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 ortho/neuro/general surgery.
One Morning In Er I Was Assigned To Our Gyn Area. One Patient Was On Call To The Or Because She Had A Chain(bracelet) In Her Bladder. Yep, I Saw It On X-ray.

HOW in the *heck* did she manage that one?

Specializes in Med/Surg.
HOW in the *heck* did she manage that one?

Oh i dont want to know how she got a bracelett in her bladder!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A kidney stone IS an emergency!!!!!

Specializes in ed.

CC - "My boyfriend and I were having sex and all of a sudden I felt my heart beat fast and I couldn't catch my breath and I made him stop and bring me straight here!"

This was a 19y/o female who arrived in her boyfriend's arms, hyperventilating, with a look of sheer terror on her face.

I sent the boyfriend out and we had a chat about orgasms. She still insisted something was wrong, was registered, seen by the doctor and sent home, still sure she was gripped by the hogjowls of death, with the obvious diagnosis.

Poor dude!

Specializes in ER, ICU, L&D, OR.
- had a mom bring in her 14 year old son b/c he had a low-grade fever for 30 minutes

- had someone come in b/c they wanted to change the colour of their cast

- had a teenage girl come in b/c she'd had sex the night before and wanted to get a pregnancy test to see if she was pregnant

Just goes further to convince me that some people should be forever removed from the ability to breed. Support Eugenics

Here's another one...

20 y/o "Buffy" type sorority girl at an area university, comes in with the c/o "A bump down there and its tender", hx present x 2 mos.

External exam by the doc reveals nothing unusual or abnormal, as he palpates around she suddenly says "that's IT!"

He palpates again. "this?" he asked, with a slight flitter with his finger to make sure he was correct (never mind the WAY that happened)..

"yes, that" was the answer

He sat back, removed his gloves, took a deep breath, and said with every amount of composure he could muster...

"that's your privy parts. That's SUPPOSED to be there."

All I could think was...God bless her, some poor guy finally found it.

:rotfl:

LMAO... I almost peed my pants when I read this! I only worked in ER for about a year, but it brings back the memories of the astoundingly stupid (but funny) incidents I myself had encountered! Thanks to all who share this stuff... it's great entertainment in a stressful world of medicine!

I worked in the ER for about a year as an ER tech. The one story that sticks out in my mind the most is the individual who came in with the complaint of a sore throat. The man sat in the waiting room for probably at least 4 or 5 hours waiting to be seen by one of the ER docs. One of the ladies from the check in desk brings the patient back, and lets the tech or nurse for that section know that there is a new patient in the room, and what their complaint is. So I go waltzing into the room, and tell the patient that he needs to get into the gown - and I will step out while he gets changed. He proceeds to tell me that he isn't really there for a sore throat, but he wants a sex change!:chuckle

So as I am trying my best to be professional (and not let the patient see me picking my jaw up from the floor), I explained to him that this would be better discussed with the nurse or doctor. He proceeds to tell me that he has been wanting this sex change for a long time, and today he decided was the day to do it! He was wanting to know if we could just lop it off, turn it inside out, and stuff it back inside so he could have a lady parts. It was everything I had to not bust up laughing. The nurse for that section asked me why I was laughing so damn hard (my laughing was out of earshot of the patient of course). She didn't believe me when I told her, and had to go in and find out for herself! Needless to say, the guy was referred for a psych consult.

Guy came in with neck pain. When asked "why he has neck pain" he answered he was trying to give himself oral sex and strained his neck in the process. unbelievable!!!:uhoh3:

Specializes in Urgent Care.

A guy came in for a refill on his O2 tank. Not to far out there right? But see, he has no scrip, no explanation of where he got the tank or anything, but "my doctor told me I needed it" because of the "toxic atmosphere". He also told the psych pt in the bed next to him that what she really needed was o2 and all her issues where also related to "toxic atmosphere".

I realize he is mentally ill, but that is still a ridiculous reason to come into the ER.

Specializes in Emergency.

Potential patient: "I want that medicine so I can have sex with my wife"

Nurse: Viagra??? That is not an emergency sir, we can not see you for that.

Nurse, smiling under her cool calm demeanor

Specializes in Emergency.

I had a 15 y/o female come (with a friend) to the ER to "get rid of" a pimple because she had a date that night. When we insisted on a parental permission before treatment, she became belligerent because she had "insurance" (public aid) that "pays (my) salary" and had "the right to see a doctor right away."

P.S. The mother authorized treatment.

There was also the guy with the vibrator (on) stuck in his rectum, the out-of-town salesman unable to remove a "cock ring" and the woman who inserted a tampon into her uninary meatus.

Just a pre-nursing student, first semester, but I have taken my daughter to ER before only to feel pretty stupid later...

My little one was unable to poo for 2 and a half days and she kept saying her tummy hurt and that she "couldn't get her butt to service" LOL. So we gave her a child's enema and NOTHING HAPPENED.

So we took her to the ER and they did an xray - said she had some kind of obstruction and amb us to another hospital with a Peds dept.

Once there, IV in place, waiting for CT scan to determine what the obstruction was...she was miserable. After being in the two hospitals for about 8 hours collectively, I went out for some fresh air. When I came back, they were already in CT. My husband comes around the corner with my DD in his arms and she is smiling and sparkly eyed and perfect.

Turns out 5 minutes before they came to get her for CT, she finally went potty and went and went and went, according to my husband. OBSTRUCTION gone...

Apparently after some investigation, we discovered my 4 year old daughter had helped herself to 6 packages of string cheese when no one was looking.

Felt pretty silly when the doc came in and said "Wow she looks better" to which my daughter replied " I just took a BIG POOP!!!"

Out of the mouths (and other ends) of babes!

We never would have taken her but her belly was distended and the enema did nothing...:uhoh21:

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