glass in foot? how serious? (x-ray, pain, Novacaine, infection)
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So Easter mornng, I broke a cake plate.... I've got a toddler so I was very careful to clean up all (or so I thought) the glass.
A week or so later, I stepped on "something" and felt it in the ball of my foot. I couldn't see anything and my husband was away - I figured it would work it's way out on its own...
But of course it hasn't. Over the last few weeks, it's become somewhat tender and there's a lump about the size of a pea where the pain is. It's not too bad when I'm walking but man, does it hurt when I press on it ...
I've got a Dr appt tomorrow afternoon. The appt lady heard my tale and wanted me in there today/tomorrow. I've been living with this for a few weeks now (I've been out of town until recently) and am a little alarmed by the rapidness of the appt (their practice is usu hard to get same week appts) and that she said consult for referral..... I guess I just assumed they'd numb it up and dig around for the glass?
Eh. I had the same problem a few years ago. I went to a group practice office, and they saw it was red, but not oozing, or swollen any further than the actual spot where the glass was stuck plus a *tiny* bit more. Since it had been well over a week, they knew they weren't likely dealing with infection at all but rather - a very well-stuck sliver of glass.
So they stuck me with novacaine, which hurt like nobody's business (on the pad of my foot nearest my "thumb" toe). Then they started trying to *dig* it out...and it still hurt, so they stuck me more with juice and it STILL hurt..and I actually grunted and they said they'd refuse to deal with me because I was acting like an infant.
So I limped out, worse off than when I walked in, and made an appointment with an actual podiatrist as an emergency "fit-in" the next day. He took a look, got a small scalpel, scraped on the skin, and the thing popped right out. No needles, no pain, no nuttin. He said he didn't know why they felt they had to dig at all, even if it was deeper in, a scalpel would've gotten it out easily.
The GP office billed me and I refused to pay the bill. The collector's office called and I told them I'd pay the bill as soon as they paid me the $4,999.99 for humiliation of being kicked out without having any actual work done, and a day's pay that I lost by going in there in the first place. I told them if they weren't prepared to pay ME, then they could go ahead and sue me and I"d see them in court.
They didn't do that of course...
But the moral of the story is - don't let some doofus mess around with your feet. If they refer you, accept the referral gladly and ask the referred doctor if he can fit you in between appointments the next day. It's a pretty easy thing to get out but it does need a practiced hand.
Having 25 yrs exp in an ER; glass can and will "work" its way into your soft tissue.
It is also not radio opaque...that is it is not always visible in an xray.
go to your Doc and get a referral to have it removed.
Eh. I had the same problem a few years ago. I went to a group practice office, and they saw it was red, but not oozing, or swollen any further than the actual spot where the glass was stuck plus a *tiny* bit more. Since it had been well over a week, they knew they weren't likely dealing with infection at all but rather - a very well-stuck sliver of glass.
So they stuck me with novacaine, which hurt like nobody's business (on the pad of my foot nearest my "thumb" toe). Then they started trying to *dig* it out...and it still hurt, so they stuck me more with juice and it STILL hurt..and I actually grunted and they said they'd refuse to deal with me because I was acting like an infant.
So I limped out, worse off than when I walked in, and made an appointment with an actual podiatrist as an emergency "fit-in" the next day. He took a look, got a small scalpel, scraped on the skin, and the thing popped right out. No needles, no pain, no nuttin. He said he didn't know why they felt they had to dig at all, even if it was deeper in, a scalpel would've gotten it out easily.
The GP office billed me and I refused to pay the bill. The collector's office called and I told them I'd pay the bill as soon as they paid me the $4,999.99 for humiliation of being kicked out without having any actual work done, and a day's pay that I lost by going in there in the first place. I told them if they weren't prepared to pay ME, then they could go ahead and sue me and I"d see them in court.
They didn't do that of course...
But the moral of the story is - don't let some doofus mess around with your feet. If they refer you, accept the referral gladly and ask the referred doctor if he can fit you in between appointments the next day. It's a pretty easy thing to get out but it does need a practiced hand.
Yikes, it sounds like you went thru alot! I'm glad you didn't have to "foot" the bill as well, LOL
I've just come from my regular dr - he did just as your pod. did. Scraped it with a scapel and shaved off a littlebit of skin until it was exposed
About 15 years ago, I dropped a Pyrex measuring cup on the kitchen floor. I warned the kids not to come in the kitchen without shoes on and then did that very thing myself. An x-ray showed it to be in the ball of my foot close to my toes, close enough that my GP sent me to an ortho to have a look. His suggestion was that we wait and see, the rationale being that if encapsulated with scar tissue, it would be easier to locate if it became necessary to dig it out.
Well, it stopped hurting though I occasionally thought I felt something after standing on a hard surface for hours at a time. Recently, I noted that my 4th toe (right above where glass had initially lodged) had developed a bony/callous-y protrusion between it and my little toe - how do you get a callous there? I'm wondering if it might be that encapsulated bit of glass coming to the surface?
It will come out eventually...if there is glass still in there! You could have a Morton's neuroma...it's a tiny tumor (not cancer...don't freak out!) that compresses the nerve in your foot. Hurts like hell! Don't wear heels or walk barefoot..makes it worse!
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Glass shard in foot 15 years later
