Is this the stupidest reason in history for an ER visit?

[the lawsmeister]

ooh, ooh - I thought of one - Paper cut!!!

I know someone who did that. Not only did he go to an ER but it also had to be reported as a workplace injury.

In fairness to him, it was a paper cut on his eye.

[Mishi]

@the lawsmeister: Either you know my husband or there is someone equally as talented at being clumsy as he is.

He was wrangling some paperwork in a car and managed to leave a nearly 1cm long papercut on his eye, and then tried to argue that it wasn't bad enough to see a doctor. I dragged him to the ED where he was jokingly scolded by a nurse-practitioner for not thinking it was a big deal, since he nearly needed a referral to a specialist. The kids were so happy to have a pirate-daddy for the week and a bit he was told to stay home.

Mind you, it once took him a few days and a bit of nagging to think a scalded arm (severe 2nd degree burns) was bad enough to see a doctor.

[the lawsmeister]

@the lawsmeister: Either you know my husband or there is someone equally as talented at being clumsy as he is.

LOL, no he must have a clumsy counterpart out there somewhere. The guy I know was shuffling through some papers so it looked like he was busy when his boss came by. One of the pages flicked up and caught him in the eye causing the papercut.

[Sapphire Silk]

Best of all, this crisis occurred between 1 and 2 am. It's like the people who bring their kids in with the sniffles at 3 or 4 in the morning. It just couldn't wait!

My brain just exploded. I don't know why . . . I should not be surprised.

Sounds like the guy that called the paper a few weeks ago wanting a reporter to write about how the ER didn't treat his wife fast enough, they had to wait for HOURS to see someone about....her swollen lip.

I was SO tempted to ask if his fist was the reason she had a swollen lip, but I didn't.

Well, here's the thing. If you are left waiting for hours for something that stupid, you didn't need to be there in the first place.

[Mishi]

No, its not him then. He gets sent home early every now and then due to having nothing left to do thanks to his efficiency and work ethic.

[mathnerd]

Guess I'd better call an ambulance for the papercut I just got from opening a box of ice cream treats.

[sms001]

In fairness to him, it was a paper cut on his eye.

Strange thing is, as I wrote 'paper cut' I actually thought of that; there's a 'worst accident' thread in a DIY forum I'm in and two or three of those are eye related, so it's somewhat on my mind.

Maybe you or Mishi or one of the med folk could fill me in: how are such injuries treated? Just isolation and protection, or is there something they can put on an eye?

[Geek King]

I'm just going to leave this here, with the warning that you may lose several days reading the thread. Chapped lips are covered. Don't get caught SOCMOB reading the bible to your grandmother.

PS--link contains Doctors/EMS/Nurses with dark humor, technical terms, and occasionally gruesome and/or heart-breaking.

[Mishi]

Rugz had a dye test to see the extent of the damage, check-ups to be sure it was healing, and antibacterial eyedrops to try and avoid infection. Since he's a mechanic, he had to stay home while it healed thanks to workplace risk factors. We were also given sterile eye pads + thin bandages to hold them in place to help him keep his eye closed because it was more comfortable. I changed them twice a day when I put in the drops...which was fun. He has a phobia of things going in his eyes and this made it so much worse. I had to pin his arms and shoulders down while talking in a calming tone every time I put the drops in. Poor guy couldn't do the drops himself and couldn't avoid struggling when I did it.

[Amina516]

Chapped lips, sunburn (really minor sun burn), hang nail, eye lid twitch (no medical issues or vitamin deficiencies, just eyelid twitch), ran out of benadryl-asthma pump-other meds (we are not a pharmacy, youre still going to have to pay someone somewhere), minimal stomach pain for 30 mins (was gas), I vomited one time 4 hours ago (you suck).

Im not surprised though I wish I were....

[Eevie]

OK, it's official. I have now heard it all.

Now that you've said that, we can just wait for somebody to do something even more idiotic than this. How long do you think it will take? Anyone want to wager a guess?

[sms001]

Thanks Mishi. Wonder what the bacteria-killer is; did it sting? And lol: my wife is eye sensitive too, with similar results. Can't even watch me put in/take out contacts.

I'm just going to leave this here....

Knew what it was even before I hovered over it, and your warnings are right on both counts, especially the time sink aspect. Some are truly hilarious.

[Mishi]

@sms001: He was given Chlorsig eye drops, they do sting a little but not too badly (but then, I actually do have a high pain threshold ) I'm glad he wasn't given the ointment, that would have been really frustrating to get into his eye.

@Geek King:
I love that thread!

[Salted Grump]

I'm just going to leave this here

The link that keeps on giving; That's popped up at least a dozen times since I joined CS, and I do my best to perpetuate its futher coexistence with us. Mostly because some of it is jaw-droppingly insane.

[mathnerd]

I'm just going to leave this here

And I have now lost the last two days of my life. Thanks.