Suggest Treatment For Pain And Swelling In The Ankles Post Injury

Posted on Fri, 2 Dec 2016

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Fri, 2 Dec 2016 Answered on

Thu, 22 Dec 2016 Last reviewed on

Question : I was hit by a car two weeks ago at my ankle, lower leg. Xrays revealed no break and had a dopplar test to confirm no blood clot on Monday. Now the area on the top of my shin down by my ankle is swollen and a little read and really painful. Is it just a deep bone bruise. I am also diabetic and 59 years old

Answered by Dr. Aashish Raghu (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
Need to rule out bruising vs cellulitis

Detailed Answer:
Hi there.

Thanks for the query.

I have reviewed your attached pictures.

Does the region feel too warm?

Any fever?

There appears to be redness, swelling as you described. This could be due to the trauma but the redness should be reducing from the time of trauma. If it is increasing, it could be infection called Cellulitis, which is infection of the skin and subcutaneous tissue. This can spread rapidly, cause fever and general malaise and may need urgent methanol attention.

Do get blood test for compete blood count to rule out infective parameters in the blood. Do get it looked at by a Doctor to rule out Cellulitis.

Apply ice pack. Avoid weight bearing if uncomfortable. Avoid calf squeezing or massage. Keep the limb elevated. You may need antibiotics if there is infection for such you need to consult your Doctor for a thorough examination. You can take Antiinflammatory drug like Tablet Ibuprofen 400mg twice a day after meals and Tablet Rabeprazole twice a day before meals for 5 days.

I hope I have answered your query.

I will be available to answer your follow up queries.

Regards,

Dr. Aashish Raghu

Note: For further queries, consult a joint and bone specialist, an Orthopaedic surgeon. Book a Call now.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Raju A.T