Stupidest reason to go to ER

[DachRN]

ER Nurses/MD's etc.

I am currently writing a "paper" on stupidest reason for someone to come to ER.

ANY input you can send me would be much appreciated. IF you'd like a copy of the FINAL draft, let me know.

THANKS in advance!

PS. My winning entry so far is:

A woman who brought 1 month old baby in at 2:30 (AM of course) because "it won't look me in the eye, It doesn't recognize me!"

Not kidding

[HopeItWorksDNP]

Teenager with menstrual cramps. I'm not talking debilitating cramps. I'm talking just plain, old first day of your period cramps. Sitting on stretcher eating Doritos, drinking Coke, and texting while waiting for results of CT of abd/pelvis, UCG, HCG, CBC, CMP, etc. to determine, yep, she's on her period. What ever happened to taking Midol?? When did cramps become a reason for Nubain/Phenergan??

Recall of a national brand peanut butter for E-coli. I have a jar of this in my cabinet. Have you eaten any of it recently? No. Are you nauseous/vomiting/diarrhea? No. Have you recently had any gastric upset? No. I just saw the recall on the news and thought I better come get checked out.

What kind of problem are you having today? I've got crabs. Okay. How long have you had them? Six months. All righty then. I turn to the girlfriend he has brought with him, who has ALSO checked in (for chest pain x3 years) and ask, should we examine you for crabs also? No, ma'am. I watch them real close and whenever I get some, I pick them off. Okey-dokey. The doctor will be riiight in.

Another couple comes in. He has staph boil on his finger. She has one on her labia. But they don't know its staph and they've been doing some SERIOUS thinking about what might have caused this. They have recently taken in a teenage foster child who just happens to have genital herpes. The foster daughter MUST have been fooling around with the dog; there's no other way. The dog then licked the husband's hand, who passed it onto the wife when they were having sex. Man! Did they owe that dog an apology!

Yep...you guess it. There IS a lot of inbreeding in my neck of the woods.

[loricatus]

Just finished a shift in fast track. 20 year old comes in with complaint of "belly button stuff smells funny, my boyfriend said so...afraid to take the stuff [lint] out"

I think this one's a contender

[longjourneydream]

well here we go agian...

all i can say is it is entertaining.

people that do not belive in otc meds, 1st before coming to an er.

those that hear about a recall on any food item, and just because they have indegestion, they want to run all the tests to see if they have e- coli.

the thing that upsets me is how these people drain our resourses.

yes, i do realize many folks have insurance that only allows them to go to the local er/ fast-track, but there are some that abuse the system big time...

they take away from the very sick people, and many of them belive that they do not have to pay,

so those that can ,

have to pay for their parasitic behaviors...

i guess i have groaned enough,

now lets get back to the humor!

there are so many days i just have to hold back my comments, due to their stupidity.

ain't it the truth ...

two female patients, presumably "bff," stopped by at about 2100 on a friday night. both of them dressed to get their groove on. one managed a semi-serious story involving possible uti symptoms. the other one simply stated, "i just need a pregnancy test."

both pg tests negative. they continued on with their evening plans. :stone

[emtb2rn, BSN, RN, EMT-B]

On behalf of all those rescue squads who brought these pts in, we are not allowed to RMA d/t stupidity. We do roll our eyes though....

[Altra, BSN, RN]

yes, i do realize many folks have insurance that only allows them to go to the local er/ fast-track

not to take away from the humor of the thread ... but let's be brutally frank here. no insurance plan "only allows" er visits instead of pcp visits. people come to the er for unbelivably stupid stuff because:

1) they can't be bothered to call the pcp when appropriate, get an appointment, keep the appointment, and follow the prescribed plan of treatment.

2) they *need* what they *need* when they *need* it, which is right now.

3) in my state, medicaid guarantees payment for er visits. why go through the *hassle* with the pcp (see #1 above) when you can just go to the er when you feel like it with no financial considerations or repurcussions.

and yes, i think the belly button lint is a strong contender ... :rotfl:

[canoehead, BSN, RN]

Stupid =anything you've had for over a month

=when the nurse asked "what have you tried so far?" you stare blankly

=complaining "when are we gonna get seen? I gotta get to Walmart before it closes."

[longjourneydream]

to be specific, yes i can agree with you, with the insurance part

but i won't take back the parasitic part...

the only way i cope with this behavior is to joke about

it all day long,

so that i don't say something i may regret,

directly to the patients.

not to take away from the humor of the thread ... but let's be brutally frank here. no insurance plan "only allows" er visits instead of pcp visits. people come to the er for unbelivably stupid stuff because:

1) they can't be bothered to call the pcp when appropriate, get an appointment, keep the appointment, and follow the prescribed plan of treatment.

2) they *need* what they *need* when they *need* it, which is right now.

3) in my state, medicaid guarantees payment for er visits. why go through the *hassle* with the pcp (see #1 above) when you can just go to the er when you feel like it with no financial considerations or repurcussions.

and yes, i think the belly button lint is a strong contender ... :rotfl:

[DachRN]

That's close to my winner................did you do lancing of the pimple?!

[country mom]

The guy who came in by ambulance because he was constipated. (Yelling "I've got to ****" so loud you could hear it over the radio when the EMT called in report.

The guy who came in at 11pm because he had ear wax for a month. This was after he called on the phone and I told him to see his PCP the next day.

[longjourneydream]

it just gets funnier...

i had one guy after i irrigated his ear he wanted me to put in a specimen cup to save it, so he could take it home to show his girl friend. how do you all like that one!!!!

the guy who came in by ambulance because he was constipated. (yelling "i've got to ****" so loud you could hear it over the radio when the emt called in report.

the guy who came in at 11pm because he had ear wax for a month. this was after he called on the phone and i told him to see his pcp the next day.

[IrisheyesTag]

Ok I've only worked in the ER for about two years in a small town hospital that is located between two larger hospitals--which I have found doesn't spare us any experiences.

"I need to be seen in the ER--I got a really bad sunburn today and put an alcohol based lotion on and it really burns"---'Did you try washing it off?' "no--was I supposed to?"

"I need a physical done (at 2 in the afternoon on a weekday with ALL the clinics open) so I can tell my boss I can work at his bar"

(2 am) "My baby threw up" (baby is 3 weeks old) 'How much have you been feeding him?' "Well he ate 12 times today, but he just won't eat anymore" (shows me a 4 oz bottle saying the baby ate "about 1/2 each feeding")

Had a patient call once "I'm 38 weeks pregnant and when I check myself--is it possible that I can feel the baby's hand" PARDON?:trout:

[nurseween]

Here's one for ya! A patient came into the ER with c/o abdominal pain and rectal bleeding. Patient stated she had been taking suppositories for constipation X 10 days. Well, following an Xray, it was determined that she did not removed the foil wrapping for the supps!!!

Punch line - She was a licensed nurse... NO JOKE!!!