Stiches

[AquaGirl]

This is my dr. horror story. I don't have many so it appears that I'm lucky. At age 4 the bottom of my foot was cut open at the arch in an accident with a lawnmower. Not nearly as dramatic as it sounds; it required 4 stitches and I don't even have a scar. However the bad part happened during the stitches. They gave me a shot of something to numb my foot and then we were left alone for-well I was 4 so I don't know how long. But I remember exactly what happened next. They started stitching my foot and I could feel it. It huuuurt. A nurse actually tried to hold me down-which I would have understood if Id just been a wiggling little girl but I wouldn't have moved if there hadn't been the sensation of a needle moving through my skin. My mother told the dr. that I had a high pain threshold and they must not have given me enough to numb me. The dr said that was impossible and tried to continue stitching me up. So my mother put her hand over my foot. They got ticked off and said that she had ruined the sterile field. But they fave me another shot.

[Teysa]

Owie. The one time I got stitches, I remember that numbing agent hurting like the dickens. Sad thing is to this day, I'm chicken when it comes to stitches and would rather just get bandaged up good.

[Sapphire Silk]

Ugh. I hate this. If it hurts, listen to the patient. It doesn't take that long to add some lidocaine and get it numb. The sole of the foot is a sensitive area; lots of nerve endings. I have no doubt it did still hurt.

[chainedbarista]

might have been novocaine or lidocaine. i had that happen when i cut the underside of my left thumb. the injection was wearing off when they started stitching. i toughed it out, but damn, to wait that long on a young kid? just stupid and they should know better, but...

[Captain Trips]

Ugh. I hate this. If it hurts, listen to the patient.

Problem with this is that there are many conservative male doctors out there. They will often take the attitude of "children don't feel pain" and "women complaining about pain are just hysterical." (We've had some of the latter kind.) It took some time, but my wife finally found a woman PCP who does acknowledge the reality of Post Polio Syndrome - and also acknowledges that when someone says they are in pain, that means they are in pain! ("Patient Bill of Rights: #1: ALL patients have the right to be out of pain." ALL patients - not just calm adult males!)

[Heksubah]

I had the same thing happen when I was about 5 or 6. I was in summer school and stepped on something on the way to the pool (we walked from the elementary school to the high school down the road) and cut my foot open. It only required two stitches, but they didn't properly numb me so I screamed. My mom didn't stop them, she just sat there and bawled and freaked out because I was throwing such a fit.