What was the MOST ridiculous thing a patient came to the ER for?

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 ?

Pt came in by EMS b/c she ran out of colostomy supplies. She had it her ostomy for years but her supplier went out of business and she didn't have the foresight & planning to look for a new supplier. Plus she wanted us to clean her up when she was fully capable and supply her with a months worth of ostomy bags

Pt came in by EMS b/c she ran out of colostomy supplies. She had it her ostomy for years but her supplier went out of business and she didn't have the foresight & planning to look for a new supplier. Plus she wanted us to clean her up when she was fully capable and supply her with a months worth of ostomy bags

We had a guy call EMS because a fast food place kicked him out cause his colostomy bag was leaking and he was covered in feces. He HAD supplies with him. Argh.

Specializes in ED Clinical and Documentation.
We had a guy call EMS because a fast food place kicked him out cause his colostomy bag was leaking and he was covered in feces. He HAD supplies with him. Argh.

The words lazy and crazy comes to mind

Wow - 10 years and this post still thrives! If I may add to ridiculous visits:

C/O: Toe fungus.

Time of Day: 04:15.

NOT. KIDDING. :no:

Specializes in ER.

It's the middle of the night, and your entire family might have a cold (mom, dad, and two kids).

QUICK! CALL 9-1-1 ! FOUR AMBULANCES respond to their home. Two leave and two take the family into the ER. Dad has a legit flu or bad cold, everyone else is fine. *siiiiiiiiiiiiigh*

It's the middle of the night, and your entire family might have a cold (mom, dad, and two kids).

QUICK! CALL 9-1-1 ! FOUR AMBULANCES respond to their home. Two leave and two take the family into the ER. Dad has a legit flu or bad cold, everyone else is fine. *siiiiiiiiiiiiigh*

LOL-what idiots.

Specializes in ortho, hospice volunteer, psych,.

Part 1:

Our neighbor owns a drugstore. A mother, three little kids who are much too sick to be in school but not too indisposed to run errands, present their medical assistance card for a Rx for one of the kids. She finds out there is a $2.00 copay. After mumbling unprintables under her breath, they leave without the Rx.

Part 2:

She goes to her class which the hardhearted state says she must enroll in if she can't find a job. Guess who is teaching her class?!

The kds sit in the back of the room and play. Their mom's mean heartless old prof reports the situation to the nurse, who takes it from there.

Part 3:

They head to the ER and cough and sniffle for them. They leave with cough syrup samples, a Rx, and a food voucher for a local charity. On the way out, Mom remarks that if you know what to do, you'll never pay a thing.:banghead:

The Mom bragged about it loudly in the next class. My husband came home and asked me, "Isn't there something we can do?"

Triaged as "DOES NOT WANT TO GO TO JAIL"

We got a kick out of that.

Apparently, arrestee's make up bogus excuses all the time to try to get out of jail-time.

Specializes in EMS, ED, Trauma, CEN, CPEN, TCRN.
Triaged as "DOES NOT WANT TO GO TO JAIL"

We got a kick out of that.

Apparently, arrestee's make up bogus excuses all the time to try to get out of jail-time.

Yep. The "vacation from incarceration" as I call it.

Specializes in Emergency/Trauma/Critical Care Nursing.
Yep. The "vacation from incarceration" as I call it.

Or "Incarceritis" lol

Specializes in Emergency.
Or "Incarceritis" lol

Or Graybar fever.

"Horrible rash" x2 days to left upper extremity. "9/10" pain. No rash noted on inspection, just a slightly pink spot from where the patient had been rubbing it. Doc even came out of the room to ask me what I saw in triage, because he couldn't see anything.

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