oh man,ouch and ouch.

Just be careful about the whole "Buddy Tape" issue. My daughter broke her exact finger when she was 10 years old. The Dr's Office said it wasn't a fracture and to just buddy tape it to the finger to the right of it, so that is what we did. A week or so went by and you could see the finger curving to the right. After another trip to the Dr they determined it was indeed fractured on the left side of the index finger near the knuckle. Taping it to the other finger had pulled it to the right and caused it to heal crooked! They sent her a Orthopedic Dr who informed us the only way to correct it would be to rebreak it and set it in a splint. We didn't do that. She is 16 now and it is still crooked. She suffers from pain if she writes long essays or things like that. So just be careful when taping fingers to other fingers.

then after pts sit in the e.r. and wait and wait and wait, sometimes up to 6 hrs, they bring their prescriptions down to the pharmacy to get filled and go ballistic a) when you say there may be a 5-10 minute wait time, and b) when you tell them they have to pay for it.

such is the life of audie

then after pts sit in the e.r. and wait and wait and wait, sometimes up to 6 hrs, they bring their prescriptions down to the pharmacy to get filled and go ballistic a) when you say there may be a 5-10 minute wait time, and b) when you tell them they have to pay for it.

such is the life of audie

The pharmacy should offer them something from the shelf to make their wait a bit more comfortable.

(The doctor offered up some painkillers for my finger--I refused, probably saved my insurer being charged $20 a copy for some Tylenol2.)



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The pharmacy should offer them something from the shelf to make their wait a bit more comfortable.

(The doctor offered up some painkillers for my finger--I refused, probably saved my insurer being charged $20 a copy for some Tylenol2.)



.

yeah, that would be a good idea.... they are mostly after one thing, guess we could keep painkillers in a candy dish for their snacking pleasure....

yeah, that would be a good idea.... they are mostly after one thing, guess we could keep painkillers in a candy dish for their snacking pleasure....

That would "happy" them right up.

yeah, that would be a good idea.... they are mostly after one thing, guess we could keep painkillers in a candy dish for their snacking pleasure....

A great tip for recycling drugs that have passed their expiration dates!


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A great tip for recycling drugs that have passed their expiration dates!


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ummm shelly, narcotics don't stay on the shelves long enough to even come close to expiring. :funn:

Just picked Sam up early from school. She called and said she thought she broke her finger. She closed one of her fingers in her locker...rt index to be exact. It's a little swollen, we have ice on it but she's not moving it. I'm thinking it might just be really bruised and I'm sure it hurts but wouldn't she be in ALOT of pain it it were broken? I'm trying to wait this out a little before rushing off the the ER.

Y'all may remember a couple of years ago when she closed 3 fingers in the van door...nothing broken at that time but the dr burned holes in her finger nails to relieve the pressure. No nail caught this time it's the knuckle are.

I just don't want to spend the whole night there for nothing.

One of the bedrails on a stretcher was broken and slammed my thumb between metal and metal and 3 docs said,"Let me put a couple holes in Jules...I was like no way am I letting you do that...My thumb nail is black now I have to wear OPI Lincoln Park After Dark to cover it...it is hideous looking...but imagine how it would have looked with the holes added...UGH

One of the bedrails on a stretcher was broken and slammed my thumb between metal and metal and 3 docs said,"Let me put a couple holes in Jules...I was like no way am I letting you do that...My thumb nail is black now I have to wear OPI Lincoln Park After Dark to cover it...it is hideous looking...but imagine how it would have looked with the holes added...UGH

They were very small holes and her nails didn't turn black since they released the blood and pressure. It did take a few months for the holes to "grow out" but she didn't lose any nails. I don't recommend watching this little procedure.

Hey, you're lucky dark polish is in! But now your nail might fall off...at least that's what happened to my toenail when the 8th grade home ec teacher dropped a can of cherry pie filling on it.:angry:

She can be a tad on the dramatic side when it comes to illness and injury so glad it turned out the way it did.

Glad it is all okay!

It's always a hard judgment call whether they are really hurt or not because the reactions vary so much from kid to kid.

I know I had trouble when I was a counselor because one kid would fuss more over a bug bite than another would over 2nd degree burns or a concussion. Mom had problems w/ doctors because they didn't think I was seriously injured because I wasn't carrying on. One infamous "I know my child and she is REALLY hurt" argument w/ a substitute pediatrician, ended w/ him finally getting an xray and me getting a cast for the clean break!

Glad it is all okay!

It's always a hard judgment call whether they are really hurt or not because the reactions vary so much from kid to kid.

I know I had trouble when I was a counselor because one kid would fuss more over a bug bite than another would over 2nd degree burns or a concussion. Mom had problems w/ doctors because they didn't think I was seriously injured because I wasn't carrying on. One infamous "I know my child and she is REALLY hurt" argument w/ a substitute pediatrician, ended w/ him finally getting an xray and me getting a cast for the clean break!

Yep, you got that right. Moms know their kids! I've been a camp counselor too and I know exactly what you mean. The whiners are usually satisifed after a trip to the nurse for a bandaid. But homesickness is the worst! I had to deal with a whiny one for 5 days and it just zaps all your energy trying to keep everyone happy.

Very glad Sams finger is ok!!!!!!