Son Cut His toe...how to Tell If He Needs Stitches!

Do you have email access to his Dr? Maybe send the Dr a pic of the cut... I love that my kids' Dr does that with us :)

The biggest thing with stitches is stopping the bleeding followed by cosmetic. Obviously a toe is not a cosmetic issue so we are talking about stopping the bleeding. It sounds like you can do that if he stops picking at it.

I would say no to the stitches and it doesn't sound like something that they would stitch anyway.

I know getting a child to sit still is like stopping a train but maybe a fluffy pillow to put his foot up on and a favorite movie?

If it won't stop bleeding - it sounds like you might need a trip to the urgent care!

I envy you never cutting yourself!! I dropped a knife on the top of my right foot when I was 11. My mom had to take me to the ER, I got 4 or 5 stitches.

Feet are like the face - they bleed easily. Since it's the "web" between his toes, walking on it and bending may make it continue to bleed. Let a doctor decide!! Call your advice nurse to see what they say!

I hope he's okay!!

Yeah it sounds fine. And toni v, seriously?? We post on here for backup...usually other moms have been there before and it's just nice to get some reassurance that things will be OK. It's not like she expected a medical diagnosis over the internet. And the thing about reproducing? Bitchy much?

Meh. Super-glue it back together. I work in the construction industry, where guys have to fill out a ton of paperwork if, for some reason, they have to seek medical attention for a jobsite injury. You'd be shocked at the wounds I've seen super-glued back together because they don't want to fill out paperwork. And none of them have had any appendages fall off. Seriously, just super-glue it. He will be okay.

My son had to get stitched right near his eyebrow not too long ago. The cut wouldnt stop bleeding and when I applied pressure to it with a cloth, I did notice blood tissue on the cloth, so I knew he needed stitches. I took him to urgent care and they gave him 3 stitches and they were taken out 5 days later. No big deal. It woouldnt hurt just to take him to urgent care to see.

Does your doctors office or insurance have an "advice nurse" or someone you can call. The Kaiser advice nurses have talked me through any number of these "do I need to take him in or not?" situations.

That said, when my son bit through his lower-lip/chin area, they told me if it cut all the way through or was more than a 1/4 inch deep to take him in.

If the cut isn't terribly deep, I'd try liquid bandage or something like that since it's a tricky spot to keep a bandaid on.

If it's a deep or wide gash and/or it won't stop bleeding or it doesn't start to scab up within a few hours, you probably should go in.

Sounds like you're not having a bleeding issue, and the cut is small. But if he's still having pain, perhaps there is still glass in his foot. I'd just take him in to be sure.

When I was little, I cut my foot after stepping on glass and just about lost my mind everytime I took a step. Apparently mom checked but never saw it lodged there. It took my mom about a month of my complaining, and going through two pairs of new shoes before she got smart and took me to the doctor.

He instantly found he glass, plucked it out with a tweezer and I was as good as new. Luckily no infection. Who knows what would have happend if they never plucked it out?

Is he current with shots, such as tetanus? Put Bacitracin or Neosporin on it and wrap it good, to be on the safe side

If you can see the dark red "meaty" flesh, then you need stitches. Or if it is seeming to bleed a lot, then it might need stitches. I cut my finger last week pretty good with a knife and I could see the different layers of my skin from inside the cut, The top layer was clearish white, the middle layer was a little more pink and the deepest layer was really dark red. I should have gotten some stitches, but it was a clean cut and it went back together perfectly so I just steri-stripped it. It has healed great. Glad to hear your son is doing better! Just keep an eye on it and watch for infection. My son got a small scratch on his pinky finger and a few days later it was swollen, red, and painful and it even had a red line starting to form. He had to be put on antibiotics. Good Luck!

I think if you see 'stuff' coming out of the cut it needs stitches and on the foot like that it would be hard to do them I would think. Clean it well, put a bandage or something around it to keep it clean but if it's just bleeding that isn't very bad I think it would be okay. I'm not a doctor though so keep an eye on it and be sure it's just cut and not 'open'.

B., someone else may have told you this. I think it's 24 hours to get stitches if needed. You may recall that I cut my hand a week ago. I'm really glad that I did not spend 100 dollars to go and get this stitched. BUT, I really should have I suppose. It broke back open a couple days ago and was bleeding while I was driving and I didn't have anything to clean up with. It's now mostly healed on the ends. But in the center it's still sore. I'm allergic to bandaids of all things. So having to wear one for a week caused blisters on my hand.

I just suggest taking another look this morning and deciding if you think it's going to heal fast or not.