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

Specialties Emergency Nursing Q/A

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 LTC, CPR instructor, First aid instructor..
:roflmao: You would be surprised. Thank you for asking. :D

Several weeks ago, our three year old daughter got sick. She ran a fever of 103-104.5 for four days. Took her to the doctor after the first 24 hours, they did a rapid strep and strep culture---both negative. Fever continued for two more days. Poor girl wouldn't eat, drink, or anything. She was lethargic and pretty much just out of it. Dr's office kept telling me "It's a virus, let it run its course". Finally, after three days of this, we took her back to the doctor. They did another rapid strep, negative. They did bloodwork. The doctor came rushing in, the labwork showed that our daughter had NO neutrophils and that some of her WBC components were at a critical low level. We rushed off to the local children's ER with her. I was panicking, thinking the poor baby had leukemia or meningitis or something horrible. We get to the ER, the Motrin from the doctor's office had finally started working, temp was 99, she was feeling better but still lethargic and somewhat not her normal self. They do a rapid strep, negative. Chest x-ray and tons of bloodwork. They then did another strep culture. She had walking pneumonia and a throat infection. CBC from the hospital was COMPLETELY NORMAL....3 days later, the strep culture from the hospital came back showing she also had strep throat. We had to re-start a completely different antibiotic.

I ended up calling the doctor's office the next day, furious. I demanded to know why my daughter's bloodwork showed critical lows but the one at the hospital was completely normal. The nurse manager called me back and said "Oh, our CBC machine doesn't test for those levels. I thought the doctor knew that"....ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!! :mad:

I felt like an IDIOT for taking my daughter to the ER, thinking she had leukemia or menigitis, when she really had walking pneumonia and strep! All because the doctor's office screwed up big time!

That is just crazy! I know people who use the ER as a drs office because they don't have insurance but sometimes I wonder if people have any common sense!

It amazes me the things people go to the ER for, don't they realize how expensive it is. Unfortunately I am guessing a lot of them don't pay for it.

Hi new to the board, but had to add mine too.

1. Fresh Mesquito bite by ambulance(mom thought the child got West Nile)

2. Sunburn( yes it had been quite a bad sunburn....TWO WEEKS BEFORE)

3. Adult "toy" in an oriface and still running like the energizer bunny

4. 11 y/o that whooped up on three big male nurses for a scratch on her leg.

MOM was acting like the child had amputated her leg. Had AT LEAST a whole

roll of kerlix on it. Found out the wound was three days old an she needed

LORTAB for it

Tons more but those are some of the better ones

Steph

A pt came in complaining of pain during sex. She wanted the problem fixed right now on a Sunday night cause she was leaving for vacation the next morning and had big plans for her vacation! My suggestion was quit having sex if it hurts so badly!!
Painful intercourse is a real problem and telling a woman to simply not have sex is seriously problematic. Is it ED worthy? No, but sexual dysfunction is nothing to laugh at. After 8 years of seering pain and being told it was in my head, almost destroying my marriage due to not wanting to endure the pain and my husband feeling like I was making it up (after all the doctors say its in your head), I'm glad it was finally diagnosed properly and treated.
Painful intercourse is a real problem and telling a woman to simply not have sex is seriously problematic. Is it ED worthy? No, but sexual dysfunction is nothing to laugh at. After 8 years of seering pain and being told it was in my head, almost destroying my marriage due to not wanting to endure the pain and my husband feeling like I was making it up (after all the doctors say its in your head), I'm glad it was finally diagnosed properly and treated.

Right, but this thread is about dumb things people go to the ER with, not "how these complaints should be handled in a doctor's office."

I would still think the response is not an appropriate response for an ER health care provider. If you want ridiculous, I will only have tales of my days on the truck since my only ER experience is when I brought patients in. I got out of EMS for that reason...well that and the fact that I used to run inter facility non emergency transports and a hospital refused to allow me to keep a patient there when a storm system with the potential to produce tornados was moving though the area. Me, a Franciscan monk and a wheel chair van on a bridge when the hail hit and wind got going. Got off the road safely to discover a tornado touched down a half mile away. Monk said "I'm not afraid, we have a band of angels watching over us". I said "father, I'm not very religious, but I'm pretty sure if I manage to kill a monk today, I'm bypassing purgatory and going straight to hell" Boss unable to be reached to divert until safe. Boss laughed at me when I finally reached him informing him he put me and the patient in danger as did the hospital. I found a new job within the month and haven't been in an ambulance since.

I would still think the response is not an appropriate response for an ER health care provider.

The nice thing about vent threads like this is that we can say the things here that we don't say to the patients. It doesn't have to be appropriate, it's venting frustration to other folks wh will get it.

Specializes in Emergency.
Really? How would you like to experience a PE with pleuritic pain, an MI, fibromyalgia, kidney failure, double pneumonia, septicemia, CHF, and giving birth without any medications like this person who lives in Pennsylvania? You are making a bit of a generalized statement, don't you think?

OMg, settle down. dont be so sensitive. Air conditioners can't cause all that. sheesh!

The nice thing about vent threads like this is that we can say the things here that we don't say to the patients. It doesn't have to be appropriate, it's venting frustration to other folks wh will get it.
True. I took the post to say they actually said it to the patient. I don't care if you vent away from said patient lol.
Specializes in ICU.

Sept 2001: 40 something yr old male came in to a PENNSYLVANIA ER because there was too much powder on his donut from Dunkin Donuts and he wanted tested for anthrax and a script for Cipro.

Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.

Lets remember that this is a thread about what we would like to say, but never do....... and the ridiculous things people utilize the ED for that are not REALLY emergencies.

The truth of the ED is stranger than any fiction I have ever read.

+ Add a Comment