How to Treat a Stumbled Toe

Check the condition of the toe immediately after the injury. The first step in treating a tripped toe is to check the extent of the damage. Carefully and gently remove shoes and socks on the injured foot. Check for the injured toe and be careful not to further injure the toe by handling it harshly (maybe a friend can help). Watch for the following signs:

• Toe “curved” or “misaligned”
• Hemorrhage
• Broken or popped toenails
• Bruises
• Enlarged swelling and/or color change
• Depending on the toe symptoms (if any), the treatment may vary. Specific recommendations can be found below:
• If it’s too painful to take off your shoes and socks, it could be a broken bone or sprained toe and/or foot. This condition is not dangerous, but you still need to see a doctor for treatment.

Clean and disinfect scratches or lacerations. If you see signs of tearing the skin of your toe, you need to clean it quickly to avoid infection. These signs include lacerations, abrasions, and cracked toenails. Carefully wash your toes with soap and warm water. Use a clean towel or paper towel to gently pat your toes dry. Then, apply some antibacterial cream to any breaks in the skin. Use a clean bandage to protect the toe.

• Change the dressing every day while the toe heals. ^[2]
• Read How to Clean a Wound for more step-by-step information.

Apply ice to reduce swelling. Most injuries from tripping toes cause at least some swelling and pain. This condition is inconvenient, difficult to move, and even more painful. Fortunately, you can easily reduce swelling with cold compresses. There are many ways to apply cold, such as using a gel ice pack, an ice pack or even an unopened bag of frozen vegetables.

• Whatever cold compress you use, you should wrap it in a towel or rag before applying it to your skin. NEVER put the ice pack directly on the skin. Direct and prolonged skin-to-skin contact of ice cubes can cause further damage to the skin, making the injury worse. ^[3]
• For the first 24 hours after your toe is tripped, you should apply ice for about 20 minutes every waking hour. After that, you just need to apply ice 2-3 times per day until the pain subsides.
• Read the article on cold compresses for more detailed information.

Avoid putting pressure on your toes. Even normal daily activities can be painful if you walk on a tripped toe. To reduce further pain and swelling, you need to put some weight on your heels while standing and walking. However, this makes it difficult to balance, and putting all your weight on your heels can make walking difficult and gradually cause heel pain. You should try to put just enough pressure on your toes to avoid pain when walking.

• Once the swelling in the stumbling toe has subsided, you can use thin pads (eg gel insoles) to relieve pain when walking.
• If the pain in your toe doesn’t go away after 1-2 hours, you should stop doing physical activities like playing sports for a few days until the pain is gone.

Make sure the shoe has enough space for the toe. Tight-fitting shoes can make swollen, painful toes more irritated. If possible, choose shoes that are loose and comfortable after your injury to protect your toes from pressure. If you don’t have shoes to change into, you can try loosening the laces.

• Open-toe shoes like sandals and flip-flops are the best choice because they not only do not put pressure on the tips of the toes, the sides of the toes, but also make it easier for you to apply cold, change dressings, etc.

Treat persistent pain with over-the-counter medications. If the pain from a stubbed toe doesn’t go away on its own, over-the-counter pain relievers can be an effective temporary solution. You have many options. Acetaminophen (Paracetamp) and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) or naproxen (Aleve, Naprosyn) are available at most pharmacies. ^[4]

• Be sure to follow all dosing instructions on the medication’s packaging. Over-the-counter drugs can also cause dangerous side effects if taken in large doses.
• Do not give aspirin to young children.

Support the toe with a bandage. Wrap the bandage around the tripped toe and the toe next to it to create a “friend” of support for the tripping toe. You can put a cotton ball between your toes to prevent moisture in this position.

• Change cotton balls daily.

Especially raise the sore toe. Another great way to reduce swelling is to raise the tripped toe higher than your body when sitting or resting. For example, you can use several pillows to elevate your toes while lying down. Raise the swollen toe higher than the body to make it harder for the heart to pump blood to the toe. This causes blood to slowly flow away from the swollen area and helps reduce swelling. While it’s essentially impossible to elevate your injured toe while standing or walking, you can take the time to do so whenever sitting or lying down for long periods of time.