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

Specialties Emergency Nursing Q/A

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 ?

Specializes in LTC.

I guess these folks don't mind paying the larger co pay for stupidity

Maybe I missed it but what did you go in for?
UTI. now, i once knew someone who drove through 3 states (she was moving; no money to go to doc) with a UTI. i have heard of people who swear cranberry juice or water in copious amounts flughes out their UTIs. (and, they swear, does not just reduce the bacteria to a small level that will haunt them later). i know all kinds of stories about it, but with me, what usually happens is either very low level irritation or asymptomatic and then, BOOM! all of the sudden horrible pain, then within an hour excruciating pain. so i cannot really defer treatment. even pyridium taken in copious amounts (like, at least 4 or five tabs) won't help it (i know, because i have been in the situation when i had to work and so i took pyridium by the ton and waited-- i think the worst amount of time before work would let me go was like four hours)... but the pyridium will no longer touch it. oh... it feels bad to even remember it. the last time i talked to PCP about it i had pain moving upwards as well and with hx UTI blah blah blah i thought maybe bladder infection or kidney, the receptionist told me she could get me in in 3 days time. yeah-right! probably i could talk about it more (the more one knows about this insurance, the worse it gets) but i won't now. if anyone gets UTIs, i just read about a study that showed acidophilus may have some effect against them. so i take that as preventative now. (sigh). i will say my irritaiton has reduced.
UTI. now, i once knew someone who drove through 3 states (she was moving; no money to go to doc) with a UTI. i have heard of people who swear cranberry juice or water in copious amounts flughes out their UTIs. (and, they swear, does not just reduce the bacteria to a small level that will haunt them later). i know all kinds of stories about it, but with me, what usually happens is either very low level irritation or asymptomatic and then, BOOM! all of the sudden horrible pain, then within an hour excruciating pain. so i cannot really defer treatment. even pyridium taken in copious amounts (like, at least 4 or five tabs) won't help it (i know, because i have been in the situation when i had to work and so i took pyridium by the ton and waited-- i think the worst amount of time before work would let me go was like four hours)... but the pyridium will no longer touch it. oh... it feels bad to even remember it. the last time i talked to PCP about it i had pain moving upwards as well and with hx UTI blah blah blah i thought maybe bladder infection or kidney, the receptionist told me she could get me in in 3 days time. yeah-right! probably i could talk about it more (the more one knows about this insurance, the worse it gets) but i won't now. if anyone gets UTIs, i just read about a study that showed acidophilus may have some effect against them. so i take that as preventative now. (sigh). i will say my irritaiton has reduced.
Here is my UTI experience and what's so messed up about our healthcare system. AT work, started to feel it coming on. I had one in the past and knew what it was right away. Got off work and called my PCP and asked him to call something in for me. Oh, hell no, can't do that...gotta see you....(jesus C.....I AM an ICU nurse...it's not like i'm diagnosing a heart condition and asking you to call in some Cardizem or something..) No available appt. until Tues. (4 days away)...Now that's some good preventative medicine...How far will this infection travel by tuesday? It's 4:30. Can barely pee by then. So I head over to a doc in the box. (never been to one before, hell, have paid for insurance for 17 years and barely used it) Doc in the box says I need a referral or my insurance won't cover it. WHAT?? They call my PCP, he say NO...haven't seen her for it, she needs to make appt here or go to ER. GO TO ER?? Good use of insurance. Doc in the box says insurance won't pay for this ER visit either. I call my PCP personally from doc in the box. I told the office nurse my dilemma, can't pee, lots of pain, gotta work in AM. I told her I was 6 blocks away and would be in shortly and will sit in the waiting room and be last appointment of the day, if necessary, to be seen. I was sooooo pissed. Nurse comes back on the phone and snottily says, fine, just come in. Can you believe this crap? If I would have been on welfare...NO PROBLEM...ala carte service...free of charge. Changed PCP's.
Here is my UTI experience and what's so messed up about our healthcare system. AT work, started to feel it coming on. I had one in the past and knew what it was right away. Got off work and called my PCP and asked him to call something in for me. Oh, hell no, can't do that...gotta see you....(jesus C.....I AM an ICU nurse...it's not like i'm diagnosing a heart condition and asking you to call in some Cardizem or something..) No available appt. until Tues. (4 days away)...Now that's some good preventative medicine...How far will this infection travel by tuesday? It's 4:30. Can barely pee by then. So I head over to a doc in the box. (never been to one before, hell, have paid for insurance for 17 years and barely used it) Doc in the box says I need a referral or my insurance won't cover it. WHAT?? They call my PCP, he say NO...haven't seen her for it, she needs to make appt here or go to ER. GO TO ER?? Good use of insurance. Doc in the box says insurance won't pay for this ER visit either. I call my PCP personally from doc in the box. I told the office nurse my dilemma, can't pee, lots of pain, gotta work in AM. I told her I was 6 blocks away and would be in shortly and will sit in the waiting room and be last appointment of the day, if necessary, to be seen. I was sooooo pissed. Nurse comes back on the phone and snottily says, fine, just come in. Can you believe this crap? If I would have been on welfare...NO PROBLEM...ala carte service...free of charge. Changed PCP's.
WOW! thank you for telling me. i am glad not just my crappy luck, medically-- must be legitimate crisis . sorry for your pain though.
:uhoh3: undefinedundefinedundefined elderly women comes in and has something wrapped in towel and says her son, he was about 36, has cut his member off and he needed to see doctor when one was available. nice wasn't she?

um, had he really cut off his member or was she just a little kooky?

Here is my UTI experience and what's so messed up about our healthcare system. AT work, started to feel it coming on. I had one in the past and knew what it was right away. Got off work and called my PCP and asked him to call something in for me. Oh, hell no, can't do that...gotta see you....(jesus C.....I AM an ICU nurse...it's not like i'm diagnosing a heart condition and asking you to call in some Cardizem or something..) No available appt. until Tues. (4 days away)...Now that's some good preventative medicine...How far will this infection travel by tuesday? It's 4:30. Can barely pee by then. So I head over to a doc in the box. (never been to one before, hell, have paid for insurance for 17 years and barely used it) Doc in the box says I need a referral or my insurance won't cover it. WHAT?? They call my PCP, he say NO...haven't seen her for it, she needs to make appt here or go to ER. GO TO ER?? Good use of insurance. Doc in the box says insurance won't pay for this ER visit either. I call my PCP personally from doc in the box. I told the office nurse my dilemma, can't pee, lots of pain, gotta work in AM. I told her I was 6 blocks away and would be in shortly and will sit in the waiting room and be last appointment of the day, if necessary, to be seen. I was sooooo pissed. Nurse comes back on the phone and snottily says, fine, just come in. Can you believe this crap? If I would have been on welfare...NO PROBLEM...ala carte service...free of charge. Changed PCP's.

That is just a horrible story. I, having had UTIs while pregnant, feel your pain. I totally believe you--my daughter has had similar experiences with her health insurance surrounding being seen for a UTI. I can remember taking her to the drugstore--she was in too much pain, crying, etc. to drive--and getting her that stuff that helps--a little bit--with the symptoms of a UTI until she could be seen and get a C&S and the proper antibiotic--which is usually Septra, Amoxicillin or some cephalosporin.

I know through Kaiser, the local HMO, if you say you are in pain--and they are SUPPOSED to ask--you must get a same day appointment. If they do not offer you one, you can call membership services and THEY will get it for you--and then counsel the person who would not work you in.

I go to the VA for my health care these days--sadly, if you have pain, you must go to the ER. The system is just too overburdened--there are not enough slots for a same day appointment-no one's fault.

Specializes in Clinical Research, Outpt Women's Health.

Get a new pcp - when i worked as an office nurse we would just send you to the lab for a stat UA, and as soon as you did that we would call in an RX for you to start, and change it later based on culture results if needed. No appt. needed - no need to be miserable. That snotty "nurse" should have advocated for you with the provider. I wonder if she was really a nurse - she certainly has no compassion.

I can think of two right off...

One young man came in with the complaint that he couldn't get an erection. Wanted Viagra.

Young lady brought in by EMS with c/o broken artificial nail.

NOT really sure what people are thinking.

Young man- broken nose- hysterical wife- "I told you that you were going to kill yourself with those Num Chuks" (Had to be air-lifted to nearest trauma unit)

We first thought the wife was hysterical... she was just laughing so hard she was crying.

She stopped crying/laughing when the helicopter took off.

He kept yelling at her: "thnut up, thnitch"

The above is hilarious. For every 50 or so stupid complaints we see an interaction like this that we recount for a long time.

My favorite was drunk guy returned to the farm after being downtown and tripped and impaled himself (abdomen) on a fence post. He called his dog and got him to bark to wake up momma. Momma was trying to get the post out of the ground whole so they could put it back in the ground never mind wondering if there was cow dookie on said post in the boys belly. Amazingly he didn't damage anything significant other than his pride. Gotta love some of the ridiculous freak accidents. :chuckle

Another good one on of our clinic NP's husband got hit by a car when we transferred him fromt the ambulance stretcher i asked his meds and allergies he replied no meds and Dodge trucks. :rotfl:

Here's another one...

20 y/o "Buffy" type sorority girl at an area university, comes in with the c/o "A bump down there and its tender", hx present x 2 mos.

External exam by the doc reveals nothing unusual or abnormal, as he palpates around she suddenly says "that's IT!"

He palpates again. "this?" he asked, with a slight flitter with his finger to make sure he was correct (never mind the WAY that happened)..

"yes, that" was the answer

He sat back, removed his gloves, took a deep breath, and said with every amount of composure he could muster...

"that's your privy parts. That's SUPPOSED to be there."

All I could think was...God bless her, some poor guy finally found it.

:rotfl:

Specializes in medsurg, urgent care, peds.

While working as an ER Tech we had a pt come to the ER via ambulance for.... A sore throat!

Also had a guy present with 3rd degree burns on the back of his legs due to jumping through a fire at a party b/c his friends did it! Good thing they didn't jump from a bridge!

A group of 15-16 yos brought in their 13 yo old friend who was extremely intoxicated! They were afraid he was poisoned or something, however we just kept him comfortable while he puked.

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