Strange things found on (or in) a pt.

Published

I've always wondered, especially after hearing about this guy who brought a snake into the ER----what is the strangest thing you've ever found on (or in) a patient?

Pt wanted a vag exam, because of "foul order". Uopn examination, found a intact 3 week old condom lodged way up there. When the doc pulled it out, she stated "thats it ...thats the odor!" Yup when asked the pt about this, pt stated "we knew we lost it, but never thought to look for it".

:smackingf

Up Vote Up Vote ×

This is off topic, but the various odors from various body areas reminded me of a fellow I had recently.

He came into the ER with a large dressing and plastic bags over his foot, said it was painful and "dripping". He was placed into a room and I went in to assess his foot......OMG, the smell as I took off layers of plastic bags (conveniently placed by his caregiver to catch the drips) and various rags, was overwhelming.

I turned to the caregiver (who was a younger lady) and asked her when it started to smell, and she said "oh, does it smell?" (I was almost gagging at this point). I asked her if she noted an odor in the house and she responded that it was all fine til that morning.

As I completed the unwrapping and bits of flesh were falling off and the hissing and burbling could be heard she sat there quite calmly.

I asked the owner of the foot when this problem began and he said, "oh, just this morning" but that he has had problems off and on with his diabetes.

Needless to say I was watching gas gangrene consume this mans foot and lower leg, the odor is like nothing I will ever experience again, the sounds will be with me forever .... but they were ok with it.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Emergency.

We had a fella come in with a carrot stuck up his rectum. He was lucky the general surgeon who was on was a woman with small hands and arms because she had to go elbow deep to get that thing out.

Another guy came in because he stuck a fire cracker up his urethra and proceeded to set if off. He had a hx of self-mutilation.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in ED/trauma.
This is off topic, but the various odors from various body areas reminded me of a fellow I had recently.

He came into the ER with a large dressing and plastic bags over his foot, said it was painful and "dripping". He was placed into a room and I went in to assess his foot......OMG, the smell as I took off layers of plastic bags (conveniently placed by his caregiver to catch the drips) and various rags, was overwhelming.

I turned to the caregiver (who was a younger lady) and asked her when it started to smell, and she said "oh, does it smell?" (I was almost gagging at this point). I asked her if she noted an odor in the house and she responded that it was all fine til that morning.

As I completed the unwrapping and bits of flesh were falling off and the hissing and burbling could be heard she sat there quite calmly.

I asked the owner of the foot when this problem began and he said, "oh, just this morning" but that he has had problems off and on with his diabetes.

Needless to say I was watching gas gangrene consume this mans foot and lower leg, the odor is like nothing I will ever experience again, the sounds will be with me forever .... but they were ok with it.

Yep, you never forget gas gangrene! Another bad smell that recently almost killed me-had a NH guy come in, seems he had pseudomonus in/around his trach, which was also necrotic-worse thing I ever smelled! I wish we could have isolated what was actually causing it, one of our student PAs actually refused to enter the room.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in adult critical care.

many things over many years...

most disgusting: half eaten sandwich in folds on 800+ pound man. "that's where that went!!" the biggest problem was that he had just had a gastric bypass and was supposed to be on clear liquids still. blew his graft, almost died.

saddest: guy stuck his kids crayola piggybank up hisself and perforated his colon and ruptured an artery. the piggybank had been a christmas gift for his kid. died dec 26.

funniest: girl got brought in by EMS after being stabbed in the leg by her lesbian lover. unfortunately she forgot to take the strappon off. seems her lover didn't appreciate her "missing the hole" and shanked her. strappons look funny on xray, by the way.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Yep, you never forget gas gangrene! Another bad smell that recently almost killed me-had a NH guy come in, seems he had pseudomonus in/around his trach, which was also necrotic-worse thing I ever smelled! I wish we could have isolated what was actually causing it, one of our student PAs actually refused to enter the room.

One nasty smell once I knew what was going on will have me never eating chocolate covered cherries ever again. I was an RRT at the time....A man with mouth CA, half of his left face gone, had a trach, suctioned himself, etc.....I walked in to see him yankeuring his mouth and a big hunk of tongue had been sucked onto the yankeur hung onto the end as he pulled it out of the vacant side of his mouth....the room smelled overwhelmingly of chocolate covered cherries only sickening....I think the site combined with the smell was the thing.:omy:

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in ER.

-almost forgot- the self-mutilator that was in jail who would hide razor blades- in his mouth, under his scrotum, in his rectum, etc..... he would cut himself and then after he got stitched and went back to jail, he'd rip the stitches out, we tried staples, he pulled them out too......

Up Vote Up Vote ×
One nasty smell once I knew what was going on will have me never eating chocolate covered cherries ever again. I was an RRT at the time....A man with mouth CA, half of his left face gone, had a trach, suctioned himself, etc.....I walked in to see him yankeuring his mouth and a big hunk of tongue had been sucked onto the yankeur hung onto the end as he pulled it out of the vacant side of his mouth....the room smelled overwhelmingly of chocolate covered cherries only sickening....I think the site combined with the smell was the thing.:omy:
I don't think anyone is ever going to look at chocolate covered cherries the same way again.
Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in EMS, ED, Trauma, CEN, CPEN, TCRN.

A patient once gave me a urine sample that had ants in it. I didn't even ask why, where, how ... ?! The lab guy's face: priceless! :D

Up Vote Up Vote ×
A patient once gave me a urine sample that had ants in it. I didn't even ask why, where, how ... ?! The lab guy's face: priceless! :D

A diabetic, with sugary urine, who left his sample out for a while?

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in EMS, ED, Trauma, CEN, CPEN, TCRN.
A diabetic, with sugary urine, who left his sample out for a while?

Nope ... female patient, and we didn't have any ants in our ER.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in ER, ICU, anticoagulation mgmt.

This patient comes into triage and starts whispering why she is here at the ED. I said, "ma'am, I can't hear you, can you speak up?". Again, whispers. So I get closer and I hear her say, "I have a cockroach in my ear".

So I'm thinking, is she for real? Yup, cockroach in right ear. It had double-backed on itself but didn't quite make it and was folded in the ear canal. Unfortunately, it was difficult to remove and came out in pieces.

Gross-but I really felt bad for the pt.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion