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The response to the question below was authored by Marc Mitnick DPM

Some toes are purple after swelling lessened with a Grade II Ankle Sprain

by Sidney French
(Oxford, Alabama, USA)

I rolled my foot inward yesterday and sprained the ankle more than has ever happened to me. It was pretty painful for a couple of hours then it became less. Started with an ice pack for as long as could be tolerated every hour and ibuprofen until going to bed. Had some hiker support socks that I wore to bed with an elastic bandage wrapped around the ankle for compression because the ankle and foot had swelled to quite a large size.

After waking up, I unwrapped the ankle and saw that bruises had appeared on the outside and inside of the ankle. The swelling had gone down but the ankle and foot were still puffy. I did another ice pack then put on a pair of the support socks and wrapped the ankle with the elastic bandage, not too tightly, and put on a pair of high top hiking boots and laced the one on the sprain loosely. Spent the day outside doing some light walking but sitting down regularly and elevating the foot. The pain became less and less as the day progressed.

When I came in at the end of the day, I pulled off the boot, unwrapped the elastic bandage and pulled off the support sock and saw that the swelling had gone down to almost normal size but my middle 3 toes and right behind them had a bruise-purple look but were not tender to the touch like a bruise.

Is this normal after the swelling and sprain?

Hi Sydney,
You can have bruising away from the site of the original injury; we see this many times after surgery.
The discoloration should start to lessen in a couple of days, if not and if your ankle does not continue to respond, you would be wise to consider seeing a local doctor.

Marc Mitnick DPM

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Mayo Clinic

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Arthritis Foundation

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Drugs.com

American Academy of Pediatrics

Penn State Medical Center

National Institutes of Health

Columbia University Department of Rehabilitation

ScienceDirect

Stanford Health Care

Illinois Bone and Joint Institute

Mount Sinai Hospital

Institute for Chronic Pain

University of Florida Health

American Family Physician

Cedars-Sinai

University of Maryland Medical Center

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Unknown location

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Poland

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South Carolina

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location unknown

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Seattle, WA

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New Jersey

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San Diego, CA

Dr. Mitnick, Just want to say thank you so very much for your quick response and very informative reply! After reading what you had to say, I called the doctor's office and was able to get in and see him the same day as my injury. Toe was x-rayed and luckily, it is not broken or fractured. Very badly bruised and will probably lose the toe nail. And although my toe and toe nail are still very black and blue and very sore, they ARE both starting to feel a little better. So again, thank you! I am so very happy that I came across your website. The service you provide is outstanding and immeasurable!

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Albany, NY

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Colorado

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Wonderful advice

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This is the best site for foot problem info.

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location unknown

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Wisconsin

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North Carolina

Many Thanks Dr Marc!
Thank you for your response. It sounds like a good plan to me. He did not cut the wart out first ...

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location unknown

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Florida

Dear Dr. Mitnick, Thank you so very much for taking your time to answer my question. You have greatly relieved my anxiety related to the continual tingly I feel in my feet. I will share your response with my podiatrist next week. God bless you for having this question and answer page on your website! Most gratefully,

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New Jersey

Thank you. you were more detailed than what others have told me they finally called from the last xrays and my son is now in a cast for 2 weeks he did have a fracture that was not noticeable.

a mom

location unknown

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Bellevue, WA

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Jodi

location unknown

Some toes are purple after swelling lessened with a Grade II Ankle Sprain

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