Injured in Florence and need crutches
August 25, 2011 2:41 AM   Subscribe

Knee injury in Florence, Italy. Need crutches.

I banged my knee against a metal pole yesterday, quite hard but not as hard as I have before. Didn't feel pain immediately, kept walking roughly 3 miles, sat to take a rest and then it began to swell and now I can barely walk on it. I am in desperate need of crutches and am currently staying right next to the duomo. Where and how much (no travel insurance btw) can I procure crutches? Thank you so much.
posted by AMWKE1984 to Travel & Transportation around Florence, Italy (6 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
Is there a concierge desk at your hotel?
posted by infini at 4:15 AM on August 25, 2011


Are you an EU citizen? Have you got your EHIC card?
posted by pharm at 4:30 AM on August 25, 2011


Pharmacies carry them or can direct you to somewhere that does. If you tell them what kind of injury you have, they might be able to suggest other options, too. For whatever you get, usually there are differently-priced choices, so be sure to ask – and don't feel bad about telling them any budget constraints, they're usually very helpful.
posted by fraula at 4:31 AM on August 25, 2011


Best answer: Btw have you tried icing the swollen area? Don't put ice directly on it, put it in a plastic bag and then wrap that in a towel (it shouldn't freeze your skin, but cool it). As someone who's had many a knee injury in my day, that and rest are the best you can do. It will probably be better in a day, I think crutches might be too much for this type of injury.

Pharmacists could also advise you on special gels for injuries that cause bruising and swelling, btw. There's a great gel in France that cools the injured area and helps with the pain, but it probably doesn't have the same name in Italy.
posted by fraula at 4:38 AM on August 25, 2011


Where are you from? Various countries have reciprocal health care agreements with Italy (eg Australia). Even if you can't take advantage of this, don't assume that a doctor's visit is unaffordable. Here in NL it costs about 30 euros to go to the doctor if you have to pay for it yourself; I can't imagine that it could be more than about 100 euros in Italy, surely. Check with your consulate or embassy for info and for a list of English-speaking doctors if you don't speak Italian.

Sorry for not really answering the question; you can also check with the pharmacist and/or your local embassy or consulate.
posted by rubbish bin night at 5:46 AM on August 25, 2011


Advice upthread about ice treatment is good.

If that still doesn't help, as your concierge/pharmacist/local cop or any helpful local citizen for the nearest emergency room (pronto soccorso): treatment should be totally free. Only downside: they do triage at the acceptance desk and will probably put a swollen knee into the green channel, i.e. you'll be overtaken by anybody triaged as red, so there could be a long wait - take a good book and a large bottle of water.
posted by aqsakal at 7:07 AM on August 25, 2011


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