What was the MOST ridiculous thing a patient came to the ER for?

And did you have to treat them?

I am just curious. Your stories always seem to either crack me up or shake my head in amazement.

Thanks for sharing ?

[111th, ADN, LPN]

Just curious, and maybe you have no idea:

Any of these folks actually pay a co-pay? Or anything for their care?

Few! The pts insurance is listed on their face sheet and I have to look in order to make sure they stop at the front desk if needed after discharge. It's usually obvious who has Medicaid when they come in for silly things (man with chapped lips who didn't try Vaseline or Chapstick or when a family of 6 all want to be seen for sore throats). We do have MANY self-pays come in for things like sore throat or a refill for BP med and it blows my mind. Our visits start out at $209! 99.9% of the time they didn't even try call the prescribing doc!

*Just my observation regarding Medicaid pts. I of course treat all pts the same regardless of their method of payment. :)

[sunflowerr]

The police had raided a crack house. In the refrigerator they found what they thought was a human fetus. They brought it to the ER. It was an oyster.

This gave me a good laugh. :)

[ebrooks1013]

My sepsis is acting up

Shaky arms

And just to add- when did it become ok to allow the large amount of preg tests?? At my facility we supposedly "don't do preg tests," so some nurses try to encourage them to come up with a different CC! Of course we don't want that negative feedback from the patient, heavens no, the CEO won't get as big of a bonus...sigh

How about my scabies is acting up? Not a bad reason to come I guess but when scabies becomes a chronic condition for you....

[No Stars In My Eyes]

Definitely have had my fair share of stories, however, this was top 5.

Pt came in for psych issues, but then mentioned he had pain in his testicles. Come to find out the pt was high on meth and masturbated with super glue. Yes. 2nd degree burns on scrotum. And guess who was the lucky nurse that had to remove the dried up glue? That's right. This gal.

Oh my sweet Jesus.

[Jasel, BSN, RN]

Neck pain. Standard I know. The only thing was this was in the middle of the night during a pretty nasty blizzard in Chicago. And he had the neck pain for 3 years. And he left 20 minutes after triage...

[WellThatsOod]

Maybe it's because I have to pay $100 before I leave the ER but unless something is broken or there is a head injury I go to urgent care first (if can't get in with doc)

[Christy1019, ASN, RN]

Oh my sweet Jesus.

You literally took the EXACT words out of my mouth, lol!!

[psu_213, BSN, RN]

Pixie.RN said:

Or a picture of it? LOL

"I took a picture of it on my phone. Wanna see it?" But I'm sure the doctor does.

[psu_213, BSN, RN]

allison91 said:

"I think I have spider bites on my lady parts."

Sorry, herpes.

I'm not sure which would be more concerning.

[klone, MSN, RN]

Don't work ED, but I scrub patients' charts to get psych and medical backgrounds when they enter OB care with us. I'm continually shocked/not shocked at how many young women call an ambulance to go to the ED for yeast infections and pregnancy confirmation.

[heyyounurseypoo]

ixchel said:

I had a retired ED nurse as a patient the other day. She was feeling chatty as the moderate sedation was wearing off and morphine was kicking in. She shared a few stories with me, but the one that stood out the most? She had a young lady come in with a pants zipper stuck to her lips. I asked if the boy was still attached. She said no. ?

Wait, which lips?

[LadyFree28, BSN, LPN, RN]

heyyounurseypoo said:

Wait, which lips?

Now I wonder as well...they both are around a cervical area...