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 ?

Specializes in Emergency Department.
Had a man come in for shooting up with coffee - yep you read it right.

He said "I thought that if it gave me a buzz when I drank it, it would really make me feel good if I shot it"

Skin grafts, Vanco, psych unit.

That's a new one... gees.

Specializes in ortho, hospice volunteer, psych,.

My dorm was one of three brand new circular dorms on campus and phones were located in alcoves in inner walls -- 1 phone for every 3 or 4 rooms. A friend was pinning up a pair of jeans that were too long. One leg was pinned up and the other not and someone yelled that I had a call and off I went, running, and WHAM! and SPLAT! I not only broke my nose and blackened both eyes but I bled all over the new carpeting... Got to the ER across the street where they absolutely refused to believe what I told them. Didn't help that my boyfriend (a football tackle) who had accompanied me was 6' 9 1/2" to my 5'4".

sharpeimom:paw::paw:

During nursing school I worked in the ED triage. We had one lady brought to the front desk by EMS for.......menstrual cramps. When she was told it'd be a six hour wait, she said "Ok," and proceeded to whimper in her wheelchair in the corner for six hours. The doc wrote her a note for Midol.

Specializes in ER, Step-Down.
Oh, and one guy had some plastic thing in his member right underneath the skin, I guess to make it more pleasureable for her. It was in the shape of a money sign. Well, new girlfriend didn't like it so he tried to cut it out himself ???? That was dumb!

hahaha... so glad to hear someone else in the world has this. Had a pt that had two stars like that... one of the more bizarre things I've ever seen

There have been so many.

Two women in there 50's "We both got stung by a wasp" I asked if they were allergic to insect stings. The answer, "That is why we are here so you can tell us." No redness or swelling anywhere.

Child brought in because they got dizzy while blowing up a baloon. Feel fine now.

Very sweet one: Father brought in 4 month old to be checked for a head injury. " She rolled over for the first time and just seemed very startled." I asked what she fell off he states, "nothing she was on the carpeted floor."

One morning a guy came with a candle holder stuck up his behind. He said he "fell on it". :chuckle. He had to go to surgery to have it removed.

Specializes in ICU.

transported a lady to the ER the other night, she was d/c from that hospital that morning for suspected TIA that wasn't. that night, her daughter noticed she was suffering memory loss, and demanded that she be taken. lady was 81 ambulatory, aaox4.

Specializes in EMS, ED, Trauma, CEN, CPEN, TCRN.

I had a patient that came in because she had something green on her great toe ... our PA wiped whatever it was off with an alcohol prep. Some dye rubbed off onto her toe from her shoe, I guess. OMG, emergency! I was like, "Uhhhh ... be sure to wash your feet." Great patient teaching there. Go me. LOL.

Seriously.

Specializes in med/surg; nurse manager, critical care.

A prominant judge came into the ER with a lava lamp up his anal orrifice with the cord hanging out. Oh, another of my favorites are the men who come in with a potato up their rectum saying "I was naked in the kitchen, peeling potatoes and dropping them on the floor....I tripped". :yeah:

Specializes in ER.

A guy got stuck by a fish bone while removing a dead fish from the tank. couldn't even tell where this "puncture wound" was. Sent him home with a bandaid and tetnus shot. haha

Specializes in Emergency nursing, psych nursing, LTC.

We had a frequent flyer that came a bare minimum of 2x/day per EMS with multiple complaints, usually the same complaints (indigestion, sore throat, non-specific abd. pain) each time. She always got a GI cocktail (Maalox, viscous lidocaine, and Donagel). We finally got to the point that when we heard the call coming over the radio we would just pull the meds and mix them up so she could get treated right after we triaged her and it wouldn't tie up a bed. Now, take note we did ALWAYS thoroughly triage and if needed she got a room. That lady has had so many x-rays now she probably glows in the dark!!! Gotta love job security! :chuckle

We had a frequent flyer that came a bare minimum of 2x/day per EMS with multiple complaints, usually the same complaints (indigestion, sore throat, non-specific abd. pain) each time. She always got a GI cocktail (Maalox, viscous lidocaine, and Donagel). We finally got to the point that when we heard the call coming over the radio we would just pull the meds and mix them up so she could get treated right after we triaged her and it wouldn't tie up a bed. Now, take note we did ALWAYS thoroughly triage and if needed she got a room. That lady has had so many x-rays now she probably glows in the dark!!! Gotta love job security! :chuckle

It is people like this that make me feel better. I have been to the ER 2 times in the past 2 years and I thought that was to much. one was for vomiting blood and our school nurse freaked out. the other was an asthma attack for that one doc told me to and I had to disuade the ER doc from admitting me to the hospital so i dont feel bad about this one. But I thought I was ending up there to often then I see stories like this one, or the one of the 9 poeple having multiple thousands of visits between them in 5 years. So I guess in the sceme of things 2 in 2 years is not all that bad

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