Hot Cheetos are a public health menace

I've often wished for asbestos toilet paper too after indulging in very hot foods (which seem almost impossible to stop eating, even if your better sense screams it). There is something about eating hot foods and endorphins that is difficult to explain.

And if you're indulging in adult beverages while you eat your hot food, it's even better and more judgement-clouding about the consequences you're going to face the next day or two. I've found that mixing capsaicin in large amounts with alcohol consumption makes drinks feel a LOT stronger.

I'd say 'unbelievable!', but where I live - let me tell you first, that as a local radio station jokes, the Official Question of New Mexico is "Red or green?" (chile - on enchiladas, breakfast burritos, and lots of other things) - a local place is actually selling a green chile shake right now. I love green chile, but in a shake? No.

Do you like Piccadilly ? This is a sweet slushee with chopped up picke in them gag gag

And here is a perfect example of absolute & total waste of health care dollars. If you're laying there eating a bag of Cheetos, your belly pain can't be too bad. No million dollar workup--in fact, it should be immediate discharge with a referral to a clinic. Why are health care costs so astronomical? Because the "You have the right to be seen & treated regardless of your ability to pay." There needs to be some sort of judgment call permitted by triage personnel because on an average day, an ED is full of non-emergencies. There is a large percentage of people without any health insurance at all that use ED's as a primary care clinic for themselves & their children & never pay the bills. Those costs are dumped onto everybody else, via higher taxes & higher costs for private health insurance. This B.S. has to stop.

People have to start taking some responsibility for their own health & the system has to stop "rewarding" people for their bad choices. You're obese because you eat McDonald's every day? We've got a cure for you--bariatric surgery!!! You're a diabetic because you weigh 400 lbs. & eat a cheesecake every day? No problem---there are tons of different medications for diabetes out there!! You can keep eating that cheesecake because we can control your blood sugar with medications!!! How about rewarding those who do eat a healthy diet, stay active & take care of themselves? Those rewards can come in the form of lower insurance premiums, co-pays & deductibles. People that take care of themselves are being punished for the bad choices of others, and it is not fair. Why should my insurance premium, as someone that does not go to the doctor hardly at all, be the same as someone that goes to a doctor every other week for some health problem due to their sh***y lifestyle? Take some responsibility for yourself, for God's sake.

My son just told me that some rapper, Lil Xan was hospitalized for eating too many flamin' hot cheetos:

Yeah, I went to the hospital today. Getting ready to pack for this tour. I just want to let everybody know that I was in the hospital for not due to any drugs, but I guess I ate too many Hot Cheetos and it ripped something in my stomach open a little bit and I puked a little blood. So we good.

It's okay though, because he good.

Maybe the OP should consider a different department if things like this are so bothersome. So what if she "looks" unhealthy, poor, or a waste of resources. Those things make her undeserving and therefore she should be mocked, treated badly, and discharged immediately? Instead of worrying about her income and eating habits, why are you not mad about the state of healthcare and how it's almost out of reach for our country's poorest? That the people in poverty have little choice but to go to the emergency room with complaints that people with health insurance would go to the PCP for? That's what upsets me-people living below the poverty line, children, etc that don't have resources to seek better medical treatment and are therefore forced to go to the ER and get treated badly because some of the staff thinks they're "undeserving" of their precious resources that in all actuality cost very little but are ridiculously inflated. Those are the things that make me mad. I also get upset when people are discriminated against, but that's just me.

Personally, I was not too hot on the tone of the OP. But, it is a pretty common outlook amongst a lot of ER nurses, and I am also not sure it should be dismissed out of hand. As an ER nurse, I see this type of visit frequently. And, as with any visit by anybody, I form an initial impression, and leave my mind open. As part of the job, an ER nurse often learns something about the financial status and insurance of a patient. And, the reality is that visits as described in the OP don't generally happen with patients who pay a co-pay.

But, you are mis-representing what he said. He did not advocate treating her badly, or suggest she is discharged without an appropriate exam and workup.

And, while it is true that many uninsured use the ER as primary care, this patient has insurance. The type of insurance one has absolutely affects how one uses resources. Where I work, it is not unusual for a patient with government supplied, no co-pay insurance use the system differently than I, or my family and friends do. They might have seen their PCP yesterday, but didn't like the diagnosis or treatment, so are in for another shot at the treatment they want. Or, they had to wait for an appointment, as do most of us, but opted for the quicker, and equally free, ER visit. On my pay, and with my insurance, I can't afford that kind of behavior. But, many of my patients have different insurance, and can make these choices.

As far as "worrying about her income and eating habits": If you aren't worried about the eating habits of the poor in this country, you aren't paying attention. The Harvard School of Public Health is certainly worried about it. The widening rich-poor diet gap is disconcerting and "will have important public health implications,"

I love flaming hot cheetohs. It ain't easy bein' cheesy. Dangerously cheesy.

LOL. It doesn't sound easy.

Why do you assume she used food stamps and Medicaid?

This.

Why do poor people have to live the way non-poor people think they should in order to "earn" assistance?

I have never used government assistance but my physical appearance is that of someone who has eaten more than her share of unhealthy food. And I know better. Not everyone has adequate knowledge of nutrition.

Also, go to the hospital cafeteria and you'll see why those with fewer funds eat unhealthy foods. Chicken fingers, fries and a soda will be half the price of a salad from the salad bar, fresh fruit cup and a bottled water. Chips, a honeybun and a Mountain Dew? Even cheaper!