An ankle sprain that could cause death?!

[Riceko]

Please help... I am at such a loss.
My significant other was playing Freestyle frisbee about four days ago when he fell wrong on his foot and sprained his ankle.

We immediatly took him to the doctor.. who said he could've torn a ligament completely but he needed to comfirm it with the x-rays.
He is suppose to go back on Monday... but I am HORRIBLY worried after what my mom told me...

She said that when she took a long plane flight and her feet swelled way up... a nurse told her that if she didn't elevate it soon, she could possibly get a blood-clot which could go straight to her heart and kill her!

My SO... well... its REALLY bad. His ankle is purplish-black in three places... and even my mom said that she has never seen anyone's foot swell so bad.
Its so swollen, he can barely move his toes...

We took him out all day to get books and have fun... but when we got home we realized we shouldn't have done that. He was in pain cause his bandages were too tight on his foot.. when earlier they were really loose.


So he is going to elevate it as much as he can... and I let him borrow an ice pack for it.. but he has been doing that, and its just been getting worst.
His mom recently went through some mental trauma and I am afraid that if it gets REALLY bad... she will be too stubborn to take him to the hospital.


What else can I do?
I heard that IBprofen (sp?) can help reduce swelling... but I am not sure. (and he has pretty bad asthma)

God.. I just dont want to lose him this way.. I need help and support so bad right now.. I dont know how to handle myself.

Please anyone.. if you know anyway that you can help me to help him.. I'll take all the info I can get.


Thank you all so much. I know this turned out to be quite lengthy.

[Lunar Raven]

I've never heard of anyone dying from a swollen ankle!

I was born with a rare bone condition in which my bones are much weaker than a 'normal' person's .. so I've experienced more than a few bone fractures. I've had bad swelling and such..but I'm still here ;).

I can't say if there's any medical truth to what your mom told you or not, but I've never heard of such a thing...and simply doubt it. If you're worried enough, call the doctor and ask...tell him what your mom told you. I'm sure he'll be fine though. Many people get swollen ankles for various reasons, and I've never heard of a side affect being death.

My suggestion as said above, is to simply call your doctor. Elevate the leg, and don't let him put alot of preasure on it. IBprofen can help as well. Just stay calm, and I'm sure all with turn out for the best.

You have my positive energy.
-Lunar Raven.

[Riceko]

I've never heard of anyone dying from a swollen ankle!

I was born with a rare bone condition in which my bones are much weaker than a 'normal' person's .. so I've experienced more than a few bone fractures. I've had bad swelling and such..but I'm still here ;).

I can't say if there's any medical truth to what your mom told you or not, but I've never heard of such a thing...and simply doubt it. If you're worried enough, call the doctor and ask...tell him what your mom told you. I'm sure he'll be fine though. Many people get swollen ankles for various reasons, and I've never heard of a side affect being death.

My suggestion as said above, is to simply call your doctor. Elevate the leg, and don't let him put alot of preasure on it. IBprofen can help as well. Just stay calm, and I'm sure all with turn out for the best.

You have my positive energy.
-Lunar Raven.

Thanks alot. Yea I'm a bit calmer now. Hopefully swollen ankles dont really get that bad O_O"
And if I go in to see my doctor (hopefully soon.. got some warts to remove) I'll probably ask him about it.

Thanks again! :3

[Lunar Raven]

You're very welcome :D.

I did a little research, and did find that swollen ankles *or other parts* can (in rare cases) lead to clots...but most of the people who get clots from swelling have a certain syndrome, which isn't related to injury. The only way a clot could go to the heart as you described, is it was formed inside of a vein From what I've read, this is rare. I'd say if an ankle was swollen for a very long time, you could be a bit worried..but since it's so new, and caused by a sudden injury, I wouldn't worry too much. Swelling is common in injuries...and usually takes awhile to go down. Elevation is important to get the swelling down and keep blood flowing more naturally.

Talking to a doctor though, can never hurt, just to be safe!

Blessed be
-Lunar Raven

[Liguana]

About the blood clot thing, Long flights can cause blood clots because the blood is sluggish in it's flow through the veins due to pressure of the seat to the thighs without relief, legs bent at knees and hips for long hours and no exercise. This usually occurs in people with vascular insufficiency. The veins in their legs have weak valves and the flow is already sluggish before they board the plane. This is common in people over ...40 or 50. One of those annoying aging things.

Your young man has a sports injury. Yes, it was a very bad idea for him to be hobbling all over town. Ideally he should have spent long hours laying down with his foot elevated on pillows above the level of his heart. It is still a good idea. After this long a time ice may not be much help in keeping swelling down. Ibuprofen is great for this type of injury but he should check with his doctor to make sure it does not interact with his asthma meds. I can't imagine he was sent home without instructions of how to care for himself. He may want to reread the papers he was given about his injury. Take care.

[Riceko]

Well! We took him to the doctor yesterday and found out he has a Grade 3 ankle sprain... which means he tore the entire ligament (sp again? :P)

Sooo... he has a cast for the next three weeks and may have to pass up the first half of the snowboarding season :(

But the good part is, he wont have to get surgery (right away at least) and he probably wont die. Lol.


Thank you everyone who gave me information and comforted me! It really helped :D

[soul_searcher]

Hi, I am glad to hear your SO is relatively OK :) and I am hoping for a speedy recovery for him. Now it is time to baby him as men love to be babied when they are ill/hurt :lol: Have fun!

[Riceko]

Hi, I am glad to hear your SO is relatively OK :) and I am hoping for a speedy recovery for him. Now it is time to baby him as men love to be babied when they are ill/hurt :lol: Have fun!

Hehe yea I'll pamper him :O
He's so polite though... he is on crutches and still tries to do things for me... like make food or clean something O_O
And I'm like... trying to get him to sit down.

So this will be a fun three weeks. :lol: