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 ?

Specializes in Pediatric Pulmonology and Allergy.
A stupid, stupid mother. She brought her young daughter in because she had eaten several ants. The nurse told her ants are not dangerous to eat. Thank God she did bring the child in though as she was turning pale and getting sicker by the minute. The mother said "I gave her some ant killer to drink to kill them, I hope that was ok"?

Poor little girl! How was she?

Specializes in OB, M/S, HH, Medical Imaging RN.
Poor little girl! How was she?

I was floating that shift as I am definately not an ER nurse. I don't know what happened to her other than that she was released and not admitted so I'm assuming she was ok. Hope DHS was able to intervene and find the problem, Stupid, stupid mother. Seems as though there were drops of ant killer because she had swallowed only a few ants. I personally think she realized the stupid thing she did and brought her in for giving her the ant killer and not for swallowing the ants. She was afraid to admit what she's done and rightfully she should have been afraid but at least she had enough sense to bring her in. Things could of turned out much worse. This was several years ago so I'm not clear anymore on all the details.

Specializes in NICU, Infection Control.

What she really needs is an IQ test!!! :eek:

Specializes in ER, ICU, L&D, OR.

Had a 7 yo brought in by EMS by his mother for bedwetting for the last 6 months. This actually happened last night.

Along with a young lady sent in by her husband because she was mad and yelling at him. Unofficial Dx was PMS. He wanted a psych eval on her. Released without a psych eval. Occured last night.

Most ridiculous thing I've ever seen was a pt...BM mid-40's came in bright and early one morning. Chief Complaint: "I slept with a crack 'ho last night." (Not to mention the fact that he looked like he'd been smoking some.)

No lie...Ladies and Gentleman, that's our tax dollars at work right there.

Specializes in ER straight out of nursing school.
:lol2:

well, it could be worse. I think some of my patients dont own a bra. You know the softball at the end of socks kind of look. Very popular here in Kentucky!:nurse:

Specializes in Med/Surg, Nurse Educator..

patient was rushed due to DOB, asked for O2 or brownbag, I said why? she said It was a mortal sin not to buy pink bag every last week of the month, she said shes not feeling well and wanted to be confined in the med.ward...???:eek:

( happened 2003).....:banghead:

Specializes in ICU, ER, HH, NICU, now FNP.

softball at the end of a sock?

DOB?

Pink bag???

Huh??

tooooooootally lost! and way too many replies to dig back!

Specializes in ER, ICU, L&D, OR.
well, it could be worse. I think some of my patients dont own a bra. You know the softball at the end of socks kind of look. Very popular here in Kentucky!:nurse:

I like nice ones, thank god I dont live there

Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
along with a young lady sent in by her husband because she was mad and yelling at him. unofficial dx was pms. he wanted a psych eval on her. released without a psych eval. occured last night.

this seems to be a fairly common thing -- my father did that to my mother one time. took her to the er and asked for a psych eval because she was screaming at him -- nevermind that she'd just found out the sob was cheating on her! my mother turned it around on him -- she told the psych resident she knew she needed to be admitted -- she must be crazy to keep supporting the a$$ when he was cheating on her! dad was furious with her for telling strangers about their "family issues." i love my parents, and they're still together, but i'm convinced that living with my father must cause mental problems!

Specializes in Peds ED, Peds Stem Cell Transplant, Peds.
Originally Posted by nurse-ratched

1. "the baby's crying." (no signs of illness, just crying)

Dumb reason to bring a healthy child in.

And I swear this is not a hijack.

My grandson had open heard a 10(?11) days old to correct TVG. He is dong fine and only needs annual follow-up, however the Peds cardiologist says he remains at risk for MI. His parents have instructions to take him to the nearest ER for crying without cause >30 minutes.

I would rather have a frustrated parent bring their child in for something trivial like crying, then a bring them in with a LOC because they were shaken or thrown up against a wall for crying. Sometimes parents just need to know someone is listening.

Also I have seen alot of babies that came in with chief complaint or crying, even for 1 hour, end up with intassuseption (Sp?)

Crying isn't as trivial as it sounds

It is so nice to see that some ER nurses are NOT into treating the patients like "annoyances" or to be abused by rude, unempathetic staff.

Yes, some people do come in with self-indulgent complaints, but they have to be sorted out with a professional non-judgemental attitude.

Most people need help. They are not necessarily educated, nor do they have their docs available....the standard around here is for the PMD TO SEND THEIR NON-SCHEDULED PRIVATE PATIENTS TO THE ER.

So when patients are seeking help, they don't need course, rude, sneering staff.

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