Where did you hear that?

3 What are some strange/illogical/bizarre/false things you've heard while working in healthcare?

For example:

I had a patient with sciatica who was having a flare up. She was prescribed a muscle relaxant. I asked if she took it and she said no. So I asked if there was any reason why she didn't want to take her medication and she said that she wasn't going to take muscle relaxants because her heart was a muscle, she was 65 years old, and she didn't want it to relax.

I had a young woman experiencing angioedema and she asked if she was going to get a tetanus shot. I said I didn't think so but if she needed one to mention it to the doctor and she might be able to get it while in the ED. She then proceeded to explain that she wanted a tetanus shot because tetanus shots cure EVERYTHING.

Sort of different, but in the ED I was taking care of an elderly lady who had dementia with a nosebleed. She had this totally drop dead gorgeous granddaughter who was in her late 20's. I mean, super model pretty. But her and a sack of hammers could have a nice debate on who's smarterAnyways, the we were trying to fix her nosebleed and the doc says,"go ahead and start and IV, lets see if we can get her blood pressure down." So after a while of me telling the family and them talking, the perky granddaught pipes up and say, "Oh, wow, I didn't know IVs lowered blood pressure!!"Facepalm. Wow. I couldn't help but chuckle.

So funny! Well, working in the ER this is a conversation I overheard with a patient and another nurse:Pt: My throats sore..RN: I know, we're gonna get a swab of your throat to see if we can help you out and get you betterPt: Dont I get an xray?RN: No, we're gonna do this throat swab first.Pt: Man I hate this hospital!It was funny. But, I think it goes to show how important patient education is these days!

Quote from kroger15Sort of different, but in the ED I was taking care of an elderly lady who had dementia with a nosebleed. She had this totally drop dead gorgeous granddaughter who was in her late 20's. I mean, super model pretty. But her and a sack of hammers could have a nice debate on who's smarterAnyways, the we were trying to fix her nosebleed and the doc says,"go ahead and start and IV, lets see if we can get her blood pressure down." So after a while of me telling the family and them talking, the perky granddaught pipes up and say, "Oh, wow, I didn't know IVs lowered blood pressure!!"Facepalm. Wow. I couldn't help but chuckle.

Quote from kroger15Sort of different, but in the ED I was taking care of an elderly lady who had dementia with a nosebleed. She had this totally drop dead gorgeous granddaughter who was in her late 20's. I mean, super model pretty. But her and a sack of hammers could have a nice debate on who's smarterAnyways, the we were trying to fix her nosebleed and the doc says,"go ahead and start and IV, lets see if we can get her blood pressure down." So after a while of me telling the family and them talking, the perky granddaught pipes up and say, "Oh, wow, I didn't know IVs lowered blood pressure!!"Facepalm. Wow. I couldn't help but chuckle.

Patients who c/o chest pain, get an EKG, and say, "Thanks, I feel better now"!

Quote from brownbookPatients who c/o chest pain, get an EKG, and say, "Thanks, I feel better now"!

good old placebo effect!Quote from brownbookPatients who c/o chest pain, get an EKG, and say, "Thanks, I feel better now"!

I've heard alot in the NICU. Some of my favorites are:*Parents asking if their 1 pound baby born at 23 weeks can be discharged with mom. Ummm, no, you should technically be pregnant for another 4 months.*Asking me why I didn't "bath" the baby in olive oil, because didn't I know that soap and water followed by lotion would dry the baby's skin out.*Family getting upset because I put lotion on their babywithout giving the baby a bath first. They told me that you never put lotion on a dirty baby because "didn't I know that would make the baby get sick." When I asked how it would make the baby get sick, the answer was "all the germs and dirt would get in the skin." Okay, this would make sense if the skins integrity was compromised in some way but not on intact skin. *sigh* Some people.

I had a pt have a fit because I was doing her EKG.She couldn't believe anyone less than a doctor (and heaven forbid! a PCT) would do an EKG.She thought I was going to electrocute her!I tried to explain to her that the leads did not send electricity through her heart and how the EKG actually worked.I was trying not laugh... or pull my hair out!She was so dramatic!

I had a pt that did not understand that jello melts in your stomach. Her argument was "if you leave an ice pop out it melts, if you leave jello out nothing happens." She was on a liquid diet.

I haven't heard like this lately, but then again I'm not working in the ED right now. Keep 'em coming, they make my day a bit easier.

Loving the stories