Bizarre/funny things patients do

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Specializes in ER, ICU, Education.

I had the funniest thing happen. Yesterday, my relatively young (early 30s) patient took two tiny pills separately, flinging back his head violently while taking each one. Yesterday was the first time I've seen someone who is relatively young perform this odd behavior. I have seen many older patients do it, but never someone in their thirties. Of course, he had no reported swallowing issues and no difficulty bolting down huge bites of his cheeseburger without flinging back his head after each bite. When asked, he claimed he has to do it to swallow the pill. The pills were about the size of an Altoid mini by the way!

What makes you laugh that you've seen patients doing?

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Specializes in Critical Care; Cardiac; Professional Development.

It didn't make me laugh, trust me, but I had a COPD exacerbation patient light up in their room yesterday WITH their nasal cannula poised on their cheek prongs up. I don't think I have ever been that angry at a patient before.

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Specializes in Emergency/Trauma/Critical Care Nursing.

Had a female pt squat over a urinal and poop in it, despite being ambulatory and me offering to walk her to the restroom. She said "eh, this is just as easy". Um, okay then!

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Specializes in Emergency/Trauma/Critical Care Nursing.

Oh, had another one last night. Very bizarre pt with flat affect and paranoia, shoves a $5.00 bill in my coworkers pocket and says "What?!? Its not like I'm expecting anything for it!"

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?!?

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Specializes in LTC Rehab Med/Surg.

It's not new or bizarre, but the endless fascination the elderly pt has for their poop and pee. (feces and urine for the delicate).

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Specializes in LTC Rehab Med/Surg.
Had a female pt squat over a urinal and poop in it, despite being ambulatory and me offering to walk her to the restroom. She said "eh, this is just as easy". Um, okay then!

:wideyed:

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Specializes in NICU.

Not nursing related, but I work as a sleep technologist and my coworker had a patient that appeared to be having a seizure on the EEG monitor. I zoomed the camera out and noticed what I thought were hand tremors. I zoomed the camera in towards his hand. NOT hand tremors, he was pleasuring himself. I advised my co-worker to keep the camera zoomed above the waistline.

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Specializes in Emergency.
Had a female pt squat over a urinal and poop in it despite being ambulatory and me offering to walk her to the restroom. She said "eh, this is just as easy". Um, okay then![/quote']

I once went into a room with a new female patient in it. I was horrified to see a full urinal sitting on the bedside table. Apologizing profusely for what I assumed was a housekeeping error I was putting on gloves to remove it. "No" she says "that's mine."

"You peed in a urinal?"

"Yes, and it wasn't easy" (accusingly)

Speechless...

She was right ticked off when I told her that she had to actually go to the BR and provide a clean catch for me.

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Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
Had a female pt squat over a urinal and poop in it, despite being ambulatory and me offering to walk her to the restroom. She said "eh, this is just as easy". Um, okay then!

WOW! She must have incredible aim!

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Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.

When I was a brand new nurse, before I even had a license, the nurse manager didn't know what to do with me (never heard of a preceptor or orientation; they had their own diploma school so no one had evidently needed orientation before). They gave me a list of patients to be weighed every morning from 7 to 7:30 while the other nurses were in report. So every morning, I weighed the patients on the list, and every morning when I went into room 21, there was a huge, steaming pile of poop in the corner. So every morning, I charted it on that patient's I & O. Then I'd wake her up and weigh her. One morning when I got to her room, she was awake and sitting bolt upright. "I didn't do that," she gasped, pointing at the huge, steaming pile of poop in the corner. "Some crazy old lady came in here and did that!"

"Uh huh," I thought. "Sure." And documented that she had moved her bowels and seemed confused.

Funnily enough, no one else thought she was confused.

And then one morning, I witnessed the crazy patient in room 19 darting out of her room and into room 21. So I followed. And found her squatting in the corner, leaving a nice, steaming pile of poop.

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When I was a brand new nurse before I even had a license, the nurse manager didn't know what to do with me (never heard of a preceptor or orientation; they had their own diploma school so no one had evidently needed orientation before). They gave me a list of patients to be weighed every morning from 7 to 7:30 while the other nurses were in report. So every morning, I weighed the patients on the list, and every morning when I went into room 21, there was a huge, steaming pile of poop in the corner. So every morning, I charted it on that patient's I & O. Then I'd wake her up and weigh her. One morning when I got to her room, she was awake and sitting bolt upright. "I didn't do that," she gasped, pointing at the huge, steaming pile of poop in the corner. "Some crazy old lady came in here and did that!" "Uh huh," I thought. "Sure." And documented that she had moved her bowels and seemed confused. Funnily enough, no one else thought she was confused. And then one morning, I witnessed the crazy patient in room 19 darting out of her room and into room 21. So I followed. And found her squatting in the corner, leaving a nice, steaming pile of poop.[/quote']

OMG that kills me!!

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Specializes in Emergency/Cath Lab.

This is how I have to take pills. I cant swallow them any other way. And I am younger than 30 too

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