Foot

Drez

I stepped on a shard of glass and it went in pretty deep. That was Thursday morning. I pulled it out, cleaned the wound with Hydrogen Peroxide, bandaged it. It still hurts when I walk.

My big toe on the same foot is kinda numb.

Is that normal? Do I need to see a doctor?

see317

Standard disclaimer: Not a doctor, not trying to pretend to be one.

Some info that may help with internet diagnosis:
Where did it go in? Heal/Ball of the foot/toe?
How clean was the glass? The area the glass was in?
Is there any swelling/discoloration/tenderness around the wound?

Inquisitor77

I'd get it looked at by a doctor. If it's not bleeding profusely you probably haven't cut a blood vessel, but if you aren't feeling anything there's the possibility that you severed a nerve or something, and it may need to be reconnected. For all you know there are tiny glass particles stuck in there or something. It's probably fine, but anything beyond a surface wound should get thoroughly checked out, especially if glass is involved.

JaysonFour

Yeah, I would say get it checked out ASAP- with everything going on in the foot- muscles/tendons/nerves/etc, better to be safe then sorry. Get it checked out before there's any irreversable damage.

(spoiler warning- kind of squicky story inside)

When I was a teen, I was working to put together a haunted house and stepped on twp sixteen-penny nails, practically putting them right through my left foot. I was off my feet for a week and had to get a tetanus shot. I haven't been able to push it as hard as my other foot ever since- and the two scars are still on the bottom of my foot.

IANAD, but get this checked out, okay?

Captain Marcus

JaysonFour wrote: »

had to get a tetanus shot.

Despite what most people believe, Clostridium tetani doesn't actually live in rusty nails- it lives in the dirt, and the nail pushes it inside your airless tissues where it starts to reproduce. If you ever get a deep puncture wound, go to the doctor. Deep-tissue infections can be nasty.

So yes, you should go see a doctor. He can check it for nerve damage and determine if you need tetanus toxoid or not.

Al_wat

How tightly is it bandaged? Maybe that is why your toe feels numb.

Also what is "kinda numb". Is there no sensation, or like strange tingly sensations? I had nerve damage to my left pinky when i was a little kid as a result of glass, and i would describe how it feels as kinda tingly. Im no expert on nerve damage though im sure there is a wide range of ways it could feel.

You may want to see a doctor, yeah

Julius

Drez wrote: »

cleaned the wound with Hydrogen Peroxide,

For the record hydrogen peroxide is not really a good disinfectant for wounds and there is some evidence that it slows healing.

The best way to treat a wound is washing it with mild soap and water and then applying some iodine solution (there are different kinds).

And yes if the wound is deep you should go see a doctor.

Djeet

Go to a doctor. If not an ER then go to urgent care facility, your PCP is likely not available over weekend. Nerve damage to your big toe is not something you want to dicker around with.

Drez

So I have another problem:

I don't have my healthcare card
I don't have my member ID
UnitedHealthCare's website is not recognizing my social security number + DOB
UnitedHealthCare is closed so I can't get my member ID over the phone
My employer lists my coverage on their site, but not my member ID

What the fuck am I supposed to do?

Ana Ng

Without knowing where you live, all I can tell you is that in the past when I've needed to go to the hospital NOW and haven't had documents on hand to prove my insurance coverage, the hospital/urgent care facility has always told me that it doesn't matter if I have the documents on hand that moment as long as I can provide them within X number of days to the patient billing office.

YMMV. Take care of your foot!

admanb

Yeah. Offices don't charge you immediately and they don't need your insurance immediately.

Drez

Well after 2 hours of searching and sleuthing and phone calling and threatening and pleading and praying and getting frustrated and screaming at the abyss I was able to obtain my member ID.

The urgent care facility said that I would pay up front if I didn't have at least my member ID. Mithersyfjvjers.

So anyway I found it and I'm here. Decided to take y'all's advices.

Inquisitor77

Drez wrote: »

Well after 2 hours of searching and sleuthing and phone calling and threatening and pleading and praying and getting frustrated and screaming at the abyss I was able to obtain my member ID.

The urgent care facility said that I would pay up front if I didn't have at least my member ID. Mithersyfjvjers.

So anyway I found it and I'm here. Decided to take y'all's advices.

I hope it just turns out to be a false alarm. And at least now you have your info handy should a serious emergency pop up in the future.

Six

Keep information like this in the notes section of your personal contact in whatever online contact management system you use, for instance, gmail.

I keep:

• Various airline and rental car member numbers
• My passport number
• My insurance info, including member #, group number, and prescription numbers
• Routing and account numbers for my most active checking accounts
• ...and a few other misc numbers

This way whenever I invariably need one of these and don't have the appropriate card or what have you on me, I just check my contact on my phone and I've got it.

Drez

Thanks, all.

Urgent care facility was honestly less helpful than I expected. They didn't address the numbness at all except to say to monitor it and come back if it gets worse. Hmm.

Pantshandshake

They're probably going under the assumption that you damaged a nerve. Which will come back, given an amount of time. I would see a regular type of doctor, with an appointment and everything.

Thundyrkatz

So, urgent care is for care of an urgent nature. Your foot was not urgent, so they just patted you on the head and sent you on your way. This is the expected result. What you need to do is see your GP who will likely refer you to a specialist who will be able to examine you and determine if you have nerve damage or not.

Humans don't have a diagnostic plug, so seeing a doctor is often underwhelming. You will have to be proactive and keep asking for better treatment. Ask what the next step is, what is the plan and how do you move to the next step.