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Anyone know?
You’re blowing your cover. Now everyone’s looking out for someone walking around with a swollen toe.. (suitcase full of sefarim, earnest solemn, stern, gloomy, mean demeanor of a seminary teacher, those glasses ever perched at an angle known to frighten all into subordination…)
LU -“Anyone know?”
Don’t they have podiatrists in Israel?
Now we know to look for a seminary teacher without a mean demeanor and with large shoes to hide the toe. Because you would never expose your toes.
Not exactly kind words, LF.
???
No particular suggestion, sorry, but-
Hope you feel better soon, LilmodU!
Lilmod Ulelamaid darling…
So many questions. More info needed.
Why is it swollen? Do you know or have any hypotheses?
Possible hypotheses:
-Mosquito bite
-Stubbed on front step
-Sat on it for too long
-Bee sting
-Foot injury
-Sitting or standing too long
-Shoe or footwear related
-Result of carrying heavy grocery bags with your toe up staircase made of Jerusalem stone
-Frostbite
-Fluid-retention side effect of current medication
-Grass allergy
-Staph infection
-Pesticide sensitivity
Which toe?
Is the rest of your foot swollen?
Does it hurt? Touching it? Walking on it?
Is it bruised? Inflamed? Bleeding? Scabbed? Frozen?
Can you still feel your toe?
How long has it been swollen?
Any other symptoms?
Is it your toe?
I feel like getting more info may help you Google more info so you can determine if it’s something to ice or elevate or if this is cause to see a doctor.
Also you can go to the local pharmacy and show the pharmacist your toe for free.
Ask the pharmacist for advice.
Pharmacist advice:
I did that with my swollen feet once. Turned out that I had a bad staph infection that required immediate medical care.
I had thought that it was a Neosporin kind of situation that would clear on its own at home but after a few days of no relief I was so lucky that I asked the pharmacist when I went to buy more cream… She saw my feet and knew better.
I ended up going to the hospital by cab. My cab driver told me that his friend got a staph infection the same way that I had but by the time the friend went to the doctor it was too late and they amputated his leg (!) True story.
Anyway it was such Hashgacha Pratis that I asked the pharmacist. I didn’t know such a simple seeming thing could have such fierce consequences.
Free consult from a medically trained professional right there and then. Pretty awesome.
So that is one idea. To ask a pharmacist. Maybe even to the side privately and show the pharmacist your toe and explain.
Asking Pharmacist for medical advice is a NON-American thing. Very common in Europe, Middle East and South America, but here the Pharmacist could be brought up on charges for practicing medicine without a license,
Generally, a swollen toe/foot can be soaked in Epsom Salts and warm water to hold you until you can see a doctor. If you find it getting red/warm to the touch there is a good chance you have an infection and may need anti-biotic treatment…head for the Emergency Room or Walk-In clinic at once if it is red and warm.
Don’t take chances, see a medical professional, not a pill dispenser
CTLAWYER… Really?
I ask pharmacists many questions.
All in the USA.
They’ve directed me to go to the hospital. Go to my doctor. As well as not worry about it (acne question and it was at night so I couldn’t call my doctor to ask so I asked the pharmacist instead). Also a pharmacist told me what kind of OTC cream to use for skin swelling for an insect bite.
Were they not allowed to answer my questions and direct me?
I meant that it was better than asking us in the CR.
May Hashem bless you with a speedy refuah shelmah LU <3 <3 <3
Call a toe truck?
Call a woodchuck?
OP’S title rhymes with her OP
Could be a song….
What do you do for a swollen toe?
Anyone know?
Should you call a toe truck?
Or a woodchuck?
Don’t ask the pharmacist at the store
Unless you’re looking to sue for a mill or more
Just ask the CR when you’re not sure
There you’ll get your cure
Oh what do you do for a swollen toe?
Anyone know?
La la la dum diddy dum dum ya ya dum diddy dum
Dunno if this will help you but it’s helped me, when my foot was swollen, to elevate my foot.
Gets blood flowing and recirculating.
Like resting your foot/toe up on the backrest of a couch, or on a desk or chair.
I assume that if a person’s toe is swollen, it is larger than a non-swollen toe, hence larger shoes.
check if there is anything wrapped around it- like a hair or thread.
Lilmod………….
If it’s purple, and not warm to the touch, then it often means you have stubbed, bruised your toe and have had some bleeding under the skin.
Saying this, looking at a big toe that is purple and has a broken nail from stubbing it on a piece of furniture in the middle of the night on Monday. I got up to let the dogs out and didn’t know wife and daughter had rearranged furniture in our sun room…didn’t put my glasses on.
Lightbrite…………
Over the years I’ve seen the quality of pharmacists decline with the proliferation of chain pharmacies.
Very few are capable of making pills anymore. They use automated machines to dispense and count pills into bottles. The chains time how many they fill per hour. The ‘consulting’ windows have been done away with or are perpetually closed, and teenagers take your Rx slip and hand out filled ones.
The only slightly medical thing the registered pharmacist is now allowed to do is administer Flu, Shingles and Pneumonia injections to customers 18 years of age or older.
Many are not native and have a terrible command of the English language, gone are the days of the neighborhood independent pharmacy where the same person knew your medical history by medications dispensed and had a working relationship with your doctor and could help. Today the communication is all electronic and you don’t have pharmacists who remember you had a similar problem in the past and didn’t react well to a certain medicine and question the prescriber before filling an Rx.
CTLAWYER
While what your saying might be true of retail pharmacists, pharmacists who work in hospital/long term care facilities are very knowledgeable and are often involved in formulating patient care plans. That being said getting a job in these settings almost always requires doing an optional residency program which has a strong clinical component.
CT Lawyer , a pharmacist cannot be brought up on charges for doing what you did, offering an opinion and advice. What menicL SS book did you go to? My experience with our local pharmacies, including the chains, have been better than yours.
Once read somewhere,
Toes, def: something to detect furniture in the dark.
LU go to the doc. If it’s still hurting you. Or swollen.
I thought that Hadassah takes anyone.
Hopefully your toe is mamash fine.
Still maybe Hashem needs you to go on a mission there and so your neshama was prescribed a detour
Btw I fractured my toe that way when I was a kid (though maybe my bones were more fragile because I was still growing).
I was playing hide and seek and stubbed my big toe into a piece of furniture while I was dashing.
Ended up being a fracture. But it didn’t hurt more than a regular banged toe.
LF: And Lego pieces
lesschumras
“What menicL SS book did you go to? “
I have absolutely no ideas what this gibberish means.
That said in many states, a non-licensed professional can be charged for acting as if licensed in a profession.
A non-lawyer can be charged for giving legal advice for remuneration.
A pharmacist who diagnoses a medical condition, then sells a remedy can also be charged. It is rare, but on the books in some jurisdictions.
If you say to a pharmacist: “I have a head cold’ which over the counter medicine that you stock should I buy?” The pharmacist can make a suggestion.
If you tell the pharmacist that: “I’m stuffy, congested, have aches, chills and a fever.” and the pharmacist answers you have the flu, take X. The pharmacist has broken the law (in some jurisdictions).
CTLAWYER: I object to your statements
Even retail pharmacists have to train to do the same things that pharmacists did before automation.
All of the pharmacists who’ve helped me and gave me medical advice worked for chains.
There is a difference between a pharmacist and pharmacy technician. I said to ask a pharmacist.
Pharmacists are medically trained and have the education, experience, and training to know what they know AND know when to defer this to a medical doctor.
Consulting windows are still there. Where are you going?
I cannot pick up any prescription without answering YES or NO to needing to Ask the Pharmacist a Question.
Many times I answer YES at my retail chain pharmacy.
And the pharmacists know me and their other customers by name. This is at the most retail of retails.
Okay this is a personal anecdote and your experiences are also rightfully yours….
Still I don’t know what not speaking English clearly has to do with a pharmacist. Your pharmacist needs to have a level of English to communicate with you.
Pharmacies have language services and maybe non-native pharmacists are needed to communicate with their other customers.
English should be provided. If you need to make an added effort to communicate yourself then you can do so by writing out what you are taking or your medical history.
Or find another pharmacist who you can respect.
However it sounds harsh to say that just because someone wasn’t born here or doesn’t speak English like an American that he or she isn’t qualified.
You probably already know that people who were medical doctors in their native countries may be working as a pharmacist today or even at a retail store as a checkout person just because they are still working in their English and/or other factors despite their medical education and experience.
LB -“Why is it swollen? Do you know or have any hypotheses?”
I actually practice medicine, but you and your pharmacist are doing a decent job. It could be more things, like a fracture or gout.
Pharmacists are NOT trained to give medical advice and they would be 100% wrong to diagnose anything. They are trained to match symptons and diagnoses to medications but they are still not the ones choosing the medications in the end, it is the doctor who does that too. I ask my pharmacist all kinds of medicine related questions and trust their knowledge more than the doctors but I cannot fathom anyone asking their pharmacist a diagnostic question nor should they be answering one.
And Health – I am surprised you would even be agreeing to that!!!!!!!!
LU -“There is a Frum emergency medical place within walking distance so I guess I’ll head over there tomorrow.”
I looked it up. Haddasah does offer podiatry. You need a podiatrist.
They will take US dollars or Shequalims for payment!
Good luck.
C’mon Health, that’s two for two!!!! You don’t go to a podiatrist for an injury, you go to a doctor who determines what needs to be done. I am pretty certain you wouldn’t need a podiatrist unless it is determined that it is a break that needs setting. Any infection or typical fracture would be handled by a doctor.
Health: Thanks 🙂
CTLAWYER: Agreement.
I cannot attest to the shift in pharmacists. I haven’t been alive long enough. I am aware that pharmacists used to do more. Though there are still chain pharmacies that will make pills for you wby filling special caps with certain prescription powders or replace capsules of a brand/generic medication if possible.
I am not countering your experience with my objection. Instead I am objecting to the statements against today’s pharmacists and those who are immigrants that seem to be degraded in the post’S context.
Just because pharmacists of today are in retail chains and have electronic systems does not make them incapable of providing sound medical advice, including telling someone to see a doctor.
29 -“And Health – I am surprised you would even be agreeing to that!!!!”
Well I don’t agree that pharmacists or lightbright should practice medicine; but she got most of the diseases correct!
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
“Pharmacists dispense prescription medications to patients and offer expertise in the safe use of prescriptions.
They also may conduct health and wellness screenings, provide immunizations, oversee the medications given to patients, and provide advice on healthy lifestyles.
Duties
Pharmacists typically do the following:
Fill prescriptions, verifying instructions from physicians on the proper amounts of medication to give to patients
Check whether prescriptions will interact negatively with other drugs that a patient is taking or any medical conditions the patient has
Instruct patients on how and when to take a prescribed medicine and inform them about potential side effects they may experience from taking the medicine
Give flu shots and, in most states, other vaccinations
Advise patients about general health topics, such as diet, exercise, and managing stress, and on other issues, such as what equipment or supplies would be best to treat a health problem
Complete insurance forms and work with insurance companies to ensure that patients get the medicines they need
Oversee the work of pharmacy technicians and pharmacists in training (interns)
Keep records and do other administrative tasks
Teach other healthcare practitioners about proper medication therapies for patients”
29 -“C’mon Health, that’s two for two!!!! You don’t go to a podiatrist for an injury, you go to a doctor who determines what needs to be done. I am pretty certain you wouldn’t need a podiatrist unless it is determined that it is a break that needs setting. Any infection or typical fracture would be handled by a doctor.”
That was years ago; I don’t where you live but here in the US – Podiatrists practice all medical & surgical problems of the foot.
The times I banged my toes, it was 2 times a fracture, one time it wasn’t, but all times I went to the Podiatrist.
I didn’t practice on myself!
Well you must have some cadillac insurance. Rare is it that you can get a green light for a specialist to look at a toe and determine if it requires ice, antibiotics or an x-ray.
If it’s her toe why not go to a specialist?
Otherwise she might go to a doc who will send her to a specialist and that’s two separate bills.
Generally if someone has a PCP then insurance wants them to go there first before referral so they can see if it’s “worth it” to them financially to approve the specialist’s services. Otherwise the referral gets rejected and the person still isn’t treated.
If LU is going on her own then it’s best to go to a doctor who can assess the issue directly.
There is a reason why I don’t go to my PCP for skin conditions. Once I literally went to the ER for something on my skin. It was late at night I recently moved to the area. The doctors did nothing. They couldn’t. They didn’t know what to do with me because I stepped into a place full of surgeons and doctors prepared for emergencies.
LU could be stepping into a triaged facility that may likely let her and her stubbed toe take the back seat while kids throwing up and people who just had bloody falls find their way to help first.
If she calls the podiatrist then her triage will have more value and can be squeezed into the emergency slots that doctors need to accommodate for when a patient calls in need to be seen that day.
The podiatrist can understand that okay LU should come in ASAP. Squeeze her in between the person whose cast is being removed and maybe the person whose xray came back fine.
Podiatrist would have more sensitivity and understand the gravity of a swollen toe. Or even the staff can ask more questions and maybe give LU peace of mind that it can wait a day.
The regular doctor on the other hand will need to call for back up. Maybe send her to get an xray. Maybe send to the podiatrist. Maybe have other patients in mind that to the doctor may seem more critical when time is limited and they may be overworked in general.
Those are nice thoughts but that isn’t how medicine works, nor the emergency room. And many, many insurances don’t work that way either.
29 -“Well you must have some cadillac insurance. Rare is it that you can get a green light for a specialist to look at a toe and determine if it requires ice, antibiotics or an x-ray”
I actually just have Medicaid. One good thing about Medicaid, is that you don’t need referrals for almost any Specialist!
A bad thing about Medicaid is that a lot of doctors don’t accept it!
I just had to find doctors in Lakewood that did.
And the funniest thing is they are very good docs’; even better than the ones that don’t accept Medicaid!
Lightbrite…….
I know the difference between a Pharmacist with a 6 year education and a Pharmacy Tech with a 2 year course (both must be licensed in CT). The pharmacy must post a sign with the name of the Pharmacist on duty during all opening hours (in CT).
I disagree that Pharmacists are medically trained. They have taken some courses that medical professionals take, but that is not being medically trained. They have far more courses in Chemistry than medicine.
I live in small town New England. The chain pharmacists are not serving non-English speakers. Many of the new hires from abroad attended Pharmacy school outside the USA and have been given provisional licenses because there is a shortage of pharmacists to staff the 24/7 chains.
There is no reason for a town of 20-30.000 people to have 4 24/7 chain pharmacies, service suffers. We have Walgreens, Rite-Aid, CVS at one intersection. None of them have operating consultation windows.
Last time I asked to speak to the Pharmacist at Walgreens I was told it would be a 2 hour wait.
I now use an independent pharmacy that only fills Rx and does not sell general merchandise.
If you suspect ingrown toe nail, go see a podiatrist ASAP cus it’ll only get worse
Then I guess we should all think twice next time about offering advice!
Since we are discussing feet I’d like to ask a question that’s been bothering me for some time. Why was the position of podiatry created? Why couldn’t there just be orthopedics who specialize in feet just like there are orthopedists who specialize in hands, shoulders, knees etc… Podiatrists don’t go to traditional med school, they go to podiatry school.
They actually go to medical school and then specialize in podiatry (residency, interenship) if they so choose
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