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

Gum stuck in long blond (bleached) hair. The doctor wrote a recommendation on an order sheet to a cosmetologist.

By ambulance at 2am, a blister on the rt great toe.
No ride back, no friends, and hungry (but I didn't need to tell you guys that)

And, yes we get a lot of people wanting a pregnancy test. Seems some insurances will pay for an er visit, but not an OTC test (go figure)

Tampon "lost" for two days. One of the few times I almost blew chow from the smell.


Worst weirdest was a person that drank a cup of abrasive substance that wasn't supposed to be drank. Can't tell ya any more than that without violating HIPPA. Needless to say it wasn't pretty and that person is really messed up for life.

Another weird injury I saw once upon a time, a kid came in with a fishing lure stuck to his head. When he first walked up I thought it was something coming out of his head! (I was a registrar in the ER then.)

Pam

I know this one by way of working at a Peds office.

Mummy's little angel got sent home from school with head lice (first case).
Mummy called clinic for an appointment.
Triage advised could be treated at home.
20 minutes was spent repeating instructions to a parent who didn't want to deal with it and calling in a script for Nix and a lice comb in to their pharmacy.

The next day we got the ER report, mom must have taken the child in as soon as I hung up with her.
They left the ER with the child untreated and you guessed it, a script for Nix and a lice comb.

I guess mom thru a huge scene because she had to (gasp) PICK THE NITS OUT OF HER CHILDS HAIR HER SELF.

Arrived via ambulance, Mild Headache 3 hour duration, hadnt tried any otc drugs. Bet he had a real headache when he got the er and ambulance bill

Normally I would not have anything to add to one of these threads, but, just the other night a 20 something female came in because she cut a fingernail to short and it hurt.
She waited over 2 hours to be told to go home, there was nothing we would do for her.

bob

I agree.......kidney stones are an experience in pain that Torquemada, the Grand Inquisitor of the Spanish Inquisition, could never have topped! I had two of 'em several years ago---one in the right kidney, and one in the bladder, both of which were almost a centimeter in diameter---and ended up having to have them blasted out by laser lithotripsy. A couple days before the procedure the bladder stone had tried to pass on its own, but of course it was far too big to get through, and I'm telling you, I sat on the toilet for about three hours (it felt like I had to pee every two minutes, so I ended up just staying in there), the sweat was pouring off me in rivers, and it was all I could do to keep from screaming! I'd never been in such agony in my life, and I've been through appendicitis, unmedicated childbirth, and three C-sections. On a 0-10 scale, this pain rated at least a 12.5.......I'll never forget it.

Then, of course, after you have the laser lithotripsy, there's the little matter of having stents in your ureters to keep them patent. Every time I went to the bathroom---and that was pretty danged often---it felt like someone had lit twin blowtorches in my lower back. The first time I was able to pee without pain, after my urologist had removed the stents, it felt so good I literally burst into tears........Needless to say, I make sure to ALWAYS drink at least two liters of water and other non-caffeinated fluids every day, as I know the statistical probability of a repeat performance (and thus live in fear of another attack ).

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.

EEEEEWWWWWWWW.

I always seem to get the ones who come to ED for routine illnessess, chest colds, strep, etc that have just come from their doctor's office. You see the doc examined them and gave them an rx but they want a second opinion, or they don't feel any better yet. Never mind they haven't gotten the script filled or even taken a pill yet. I'd love to say "Lemme see what Dr Jones gave you. Yep, looks like the proper course of treatment for bronchitis to me." Rings little bell. "Thank you. Next!"