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“The Lack Of Common Sense Is Hilariously Baffling”: 45 Dumbest Patients Doctors Have Encountered NICU nurse. Had a family with premature triplets that ended up growing, getting very healthy, and all three went home! Definitely a success story.

A few weeks later all three are back in the hospital. We were shocked. Turns out mom brought triplet A into the hospital for dehydration and fever. They ran an electrolyte panel and the different electrolytes were so off that it could’ve been deadly. Baby was immediately admitted and started on IV fluids and medications.

We sent the kids home on a premature baby formula that provides some extra calories to help them grow (Mom did pump/breastfeed, just not enough for triplets, understandably.) Mom stopped using the formula immediately and bought some weird raw goat or sheep milk product from Europe (unsure on precise details) because it’s not even sold in the US. Yeah, uh, your premature triplets either need breast milk or baby formula. They literally cannot handle or process whatever it was she gave them. She was shocked. Had to bring in the other two for testing and they were just as messed up. All three spent several days in the hospital on IVs with many medications to stabilize them so their heart and kidneys wouldn’t fail.

This goes for all infants, btw. Please don’t feed them ANYTHING but baby formula or breast milk for the first 6 months. Please. 🤦🏼‍♀️.

MarauderKnight1880 , Jaye Haych Report

Final score:

159points

POST

Stephanie Did It 6 months ago (edited)

And preemies are so fragile, too! Many of their physical processes just aren't ready. My 7 month son couldn't nurse because his choking reflex wasn't developed yet, so he could potentially drown. They simply poured my milk through a little tube into his stomach. He couldn't be rocked either, because his equilibrium wasn't developed and rocking nauseated him. If they're not gaining at least an ounce per day, they're not progressing so it was heartbreaking if he threw up even a tiny bit. You DON'T mess with preemies' diets! Hope those poor babies made it.

67points

Oh boy.

Guy thought marijuana cured everything, had itchy ears, maybe eczema? Stuffed weed in his ears. Went two weeks with this. Got irritated and infected. Had to pull it all out and sterilize it. I just…what?

Dude with diabetes thought freezing his soda into a popsicle made it an ‘icicle’ without the sugar. That day we discussed what ice is.

Dude with diabetes taped his foot back on after it rotted off. Got septic. Maggots were involved.

Guy electrocutes his penis regularly for his herpes. This was done with a 9V battery. He shocks himself for his other health problems too.

Guy doesn’t like water, doesn’t bathe. Also doesn’t leave his house because he doesn’t like people but likes church. Local church tried to help him but he smelled so bad they told him he couldn’t come back. He doesn’t like toilets so he just goes on himself. Shits outside. Somehow married and divorced x3???

“I’m dizzy all the time” lady drinks a 12 pack in a sitting on the regular and gets dizzy after. She is surprised to learn she may be drunk.

Guy calls an ambulance, pulls a gun on the ambulance. Still goes to hospital.

Guy pulls gun on the home health nurses to rob them when they come to do their home health nursing job with him. At his home.

Comes to hospital because his soup tastes ‘not good’. Stays for a week because he needs special diapers sent from a special manufacturer shipped to his house. Is upset that we don’t have HBO or better soup.

Lady screamed at me in the ER because she didn’t believe that the MRI I was showing her belonged to her. Her name was on it. You could see her body shape on the scout image. She then denied having the MRI at all, still wearing the MRI wristband the techs gave her.

During COVID there were many people that denied that they were sick right up until we had to intubate them. They were coughing, hacking, and struggling to breathe, even on BiPAP. Still said that _I_ was the one responsible for making them sick. They all invariably died of multiorgan failure after lingering on the vent for two-four weeks.

Guy comes in with gonorrhea. From an orgy. Right in the middle of 2020 lockdown. He was shocked that I was shocked. “But I wore a mask!” Me: “But no condom???”

There’s many more, unfortunately.

thrwayrap Report

Final score:

157points

POST

ElfVibratorGlitter 6 months ago

Bless you. I couldn't even...

77points

straightoutascranton , Skyler Ewing Report

To learn more about what it's like to encounter patients who are lacking in common sense, we reached out to Scott Ross, MD, who was kind enough to have a chat with Bored Panda. First, we wanted to know if Dr. Ross had ever encountered a patient who had made some questionable decisions.

"Certainly, all physicians see patients who do things that make us shake our heads," he shared. "One of my favorite stories involves a women who came in after eating a bag of expired vegetables. She noticed it smelled bad 'like kimchi.' She stated, 'Well, I like kimchi' and proceeded to eat the food. She was seen for severe diarrhea."

I used to be a medical scribe in a pediatric office. A mom came in complaining that her daughter was turning black, obviously we were concerned what kind of infection or abuse was this child experiencing? The kid was tanning, she was running around and playing in the sun and was tanning.

Final score:

121points

POST

Anna Ekberg 6 months ago

Somehow i doubt that kid had sunscreen on.

34points

I’m friends with a nutritionist at a hospital. One of the stories that stuck with me was a mid 30s construction worker just collapsed one day. His coworkers called an ambulance and he rushed to the hospital right? Well they discover he’s nutrient deficient like in everything. So my friend is called in and she’s asking him about his diet…” well I don’t like eating breakfast, and I don’t like eating then going back to work so I don’t eat lunch and then I get home and the wife has to make dinner so I start drinking beer and by the time dinner is ready I don’t wanna eat. Just have some more beer and go to bed.” The dude was living off of nothing but beer. He couldn’t remember the last time he actually ate something.

Tthelaundryman , Anna Shvets Report

Final score:

116points

POST

sturmwesen 6 months ago

is this the dude off another post that had only beer in his hotel room?

25points

My mom was an ER nurse for 30 years, so I have endless stories of idiots like this. One gem was a dude who came in because his legs weren't working. When asked if he had previous issues, he said no.

He was super loopy, so she grilled him a bit and it turned out he was zonked out of his mind on pain pills and had been for 24 hours a day for more than a week because he'd hurt his leg at work.

Turns out he'd broken his leg at work and started taking pain pills to compensate. He took so many the pain was totally gone, so he felt cured and spent a solid week walking around on his broken leg until the bone turned into crumbles and shredded the tendon. He didn't realize there was an issue until the bone started pushing out of his leg and the pain was too much for the handfuls of pills to counteract.

Dude wound up losing his leg due to infection and internal bleeding. During his week long journey on painkiller he also punctured both eardrums with qtips while cleaning his ears. Developed awful and infected hemorrhoids from pushing too hard and wiping too hard. Broke three teeth from clenching his teeth - he was also taking speed to counteract being sleepy from the pain killers. And he had slammed his hand in his car door and broke two fingers.

So they got him all fixed up but he developed an opiate addiction. My mom said he'd come in once a week begging for pills and try to steal stuff from the hospital. Then he wrecked his car on purpose, killing a college girl in the process, just to get pain killers.

He wound up in prison for 15 years because when the cops searched his car the trunk was full to the brim of stolen guns he'd been selling to random people on the street to buy pills.

Yes, this was in Florida.

thedelphiking Report

Final score:

109points

POST

MonsterMum 6 months ago

Maybe he would have gone to the doctor's in the first instance if it wasn't so expensive?

71points

We also asked the physician why it's so difficult for people to know how to take care of themselves. "I think for basic healthy living, most people do know what to do but make poor choices," he explained. "People know that smoking, heavy drinking and over eating are bad for them, but these remain common causes of morbidity and mortality."

My paramedic gf at the time told me of a person who would call out the ambulance frequently. She was a germaphobe and would swallow razor-blades frozen into icecubes to somehow destroy the germs inside her.
Thankfully the stomach acid often blunted the blades, but still….

Finegling , Antonio Arcila Report

Final score:

107points

POST

Delenn 6 months ago

Wow, this lady needs a vacation in a nice room at the psyquiatric ward

93points

Me, a dentist, to my patient: “Please, do not superglue your tooth back in your mouth again.”

chowchowracer , Anna Shvets Report

Final score:

104points

POST

Mark 6 months ago

Got it, use wood glue

74points

I'm an optometrist in the U.S. and have a couple of memorable ones.

I had an argument with one patient who insisted that there were great healing benefits to using urine eye drops. When asked about how she got these urine eye drops, she admitted to taking them directly from the toilet and putting them straight into her eyes. My pleas for her to consider the risk of developing bacterial keratitis fell on deaf ears. Still dreading the day that one returns to clinic with an infection.

And if I had a nickel for every time a patient came to me ~6 months after taking a severe blow to the eye and losing vision, only to find that they had a total retinal detachment that they thought they could just "walk off" instead of seeking care, I would have two nickels, which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice in the three years I've been practicing.

StoicAscent , Karolina Grabowska Report

Final score:

94points

POST

Stephanie Did It 6 months ago

My retinal detachment was TERRIFYING. When the other one started flashing, I didn't walk, I RAN back to the surgeon. How could anyone not take that seriously?

46points

"I realize there are often psychological issues that need to be addressed, but personal responsibility is important also," Dr. Ross added. "For complex medical issues, it is important to find a physician that you can trust."

And we shouldn't necessarily trust everything that we find through a Google search. "It is reasonable to self-educate with online searches, but I think it is best to use sites from medical schools or medical facilities that one is familiar with," the expert says.

#10

Had a patient with recurrent infected leg ulcers. Reason: rather than clean and dress them as instructed, she was letting her dog "lick them clean".

Doctoria_96 , Lars F Report

Final score:

92points

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AnnaRachelle 6 months ago

The poor dog!

58points

#11

As a pediatrician, lots of things every day. But also I have so much empathy because when it comes to your kids, of course you're going to worry and logic goes out the window. Lots of ED visits for "fever" of 99F that improved with Tylenol, and the family waits 3 hours for me to see their healthy kid. It more makes me sad they spent their time that way! And that they were so stressed during that time! ):

More egregious examples are the naturopath parents - not even anti Vaxxers, but the ones who's kids have horrific chronic illness such as IBD or lupus and refuse to give them "western medicine". It's enraging, their children suffer, are in pain, and in many cases have had irreversible damage because their parents want them to drink baking soda instead of receiving life saving medications for their systemic illnesses.

Jehovah's witnesses irk me in a similar way - especially when their babies have serious congenital anomalies and they refuse the lifesaving surgery initially unless it's "bloodless", which is an entire other illogical conversation to have anyway.

_Ello_Love_ Report

Final score:

91points

POST

Holly's House 6 months ago

Thankfully where I live, we've had JW cases where the hospital was granted legal custody of the infants for life saving procedures because doctors could show that the babies would die without the treatment

16points

#12

My mother tried treating a diabetic who was convinced she was allergic to water, so she’d only drink coca cola. I’ll never forget that one….

Famous-Comparison595 , Ron Lach Report

Final score:

89points

POST

ElfVibratorGlitter 6 months ago

Did she bother to look at the ingredients? Think there's a smidge of water in coca cola.

47points

Heroic-Forger , Keiron Crasktellanos Report

We hope you're enjoying scrolling through these stories, pandas. Please remember not to put off your own doctor's appointments if you think something is wrong, and if you're a health care worker, feel free to share your own experiences with patients in the comments below. Keep upvoting the stories you find most amusing, and if you'd like to read even more, check out this Bored Panda piece next!

#13

My mom once had a patient who was an old lady who was rushed to the E.R. after ingesting bug spray. After they managed to get her to a stable condition and had her admitted to a ward a few days later Mom asked her why she did that.

Her response? "I accidentally swallowed a cockroach so I swallowed the bug spray to kill the cockroach.".

Final score:

88points

POST

ynyrhydref56 6 months ago

Preschool memory unlocked: "She swallowed the cat to catch the bird, she swallowed the bird to catch the spider (that wriggled and wriggled and jiggled inside her), she swallowed the spider to catch the fly ... I don't know why she swallowed the fly ... perhaps she'll die"

150points

syncopation_fracture , Artem Podrez Report

#14

My patient who crawled under his truck and “leg pressed” his engine back into place two weeks after his total hip arthroplasty. Came into clinic complaining of pain….

Final score:

85points

POST

Giraffy Window 6 months ago (edited)

My mom added a full year to her healing process after a surgery to put metal plates in her arm. She was raised on a very unhealthy set of beliefs involving "good work ethic" and only actually rested for the two days post op in the hospital.

3points

#15

Not a dr. A nurse.

My patient, who had just had 2 toes amputated due to uncontrolled Type 2 Diabetes, "my blood sugar is only high when Im in hospital"

Me: "do you check it at home?"

Patient: "No".

Me: "so how do you know?"

Pt: "it just doesn't feel high."

Me:........

bitofapuzzler Report

Final score:

85points

POST

Awkward lady 6 months ago

You can't cure stupid...

46points

#16

EMT here. Got called out for a “hand laceration with severe bleeding” so naturally we urgently drive to the callers house.

We arrive to find this young, around 18yr old female holding her hand and wincing in pain. Confused at the lack of blood I ask her to point to her wound & she points to a cut no bigger than 1cm. She states that her family doesn’t own bandages & she didn’t want to get an infection by going to the pharmacy to buy them.

thunderfox57 , Yassine Khalfalli Report

Final score:

81points

POST

Stephanie Did It 6 months ago

World's most costly Band Aid! (Even if there was a NHS, taxpayers paid for all that!)

36points

DeffectiveNecessary , RF._.studio Report

#17

My best friend is in his residency right now and he had a patient that had a wound in his face that was festering so bad there were maggots living in it. He didn’t think it was important enough to be seen until they started falling into his cereal.

Final score:

79points

POST

CanadianDimes 6 months ago

This is quite sad. Too many people think they’re being a bother by seeking medical attention they need and deserve

43points

#18

I once had a 50-something lady in the ER complaining of difficulty using her left hand. Turned out that it wasn’t new, rather something that had been an issue all her life.
She was right handed.

Dr_diller , Pixabay Report

Final score:

79points

POST

AnnaRachelle 6 months ago

I sincerely hope this one is a joke?

38points

#19

Not a doctor, but heres the stupidest thing a doctor told me once.

I'm a microbiology lab technician in the hospital lab. And a DOCTOR - full fledged, board certified - asked me why I couldn't just put the petri plates in the microwave so it grows faster to know what bacteria and antibiotics to use.

WHAT.

CaptainFuzzyBootz Report

Final score:

78points

POST

Lauren K 6 months ago (edited)

A urologist I worked for didn't think COVID was real. Until he caught it and infected the whole office. We had to close for two weeks. He was a Trump supporter.

5points

#20

I'm a lawyer but I had a consultation with a potential client who was in a car accident and believed she lost her brain. Literally thought her brain was no longer in her head.

I also had a postal worker who wanted to sue the post office because he was exposed to "potentially toxic chemicals from a leaking package." When I asked him to describe it, he said it looked and smelled like honey. I asked what the package looked like. He said it was a can that said, "honey.".

Carnilinguist Report

Final score:

74points

POST

Vilma 6 months ago

Maybe her brain really wasn’t in her head.

43points

#21

Guy comes into ER with abdominal pain. While working him up, we are getting some history.

-just released from prison a few days ago.

-Living in moms house with mold growing openly on walls and ceiling.

-Walking through kitchen, spotted some amber liquid in a plastic cup on top of the fridge. Tossed it back. Swallowed it. It was pine sol.

-CT comes back, has intussuseption of small intestine.

-While waiting for surgery consult, i’m looking at his foot. Small amount of blood on sock. Hole noted in sock, huh. Remove sock, find GSW. “Oh, yeah, I was walking around twirling a gun and shot myself in the foot”. Nonchalant-like.

SteakandTrach Report

Final score:

73points

POST

Stephanie Did It 6 months ago (edited)

Some folks prefer being institutionalized because they aren't required to think. At all. GSW = gun shot wound

34points

#22

Maybe not surprised he lived that long, but definitely lacking in common sense.

I was seeing a ~40-50 year old patient in a Pain Clinic I was working in at the time. I did a full review of systems, and he ends up saying that outside of pain, his main complaint was that he can’t sleep … because he pees over 20 times a day, at least 10 of which are overnight. Alarm bells go off. I’m immediately wondering about things like undiagnosed diabetes, but I had checked his recent labs and they were all fine, no other symptoms, etc. While I’m wondering wtf is going on, I ask about his caffeine intake and he says he’s drinking maybe 30-35 cups of tea per day. Mystery solved! The worst thing was he had started doing it not because he was thirsty, but because he kept hearing people saying that being hydrated is important. 🤷‍♀️.

DolphinRx , Mareefe Report

Final score:

73points

POST

ElfVibratorGlitter 6 months ago

He was drinking that much water but labs were fine? My electrolytes would be wacky with that much water.

24points

#23

A diabetic patient had heard that honey could be used on wounds to great benefit (true). He assumed that pancake syrup would also be beneficial for the wound healing process (false). Patient proceeded to treat his poorly-healing foot ulcers by diligently applying wet dressings smeared with pancake syrup twice daily.

lambzzzzzzz Report

Final score:

72points

POST

BoredPossum 6 months ago

Eh, go to the doctor?

14points

#24

I had a lady with heart failure who was in the hospital almost monthly with heart failure exacerbations. We told her time and again to limit salt and water intake. And she’d go home and drink pickle juice.

zimmer199 , SuckerPunch Gourmet Report

Final score:

71points

POST

Anna Ekberg 6 months ago (edited)

Pickle time! https://imgur.com/LvKvmbe

13points

#25

Worked in a physical rehab hospital and would witness this conversation between the doctor and a newly admitted patient:

"Do you know what caused your stroke?"

"Well, the hospital told me it was because I have high blood pressure, but I don't anymore. The high blood pressure medication cured it and so I stopped taking it."

"Didn't your primary care tell you that you had to keep taking your medication?!"

"Yeah, but you know how doctors are. They get kickbacks from the d**g companies for keeping us on s**t we don't need."

"Got news for you. High blood pressure caused your stroke. You're lucky you didn't die. You are now back on your medication and if you go off it again, you will die. Here's the report of your blood pressure when you were admitted to the hospital."

"Damn that is high. It was never that high before!"

"It got that high because you stopped taking your medication. That's one of the side effects of stopping it cold turkey. DON'T DO IT AGAIN!"

Some would get the message. A couple would say they were never going off their meds again because "My spouse will kill me." A few would come back even more debilitated from another stroke because they did it again. Others, we'd hear they had another stroke and died.

naranghim Report

Final score:

69points

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Stephanie Did It 6 months ago

So much devastation and death just to "stick it to Big Pharma!" So sad.

35points

#26

I'm and RN in cardiology and was in a patients room after the doctor popped in and briefly mentioned a low salt diet, as the patient was holding on to lots of fluid. After that, the doctor left and the patient was on a phone call with someone (i was just straightening up and making the bed, etc.) and the patient was outlining everything the doctor said, stating "I don't even add salt to any of my food, so this is no problem." I thought this was good for them! So as I finished up and was walking out, they stopped and asked if I could pick up their order of wingstop garlic wings they had doordashed to the lobby. It was stunning but also sad that the education around nutrition has failed the US and these people genuinely don't know these things so badly that it's hurting their health to the extent that it is.

NoNet833 Report

Final score:

69points

POST

Kathy Richardson 6 months ago

When the doctor put my husband on a low sodium diet and I started paying attention to labels and nutrition charts, I was absolutely flabbergasted at how much sodium in it absolutely EVERYTHING!!! Not just canned or prepackaged, but even fresh food. I worked at a convenience store that sold prepared food and the locals would breakfast and lunch both. I would wager that if I added up all the sodium that they had in one day - breakfast, lunch, snacks, and dinner - a person could easily be ingesting 15,000- 20,000 mg. An adult is only supposed to have 2,000mg a day.

27points

#27

I have so many stories as a semi-doctor (dentist), but a striking case just a few weeks ago was a 40-something fellow who wondered why all of his teeth suddenly started to hurt all of the time.

We talk a bit. Coincidentally, he mentions, his acid reflux has been acting up a little but, meh, that wasn't a big concern for him. (PS: "a little bit" to him meant walking around for hours at night to settle his stomach if he ate dinner too late.)

Turns out this dude had started drinking 6 liters of seltzer water a day to try and lose weight.

SIX LITERS. EVERY DAY.

Um, yeah buddy, your GI tract is basically acid bubbles at this point! Your teeth are melting and your stomach is frothing over! Give your body a break and have some regular water from time to time! .

buccal_up , Nathan Dumlao Report

Final score:

64points

POST

ElfVibratorGlitter 6 months ago

I have heartburn and my doctor asked if I drink carbonated beverages, I say no. A few minutes later I pull out bottle of peligrino, he just stares at me. 🤦🏿‍♀️ I don't drink soda, totally spaced that carbonated water is, in fact, *carbonated* water.

51points

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#28

Not a doctor but former army medic. We were doing a month long training mission in a desert, I forget which one, and I had a soldier come to me complaining of eye pain. He had left his one a day contacts in for about 3 weeks.

Snackdoc189 , Lensabl Report

Final score:

61points

POST

René Sauer 6 months ago

I cant imagine ever wearing contacts. just the thoughts of getting my finger that close to my eye scares me.

34points

#29

Not a doctor, but A classmate of mine at uni for engineering gave himself scurvy by only eating chicken tenders daily.

Wannawiz , logan jeffrey Report

Final score:

56points

POST

ElfVibratorGlitter 6 months ago

I know someone who lives off steak and peeled potatoes, and has scurvy, and nasty gums. Just drink a glass of OJ, eat a strawberry, eat the potato skin, even suck a vitamin c cough drop.

35points

#30

One of my favorite stories from my brother who works as security for a hospital..a woman arrived with her “emotional support” mini horse to visit a family member. She didn’t understand why they wouldn’t allow her and the horse up to the room and my brother was called to escort her out. While technically not a patient the lack of common sense is hilariously baffling.

meganthebro , Donald Teel Report

Final score:

55points

POST

ElfVibratorGlitter 6 months ago (edited)

Might have been just an emotional support animal, but I thought some mini horses could be service animals?

6points

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#31

Not a doctor, but worked at a urological clinic for 3ish months.

One story I heard was a guy (late 30s early 40s) that came in on referral because his s*****m had an inflamed rash, mostly on the back of the s*****m and on his perineum.

He’s tried creams and oral medications and even trying different soaps and detergents, and nothing helps.

Doctor exams him and is unsure but notices a bit of a smell but being around butts and balls all day doesn’t think anything of it (nose blind), and asks the guy to go ahead and get off the table and get dressed and noticed that this guy had left a skid mark on the butcher paper that’s laid over the bench.

Turns out, this guy wasn’t washing his a*s nor really wiping, and it was causing the feces to basically be worked forward as he walked leading to what was essentially chronic diaper rash.

Cananbaum Report

Final score:

53points

POST

Anna Ekberg 6 months ago

🤢

44points

#32

I took care of a guy who was a religious nut. To the point where I was questioning, is this schizophrenia-religious or just really really religious. Turned out to be the latter, surprisingly.

The 60 something year old guy had attempted to imitate Jesus’s 40 day fast.

I am not sure how far he had gotten, but by the time he got to the hospital he needed a feeding tube and could barely move his limbs from how weak he had gotten.

I was finally able to discharge him to a physical therapy rehab at the end of his hospitalization. As I left his room for the final time, I wished him luck at rehab.

He responded with “I don’t believe in luck, I only believe in the lords blessings.”

Me: … right.

Marmoset_Walking Report

Final score:

53points

POST

Geoffrey Scott 6 months ago

Amazing...my SIL said she would not get the Covid vax (very religious). I told her "So God, in his wisdom, provides wisdom to scientists to prevent it and you won't do it?" Not sure if she ever did, but THAT gave her pause. Her husband was laid out for a week from it which apparently had no effect on her decision either.

28points

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#33

Where do start....

Diabetic patient who said their doctor told them that their blood sugar needs to be around 250 (like hell the doctor said that).

Guy with IBS constipation with bouts of explosive diarrhea did not understand why eating fast food for every meal was bad... There's lettuce and tomato on burgers and potatoes are a vegetable. Would not change his diet and then got mad his IBS wasn't getting better.

Lotion bathing... Not actually showering or bathing but "bathing" by putting on lotion every day. Also didn't understand why we didn't recommend he stand in a stagnant lake in the middle of summer to soak his leg wounds. Same patient also refused to wash his hands. He also got blacklisted from all 4 hospital systems in the area for indecent exposure and verbally threatening staff. He could be seen in the ED but that's it.

Another patient said his doctor told him he couldn't shower or bathe.... Said doctor came in and told him to shower and/or take a bath.... Patient still wasn't sure.

Milk made lactose intolerance symptoms better for a bit.....

Patent was sure their child was having an allergic reaction to Benadryl when, in fact, the child was crying because they were woken up by said parent at 3 am who wanted to watch TV at a loud volume and got super cranky (as I would). I gave the Benadryl at midnight.

Last one had osteomyelitis (bone infection) in a toe and needed it amputated. Went for a second opinion (which is OK) and got told the same thing but then wanted to know what his naturopath thought. Decided to use a "healing mat" (not sure what they're called) and ended up needing emergency surgery and lost his entire leg below the knee.

DSM2TNS Report

Final score:

51points

POST

A_VERY_DIZZY_CACTUS 6 months ago

Can we just talk about 250 really quick? How do you get from 100-120 to 250? How is that a mistake you make?

9points

Woman Moves Out Of Parents' Home After They Asked Her To Give Her Space To Brother, They Freak Out

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#34

Had a patient come to the ER via an ambulance. Got checked in and she asked how long the wait was for her nonsensical issue, the nurse told her 30+min wait. This women called another ambulance to take her to the other hospital 20 min away that had a shorter wait time. I was blown away. Not only at the audacity but, also that the other ambulance agreed to take her. It became an office joke. Who’s driving to lunch? Take an ambulance?

healthybowl Report

Final score:

51points

POST

Pink kitty 6 months ago

Meanwhile a person having a heart attack is denied an ambulance because they are busy playing taxi service to people like this woman

33points

#35

Worked in a hospital’s Obstetrical Unit as a social worker. A woman came in, having had no prenatal care, and gave birth prematurely to a baby that was addicted to opiates, so the baby was kept in the NICU.

The mother would leave the unit for smoke breaks throughout the day, but failed to return to the unit on the 2nd or 3rd day. She just…didn’t come back.

Cleaning staff found her gear (spoon and lighter) when they were cleaning out her room.

Baby was apprehended by child protection services.

A couple months later, the mother reappeared on the unit, and asked for her baby.

lissyorkiedork Report

Final score:

51points

POST

ElfVibratorGlitter 6 months ago

No snarky comeback from me, just sad. Going through withdrawals as a newborn must be pure torture. :(

66points

Woman Refuses To Chip In For Babysitting Because She Doesn’t Even Have Kids, Asks If She’s A Jerk

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“This Breaks My Heart”: People Stunned—And Angry—After Woman Buys Lost Luggage From Airport

#36

A guy came in with a badly inflamed wound (was initially a small scratch). Chief complaint was pain. I asked them if they took any pain relievers already, they mentioned they took Ibuprofen and Celecoxib, to no avail. Surprised as to how these had no effect whatsoever, I asked him how often he drank them.

Patient: "Drank?"

Turns out, he opened the capsules and applied the powder inside directly on the wound.

EulaVengeance , The-Lore Report

Final score:

50points

POST

Glasofruix 6 months ago

Oh boy, i wonder if he ever heard of suppositories?

14points

#37

Dialysis patient on fluid restriction comes in with severe volume overload. When asked how much water he drinks, he insists he’s only drinking 8 ounces a day. The nurse pressed him a little more and he admitted to drinking a gallon of milk a day (exceeding his 64 ounces of fluids a day). He didn’t realize milk counted as fluid.

paginglindsey Report

Final score:

49points

POST

ElfVibratorGlitter 6 months ago

Well you did ask how much water he drinks, not fluids...

25points

#38

Medical social worker here. I had a patient who discovered a full prescription that someone dropped in the Walmart parking lot. As he enjoyed taking d***s, he swallowed an entire bottle of blood pressure medication and wound up passing out in the middle of crossing the street and almost got crushed to death. I talked to him about how maybe that wasn't the brightest idea, he said he just wondered what they would do and I could tell that he'd do it again. He probably went right back to the Walmart hoping to score again.

NoNudeLips Report

Final score:

48points

POST

Tempest 6 months ago (edited)

Addictions are so hard to cure even with long term admissions unless the patient really puts their own effort into overcoming it. During my (med student) rotations in the psychiatric ward there was a lady admitted for alcohol addiction. She was a married late 20s-early 30s lady whose husband was by her side throughout her inpatient care. The husband didn’t seem to care much or had given up or was scared of her. She had been there for about a week on d**g therapy for addiction when one day she was missing from her room. Few hours later she was brought in extremely drunk. She had slipped out of the hospital (she wasn’t allowed to leave but had freedom to walk around the hospital) because she was craving some alcohol so badly. The doctor was furious because apparently she had been constantly going in and out of inpatient care (medically discharged and returning again) for about an year and now even committing her to the ward wasn’t enough to keep her from her addiction.

19points

"I Didn't Start The Dryer": Karen Gets Taught A Lesson After Throwing Out Neighbor's Wet Clothes

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Guy Divorced 3 Years Ago Drops Off 3 Y.O. With His Ex-Wife Completely Out Of The Blue

#39

Pt waited to be seen at a level 1 trauma center ER for over 6 hours. Went to go see him around 3 am. Complaint was chronic upset stomach and heart burn. At 3 am in the ER, he had a freshly opened Mountain Dew and a big bag of Flaming Hot Cheetos.

toomuchcoffeee Report

Final score:

47points

POST

Josh 6 months ago

These types fascinate me, because while I don't have super healthy eating habits, having an upset stomach or heart burn, or any other GI upset causes me to want/crave healthier foods. If my stomach was so miserable I went to the ED and I still needed to eat, it'd be like a brothy soup. Even going to my moms for a week (who doesn't really ever serve vegetables) made me starting craving loads of fresh vegetables and that didn't cause an upset stomach so much as just really wear me out on meat, pasta and potatoes.

20points

#40

As a paramedic I received a call for difficulty breathing. Arrived on scene to find 52 year old female sitting in her living room. She told me she could only breath through one side of her nose when she woke up this morning. It is now 6:00am. She could breathe out of both sides just fine when she went to bed last night. She demanded to be transported to the ER to find out why this one side is not working right.

Azby504 Report

Final score:

46points

POST

and_a_touch_of_the_’tism 6 months ago

To be fair, that is super annoying, but definitely not an emergency.

15points

Ancient_Wisdom_Yall Report

#41

Not a doctor, but knew a guy whose diet was so terrible he got scurvy. Didn't even think that was possible these days.

Final score:

45points

POST

ElfVibratorGlitter 6 months ago

Also know a guy with scurvy. It's mind boggling that's still a thing.

18points

“All Three Shot Out Pink”: Triplets' Baby Shower Turns Sour, Pregnant Wife Wants A Divorce

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College Student Does Exactly As Told After Roommates Demand They Keep Their Stuff In Their Room

#42

Not a doctor, but I worked in the ER doing bedside registration for several years.

Had a groom come in on his wedding night with a broken leg. He got drunk at his own reception, climbed up a wooden bridge and jumped off on a dare. He did not have suicidal ideation. He just didn’t think he would get hurt.

Life-Sun- Report

Final score:

45points

POST

Michael Largey 6 months ago

This is minor compared to the damage some people inflict on themselves on their wedding day.

11points

#43

“I got a 12 pack of tacos for dinner. After 5 or 6 tacos, my stomach started to hurt. By 9 I was feeling nauseated. When I finished an 12, the pain was so bad I thought I should get it checked out.”

37y/o man in the ER at 2300.

svrgnctzn Report

Final score:

44points

POST

TomCat 6 months ago

I ate a donut at a fancy donut store and by that evening I was in so much pain, I called my mom to take me to the ER. I thought for sure my appendix was bursting. After a few hours in the ER, I farted so loud and long, my mom kinda jumped back. Then I felt amazing. I never knew gas could hurt so much.

41points

Emotional_Resolve764 Report

#44

A guy has parkinson's disease. He's very stable on his feet and doesn't fall when he takes his meds.
He doesn't take his meds.
He's back in hospital every 2nd week for falls ... Because he doesn't take his meds.
Why doesn't he take his meds? He doesn't believe he's got parkinson's disease.
He shakes like a leaf and is so rigid he can hardly move off the meds.
Still doesn't believe it.

Also got a cirrhotic patient who gets encephalopathic at the drop of a hat who doesn't like taking lactulose.

And a type 1 diabetic who came in with diabetic ketoacidosis
Got told to take his insulin
Self discharged as soon as he could walk, without a script for insulin
Back the next day, in dka again.
I think he was early 20s.

Final score:

40points

POST

Tempest 6 months ago

The guy with Parkinson’s probably was elderly with cognitive impairment? If so he definitely needs a caregiver. It’s normal for such patients to behave in this manner.

21points

#45

Patient came in to have their denture repaired. I asked to see it, they said they didn’t have it? Where is it? They said “no one told me to bring it in”. Uhh do you also not bring your car to the mechanic?

gutter153 Report

Final score:

39points

POST

Lauren K 6 months ago

I worked at a pediatrician's office. A mom wanted her kid evaluated for ADHD. She came for the appointment....without the kid.

5points

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#46

Not a doctor, but I had a patient who decided welding with an oxygen cannula was a good idea. It was not. He had burns throughout his nasal cavity.

saggywitchtits Report

Final score:

29points

POST

Blue Bunny of Happiness 6 months ago

And I thought patients wanting to smoke whilst on oxygen was bad enough….

1point

#47

I had a patient who had no disabilities, and no debilitating heart or lung disease. She lived in a 3 story house but only used the ground floor because she didn’t want to climb the stairs. She slept in the living room because she didn’t feel like ambulating to the bedroom. She said she hadn’t climbed a flight of stairs in “at least 15 years” because “she didn’t want to” and she used a scooter wherever she went out because “why would I walk when I don’t technically have to.”

She literally avoided anything that required physical exertion, and it was purely out of laziness. I’ve never met another patient like that.

Ad8858 Report

Final score:

28points

POST

Jennifer Smith 6 months ago

I would give anything to be able to walk again

5points

LaughingByCampfire Report

#48

A farmer went into the dentist with some pain. His plaque build up made his teeth one monolithic block like Scooby Doo cartoon teeth - no gaps! As part of the procedure which included extraction, his teeth were cleaned. He returned the next day in a terrible rage, "fix my teeth, what did you do!?"

There was some confusion thinking the issue was that he wanted his teeth put back in - but no! He wanted his gaps filled back in. After some yelling and crying on his part, the dentist told him the plaque would build back up in a few years of not brushing.

Final score:

25points

POST

Anna Ekberg 6 months ago

😬

12points

#49

Not a doctor, medical assistant at an osteo/ortho joint practice. In Deep South. We got lots of stories.

My favorite is the Salt Ladies. One thought you were supposed to soak in *smelling* salts to relieve inflammation and pain, so she'd crack one open in a bucket and soak her ankle. The other didn't realize you had to *dissolve* Epsom salt in water to use them and just rubbed them on her skin like she was cleansing her chakras.

katanakid13 Report

Final score:

24points

POST

Con O Cuinn 6 months ago (edited)

I remember my aunt telling my mum to have Epsom salt baths to lose weight. Had to explain that she was only losing water weight temporarily, that dehydration doesn't equal weight loss

6points

#50

This was back when I was a med student but I had a man come to the ED for acute abdominal pain of unknown etiology. It came on very suddenly only a few hours ago. No new meds, no significant pmh. While reviewing general history I asked about diet. He said he’s had good appetite lately and that earlier in the day he caught and ate a squirrel. Mystery solved.

sfynerd , Shane Young Report

Final score:

19points

POST

PattyK 6 months ago

Many people eat squirrels and don’t get sick. Did this guy eat his raw?

15points

#51

Not a doctor but a as a nurse for 5 yrs now, I remember I had a patient come in complaining of a rash, and it turned out they'd been applying a topical steroid cream meant for their dog. When I asked why, they said they figured it was all the same. It was definitely a facepalm moment.

victoria_babe12 Report

Final score:

14points

POST

CF 6 months ago

Uhm. It is all the same. Obviously there are a bunch of different kinds of topical corticosteroids (betamethasone, dexanethasone, etc etc). But hydrocortisone marketed for people is still hydrocortisone when it is prescribed for a dog..

21points

Howdy, I'm Adelaide! I'm originally from Texas, but after graduating from university with an acting degree, I relocated to sunny Los Angeles for a while. I then got a serious bite from the travel bug and found myself moving to Sweden and England before settling in Lithuania about two years ago. I'm passionate about animal welfare, sustainability and eating delicious food. But as you can see, I cover a wide range of topics including drama, internet trends and hilarious memes. I can easily be won over with a Seinfeld reference, vegan pastry or glass of fresh cold brew. And during my free time, I can usually be seen strolling through a park, playing tennis or baking something tasty.

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Have you any similar encounters to share?

POST

PattyK 6 months ago

I once worked in an emergency room in a clerical capacity. I was astonished at the number of women who didn’t see the relationship between sex and pregnancy.

16points

marianne eliza 6 months ago

Red state educations.

6points

Upstaged75 6 months ago

That's just sad!

3points

Some guy 6 months ago

And there are still those who claim sëx education would just encourage teenagers to have sëx, as if they'd never feel their hormones if we just didn't tell them about it. (Yes, BP censors, i'm looking at you too!)

2points

ElfVibratorGlitter 6 months ago

I'm glad puss and poo are not a part of my normal day. Bless all you healthcare workers who deal with us day in and day out.

13points

Tempest 6 months ago (edited)

A case of “how were they alive by themselves” I saw during med school was surprisingly from the dermatology ward. She was in for a severe genital rash (scabies if I remember correctly - she wasn’t under the doctor I was shadowing so I’m not sure of all the details). Problem was she probably would have fit in better in the psychiatric ward because throughout her stay she was wailing loudly writhing on the floor by her bed screaming at the doctors to cure her one minute and then praising them the next minute. One time she walked into the doctor’s room and started the whole rolling on the floor and crying process. Some doctors tried to calm her down to no avail so she was left alone to finish her tantrum. Her rash was severe cause she kept scratching it. During her entire stay she didn’t have a single visitor or a caregiver by her side which she desperately needed so it was such a wonder how she was staying alive by herself.

9points

LakotaWolf (she/her) 6 months ago

I feel that - I have often wondered how my mother and older sister survived to adulthood. They've never had scabies, but my sister had blood in her stool for months and months and decided she was JUST FINE and didn't need to see a doctor. (She was fine, thankfully. Just needed to eat a better diet.) My mother is lactose intolerant but will eat cheese, ice cream, etc. and then be like "WHYYYY DO I HAVE DIARRHEA AND CRAMPING AND PAIIIIIIN?" She also had a REALLY bad stomach ulcer at one point, and when the doc gave her a printout with a list of things to stop eating (or at least eat little of) she looked at the top two things (coffee and alcohol) and was like "OH WELL I don't drink coffee OR alcohol!" and tossed the paper out. The paper also listed acidic things like tomatoes, watermelon, and lemons, and she loves those and eats massive amounts of them. But because she doesn't drink coffee, that's all that matters. I seriously do not know how she made it to the age of 79.

2points

Ariom Dahl 6 months ago

I have a sore nose ... all the face palming I've done while reading this! Some people just can not see the link between cause and effect. And as ElfVibratorGlitter says, bless all the healthcare workers!

9points

Some guy 6 months ago

Aim for your forehead.

4points

Justin Tyme 6 months ago

I was a nurse (retired now). I was working in a hospital and had a patient with a badly infected leg and positive blood culture labs (the infection was spreading). His girlfriend came to visit with a printed copy of a Facebook post. It said something about using exercise to treat infection. She convinced him to go home to try it. He returned to the hospital by ambulance a few days later and died in the emergency department.

8points

Justin Tyme 6 months ago

I was a nurse (retired now). I was working in a hospital and had a patient being treated for. . . I don't remember what. But he was also diabetic. Every evening his blood glucose level would go above 500 even though he was using diabetes medication and was on the hospital's "Carb Control Diet". We couldn't figure out what was going on until one evening we caught his friend sneaking a large chocolate milkshake in to his room.

7points

Justin Tyme 6 months ago

I was a nurse (retired now). I was working in an emergency department when a couple (teen boy and girl) came in. The story was that they didn't have a condom available, so they decided to use aluminum foil. They each had about a dozen very painful lacerations.

7points

Firefly 6 months ago

The poll at the end of this article made me think about how different my life is now because I qualify for insurance that pays for everything. For instance, I've had kidney stones a few times. One time I was in the parking lot of the hospital crying in so much pain but decided not to go in because I couldn't afford the deductible. Later, with this insurance, I was able to go in and get tests and medications that I needed. It was a wonderful change. I'm sometimes still in disbelief that I can make an appointment to go in and get things attended to without worrying if I'll be able to make my rent that month.

6points

Breadcrumb. 6 months ago (edited)

I met a flat earther in the wild today..who tried to convince me the carnivore diet was healthy. It was entertaining but difficult listening..

6points

Justin Tyme 6 months ago (edited)

How about a stupid doctor story? I was working as a nurse in a hospital that had resident doctors (three years of guided experience after medical school). I had a patient who suddenly developed nausea and then started vomiting. I called the on-call phone number and talked to a 2nd or 3rd year resident (don't remember which year). I explained what was happening - with the sound of my patient vomiting very loudly right behind me. The resident ordered Zofran. That was expected, but the resident ordered the oral form of the drüg rather than the usual intramuscular injection. So I asked for it to be changed to injection. The resident asked me why I wanted it changed, and I responded “Well, I just told you my patient is actively vomiting.”

4points

David Paterson 6 months ago

After reading these - I feel sick.

4points

Alewa 6 months ago

Seems like many of these are patients with undiagnosed mental illnesses or patients who did not have access basic education.

3points

CK 6 months ago

Sadly, our society is not great at handling mental illness.

0points

Seanette Blaylock 6 months ago

One thing about reading this thread - reminded me I need to be a lot more diligent about things like taking vitamins (I'll confess to iffy dietary habits).

1point

Elio 6 months ago

Some people really want that Darwin award.

1point

rumple slunkskin 6 months ago

Sometimes I'm absolutely astonished that we are the culmination of all of our ancestors who survived survived plagues and wars and famines, evolving and progressing medicine and science into something readily available and easy to understand with minimal effort. But here we are, dumb as ever. Many of us willingly so.

1point

Patricia Desmond 1 month ago

God bless Dr. Riaria for his marvelous work in my life, I was diagnosed of HERPES since 2016 and I was taking my medications, I wasn't satisfied i needed to get the HERPES out of my system, I searched about some possible cure for HERPES, i saw a comment about Dr. Riaria, how he cured HERPES with his herbal medicine, I contacted him and he guided me, I asked for solutions, he started the remedy for my health, he sent me the medicine, I took the medicine as prescribed by him and 14 days later I was cured from HERPES, you can reach him through his Email: drriaria@gmail.com or WhatsApp him on: +234 701-062-7760 You can visit his website for more info: https://drriaria.wixsite.com/website

0points

Panda Bear 6 months ago

I really feel bad for some of these people. They clearly have mental health issues and the ones who don’t are uneducated, which isn’t their fault.

0points

POST

PattyK 6 months ago

I once worked in an emergency room in a clerical capacity. I was astonished at the number of women who didn’t see the relationship between sex and pregnancy.

16points

marianne eliza 6 months ago

Red state educations.

6points

Upstaged75 6 months ago

That's just sad!

3points

Some guy 6 months ago

2points

ElfVibratorGlitter 6 months ago

I'm glad puss and poo are not a part of my normal day. Bless all you healthcare workers who deal with us day in and day out.

13points

Tempest 6 months ago (edited)

9points

LakotaWolf (she/her) 6 months ago

2points

Ariom Dahl 6 months ago

9points

Some guy 6 months ago

Aim for your forehead.

4points

Justin Tyme 6 months ago

8points

Justin Tyme 6 months ago

7points

Justin Tyme 6 months ago

7points

Firefly 6 months ago

6points

Breadcrumb. 6 months ago (edited)

I met a flat earther in the wild today..who tried to convince me the carnivore diet was healthy. It was entertaining but difficult listening..

6points

Justin Tyme 6 months ago (edited)

4points

David Paterson 6 months ago

After reading these - I feel sick.

4points

Alewa 6 months ago

Seems like many of these are patients with undiagnosed mental illnesses or patients who did not have access basic education.

3points

CK 6 months ago

Sadly, our society is not great at handling mental illness.

0points