Triage complaints- the good, the bad, and the shocking.

Specialties Emergency

Published

"I was raped by an octopus."

"I have severe, severe, severe, SEVERE, SEVERE cold sores!" (five severes, I counted. And one cold sore visible.)

Discuss.

Specializes in Emergency Room.
I would understand heat exhaustion, dehydration, medications, medical problems that would cause that type of complaint, use of illegal drugs, any situation causing a hyper metabolic state - I asked - nope. He said he thought it was too hot outside and he felt "Hot". Like I said, that was all of it.

Maybe he was homeless or had no air conditioner and just needed a place to cool off?

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Had this one last weekend:

Pt chief complaint: "foot pain" X 1 hour 10/10 pain.

Me: Sir are you allergic to any medications?

Pt: "No just needles". Pt has several tattoos on his face, both arms and legs and said foot that is in pain

Me: (gives pt THAT look) "you are allergic to needles but you are covered in tattoos from head to toe?"

Pt: "yeah, but I'm anemic".

Me: *blank stare*

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Jumped by deer

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Had this one last weekend:

Pt chief complaint: "foot pain" X 1 hour 10/10 pain.

Me: Sir are you allergic to any medications?

Pt: "No just needles". Pt has several tattoos on his face, both arms and legs and said foot that is in pain

Me: (gives pt THAT look) "you are allergic to needles but you are covered in tattoos from head to toe?"

Pt: "yeah, but I'm anemic".

Me: *blank stare*

Just an FYI, the pain from a tattoo gun is nothing compared to having a cannula placed! I have had 4 IVs placed in my foot, it's a whole new pain category!!!

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I saw on our emerg list once a 50 something year old whose visit reason was listed as, "feeling cold after eating ice cream".

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Specializes in Emergency/Trauma/Critical Care Nursing.

Had one last night that came to the ED TO be "placed in a psych hospital to stop smoking".... Uhh what do you want us to do about that lol

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Specializes in MICU.

Not an ER nurse, but I work in MICU. We had a pt once that swallowed 3 razor blades. Tried to tell us that he was using them to clean his oven and the razors fell into his sandwich. They got them out w a scope. There was an order on his chart that read "do not allow pt to have sharp objects."

There also used to be two brothers before i worked there that would come in after swallowing various objects. GI docs hated them.

Also had a lady once w a piece of meat stuck in her esophagus. It had swelled to the point of airway compromise but no one could get her intubated. We were able to ventilate her w a combitube for a while but eventually she had to be trached. The surgeon tried for at least two to three hours that night to get the meat out but they weren't able to until the swelling went down.

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Specializes in ER, progressive care.
Not an ER nurse, but I work in MICU. We had a pt once that swallowed 3 razor blades. Tried to tell us that he was using them to clean his oven and the razors fell into his sandwich. They got them out w a scope. There was an order on his chart that read "do not allow pt to have sharp objects."

There also used to be two brothers before i worked there that would come in after swallowing various objects. GI docs hated them.

Also had a lady once w a piece of meat stuck in her esophagus. It had swelled to the point of airway compromise but no one could get her intubated. We were able to ventilate her w a combitube for a while but eventually she had to be trached. The surgeon tried for at least two to three hours that night to get the meat out but they weren't able to until the swelling went down.

That reminds me...I was floated to ICU one night and we had a patient that was very similar to the one you described - they swallowed razor blades. They were able to take them out. All of us were sitting at the nurses station with one of the internal med docs and the doc said, "I'm trying to get this patient to start eating but they won't. Maybe I should give them my pen, they'll probably eat that." :roflmao: Horrible, I know, but all of us got a good laugh out of that one. Especially since this doc was always so stoic about everything!

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Specializes in Medsurg/ICU, Mental Health, Home Health.
That reminds me...I was floated to ICU one night and we had a patient that was very similar to the one you described - they swallowed razor blades

We have one frequent flier who has swallowed EVERYTHING. One time she pooped out a ring from a shower curtain. I was most impressed with her swallowing those long lighters used for lighting grills and fireplaces.

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Specializes in Emergency/Cath Lab.

"I have this severe burn on my hand"

"Ok lets see it" Unwrap hand and find nothing wrong, no redness, swelling, blisters nothing. "Can you point to where the burn is?"

She did not like that answer and got incredibly perturbed and left.

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I always love the elaborate stories some come up with they they clearly were involved in a fight

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Specializes in Critical Care.

I'm almost 20 pages into this thread and this one literally had me laughing my a$$ off. No truer words have been spoken. An interrogation reading from the manufacturer after a few misfires are indeed worth the trouble as opposed to the "being dead thing"

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