Could my toe have mrsa? Is it broken?!


Question: Could my toe have mrsa? Is it broken?
About three weeks ago, I stumbled and banged the toes on my left foot against a metal support on the bottom of my mother's hospital bed. She has this at home. She also has mrsa. There were a few scratches on my toes from when the cat had either scratched them or drawn some yarn across them hard enough to scratch them. I noticed at the time that those had not healed ... they were still red, though not open.

I have had broken toes before, and I understand there is not much you can do about them. But this instance seems a little different. I noticed aching almost nonstop. It is mild aching, but annoying. I have now pretty much narrowed down the issue to the middle toe. The thing that is different about it from past experience with broken toes is that the knuckle is swollen and a little red.

Also, the toe now seems to jut a little to the left. I don't remember it having been so distorted before, and the angle is different from the other foot.

Could I have contracted mrsa in there? Do I have bursitis, gout (if you can have that in a toe), etc? Shouldn't the swelling and pain of a broken toe be gone down by now? Do I have cancer of the toe? (lol)

Answers:

It could be broken and has dislocated at the joint which is why it is deformed. MRSA is very infectious and you shouldn't be walking barefoot around your mom if you have open areas on your feet. I would go see my doctor and have a culture done for MRSA. The doctor can also do an xray to see if your toe is dislocated. They will then put it back into place and more than likely put a piece of gauze between the injured toe and the one next to it. Then they will tape them together. This is called 'Buddy taping". The other toe it is taped to will keep it stable. I would definitely get checked for MRSA. You may need an antibiotic.
I hope it feels better soon.

Nurse for 30 years.




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