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 ED, Ortho, LTC.

I recently had an 18 y.o. female come in via EMS. She had been seen several days before and given a script for Cipro for a UTI. She got it filled at the pharmacy and when she got home, realized the cap had a crack in it. She didn't think she should take it, so came back to the ED for a new script.

Specializes in Emergency/Trauma/Critical Care Nursing.

today i had a mom bring her infant to the nasty dirty germ infested ER for get this... MILD diaper rash!!! i wanted to scream at her like "look lady, look at this huge rack of people waiting for rooms, half of them are probably as dumb as you, holding p the truely SICK people, go get some desitin and be gone! but of course.. nope.. cant do that.... only in my dreams lol :)

I recently had an 18 y.o. female come in via EMS. She had been seen several days before and given a script for Cipro for a UTI. She got it filled at the pharmacy and when she got home, realized the cap had a crack in it. She didn't think she should take it, so came back to the ED for a new script.

She should have taken it back to the pharmacy. We would have replaced the cap, and maybe even the drug itself (nobody takes Cipro for fun) if there was any question about its safety.

What are some people thinking?

Specializes in Psych.

I went to the ER in March, felt pretty stupid once I left. I'd been experiencing a drug reaction to Trileptal. Had a macular rash that was raised pretty much over my entire body. Came down with in on a Sat and took diphenhydramine OTC and diphenhydramine cream with no improvement. Even started getting a little itchy in my mouth by Monday. By Tues I couldnt stand it anymore and went to my PCP. She dx'd actue drug reaction dermatitis and wrote me an rx for a prednisone taper. Well I took the first pred and SWORE to god that my mouth was becoming much itchier than it had been and it felt like my lips might be swelling. No problems breathing. I made DH take me to ER and was pretty much seen right away. They looked me over, basically said I was fine and to d/c the pred. I had already taken a diphenhydramine 2 hrs earlier so they gave me some Zantac too. I was in and out in an hour and a nice bill to show for it. I felt REALLY silly even going in there. It took another 2 weeks for the rash to subside comepletely.

Specializes in FNP, Peds, Epilepsy, Mgt., Occ. Ed.
I went to the ER in March, felt pretty stupid once I left. I'd been experiencing a drug reaction to Trileptal. Had a macular rash that was raised pretty much over my entire body. Came down with in on a Sat and took diphenhydramine OTC and diphenhydramine cream with no improvement. Even started getting a little itchy in my mouth by Monday. By Tues I couldnt stand it anymore and went to my PCP. She dx'd actue drug reaction dermatitis and wrote me an rx for a prednisone taper. Well I took the first pred and SWORE to god that my mouth was becoming much itchier than it had been and it felt like my lips might be swelling. No problems breathing. I made DH take me to ER and was pretty much seen right away. They looked me over, basically said I was fine and to d/c the pred. I had already taken a diphenhydramine 2 hrs earlier so they gave me some Zantac too. I was in and out in an hour and a nice bill to show for it. I felt REALLY silly even going in there. It took another 2 weeks for the rash to subside comepletely.

An allergic reaction that might be getting worse is worth being concerned about; stop beating yourself up for going to the ER. That's not anywhere near the same thing as taking in a baby for a mild diaper rash, believe me!! People die of allergic reactions so they really should be taken seriously.

Specializes in Telemetry, Case Management.

Every January, we would get at least two, sometimes six or eight of these.

Male, between 35 and 50. Previously heavy smoker. Out of shape.

New Year's Resolution? To quit smoking and get in shape.

So, out go the smokes, he goes to the store, buys jogging gear and takes off jogging full tilt when the high temperature for the DAY is only going to be 15 or 20.

Comes into the ER, "My chest is hurting, I can't breathe, I can't quit coughing!!!!"

I would just roll my eyes when I got report on these guys. Let's see, jogging a mile on the first day, in 15 degree weather, when your last cigarette was midnight, its now 6am, hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. What COULD be the cause of this????????? Do you suppose just maybe your lungs are quite perturbed at this sudden dose of "good health practices?" Do you think just MAYBE you should start out GRADUALLY and INDOORS til you get used to the activity level?????

Specializes in Emergency room nurse & endoscopy nurse.

....way back 5 years ago in the kingdom of saudi arabia...newly wed couple came inside the E.R., the husband is in late 50's & the wife is just 14 y.o. complaining of hyperventilation & severe pain at the vulva...that was their honeymoon night!!!:icon_roll OMG! the family of the girl is hysterical...:scrying:

Specializes in Home Care, Hospice, OB.
....way back 5 years ago in the kingdom of saudi arabia...newly wed couple came inside the e.r., the husband is in late 50's & the wife is just 14 y.o. complaining of hyperventilation & severe pain at the vulva...that was their honeymoon night!!!:icon_roll omg! the family of the girl is hysterical...:scrying:

the whole culture of child marriage in the middle east makes me ill. a fifty year old having sex with a 14 year old child is illegal in most civilized countries for a reason...:angryfire

that poor little girl, and all the others like her..

Specializes in Emergency room nurse & endoscopy nurse.
the whole culture of child marriage in the middle east makes me ill. a fifty year old having sex with a 14 year old child is illegal in most civilized countries for a reason...:angryfire

that poor little girl, and all the others like her..

yeah this is ridiculous but it's true:angryfire...they've been brought up to this kind of culture:no:...poor little girl:(:cry::crying2:

Specializes in ortho/neuro/general surgery.
I went to the ER in March, felt pretty stupid once I left. I'd been experiencing a drug reaction to Trileptal. Had a macular rash that was raised pretty much over my entire body. Came down with in on a Sat and took diphenhydramine OTC and diphenhydramine cream with no improvement. Even started getting a little itchy in my mouth by Monday. By Tues I couldnt stand it anymore and went to my PCP. She dx'd actue drug reaction dermatitis and wrote me an rx for a prednisone taper. Well I took the first pred and SWORE to god that my mouth was becoming much itchier than it had been and it felt like my lips might be swelling. No problems breathing. I made DH take me to ER and was pretty much seen right away. They looked me over, basically said I was fine and to d/c the pred. I had already taken a diphenhydramine 2 hrs earlier so they gave me some Zantac too. I was in and out in an hour and a nice bill to show for it. I felt REALLY silly even going in there. It took another 2 weeks for the rash to subside comepletely.

Hey, don't feel stupid, that sounds like the beginnings of Stevens-Johnson Syndrome, which is nothing to play with, and neither is a drug reaction that causes facial swelling.

Imagine this... during a Level 3 ( level 3 is the most severe) snow storm/blizzard a patient with 3 small children drove to the ED at 3 am with a complaint of a rash on her buttocks that had been present for 3months. This patient c/o pain 10/10 and nausea with vomiting ( at no time was an emesis noted). This patient requested Dilaudid, Phenergan, (and stated that she usually gets 2mg of Dilaudid) and that Benadryl was also needed because she itches with Dilaudid. upon exam the patient was noted to have a small area from an ingrown hair. The doc gave her the dilaudid, phenergan and benadryl along with a prescription for percocet for, good measure I suppose. Finally, a week later my manager informed me that this nauseated patient was unhappy with her care because I didn't offer to feed her. I was asked to write a response.

You should be ashamed of yourself. No steak. Tsk, tsk. I guess you should have fed the kids, too, and given them blankets, gowns, cab vouchers, etc. I get sooo very tired of poverty, drug abuse, and the effects these have on children and their families. My wife was watching Platinum Weddings. I think it is sinful to spend so much on a wedding but, on the other hand, I enjoyed looking at the beautiful dresses, flowers, and jewelry. It was nice to see beauty, not poverty and poor neighborhoods, poor people for a while. I feel for them but I think they sometimes add to their own problems. I guess we all do.:(

Specializes in Hospitalist.

OK, I have a new one. I had a pt come to triage with 2 brownish, reddish streaks on the lateral aspect of her R foot. She said "My mom told me it's blood poisoning and I think's it because I had this infection on my toe [of her left foot] last year." I told her it was impossible to have blood poisoning on her R foot from an infection on her left foot, but anyway. I wanted to tell her to get a new pair of shoes, but I didn't. I triaged her as reason for visit "Blood poisoning" which, of course, is code for "Crazy". She waited 7 1/2 hours to be seen. When the PA finally saw her, he noticed the sparkly glitter on said brownish, reddish streaks. He took an alcohol swab and wiped the nail polish off her foot. We told him he should have given her discharge instructions to get a new pedicurist because the last one's aim sucked.

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