Bleeding Customer Decides to Keep Shopping

[Seshat]

Both that guy and Catharsis' customer.

Um. If you're bleeding that badly, DOCTOR. NOW.


I will also never understand some people.

[fireheart]

I have one to add from my days as a primary school student.

We had a kid at my school holiday program (this was waaaay back in the day) who was a bit...odd. As in "I suspect that there's something going on at home that he didn't tell any of the staff about" weird. The kid was 11/12 years old.
So, my dad took a few days off from work and spent time with me and my sister. I end up calling one of my friends (who was going to the same high school as me) during one of those days to find out what I'd missed at the school holiday program.
She proceeded to tell me that the guy in question had hassled HER *all day long and then in the period between lunch and afternoon snack, wound up doing #2 in his pants. And this wasn't "OMG I had curry burritos for lunch and I"m about to expel liquid" this was SOLID....or at least semi-solid. It got better too...as the guy was walking to the toilet to clean himself up, bits of poo kept falling out of his shorts.

I did NOT envy the staff member who had to clean THAT one up.

*-Out of a service of around 50, there were about 10-15 of us who were over 10.

[Legacy_of_Torment]

He just CONTINUED?? Wtf, get yourself to a first aid point and see about calling a doctor That's disgusting. While it might be no big deal to him, it's extremely unsanitary for him to be handling food. The chef where I work only needs to get a small nick on his finger and he closes the kitchen down!

[emax4]

Ironically, I watched the local Pittsburgh news last night and one of the main stories was a guy who had bled to death in his car. Turns out he had removed a bandage from his recent surgery, and it bled more than he thought it would. The car was parked somewhere on the side of the road.

[EricKei]

...the amount of times I've seen staff who clearly lack appropriate cleaning kit having to tackle bodily fluids is appalling.

I don't think I've ever worked anywhere that has had anything more complex than a basic first aid kit, even at major chains >_> And, as for someone actually TRAINED to clean up biohazard stuff? Pff. At GroceryStore, their solution to, say, a custy getting sick on the sales floor (once someone actually mentioned it to us...) was a broom/dustpan followed by a mop bucket with a little bleach in the water.

x.x Yuck.

One notable exception, tho -- After Katrina, working at GameStore -- They had to call in a HAZMAT team to rip out the fake slot-walls (where the racks are hung) so that the walls could be cleaned and new slat-walls be put in...But even that was a special situation, done by an outside company.

[Sapphire Silk]

This guy should have gone straight to the hospital. The cast probably needed to come off, the source of the bleeding controlled, and the cast reapplied. He could have lost the limb.

Human blood on a surface is nothing to play around with. While the risk of disease transmission are fairly low, there is still a risk. Hepatitis C is the main villain here; it can live on surfaces for 30 days (HIV lasts less than a minute).

Human blood should always be cleaned up using a bio hazard kit. Protect yourself first; wash your hands and apply gloves. Apply the absorption material, and follow the kit's instructions. Place in red bag. Dispose of as hazardous waste.

[mathnerd]

On the other hand, he may have already seen a doctor about it and was told not to worry, though he should have been better at containing the blood.

Two of my three sons have a condition that requires removal of bony growths from time to time. These things bleed like a stuck pig. I just change the bandages frequently, unless it gets to a certain point. While I would never let a surgical wound get that messy, the bandages can start looking pretty bad for a bystander who doesn't know what's going on.

[Monterey Jack]

On the other hand, he may have already seen a doctor about it and was told not to worry, though he should have been better at containing the blood.

Even if a wound freely bleeding is "normal", that does NOT excuse letting blood drip all over the floor while you shop somewhere where other people buy FOOD. That is a health hazard to yourself and especially others and a complete dick move to make.

[mathnerd]

Hence the second half of the sentence you quoted.

[Sapphire Silk]

On the other hand, he may have already seen a doctor about it and was told not to worry, though he should have been better at containing the blood.

Two of my three sons have a condition that requires removal of bony growths from time to time. These things bleed like a stuck pig. I just change the bandages frequently, unless it gets to a certain point. While I would never let a surgical wound get that messy, the bandages can start looking pretty bad for a bystander who doesn't know what's going on.

That doesn't excuse dripping blood all over the place.

And if he had a cast, the bleeding was not benign. If the blood collects under the cast, or in the spaces between the muscle fascia you can end up with something called compartment syndrome, which is very dangerous. People lose limbs because of it.

[mathnerd]

Perhaps I should have put parts of my post in bold. I recall clearly stating that he should have been better at containing the blood. In fact, both times I've been quoted, that part has been in the quote.

The point was that assumptions are being made that ought not be made. How do you know he didn't already contact his doctor? How do you know that he wasn't taking care of a few errands before an appointment later that afternoon or the following day? You don't know, and can't assume that isn't the case.

And having nursed two children through over 30 operations to remove bone tumors rep,air deformed joints and bones, and repair damaged nerves, I'm well aware of the risks of pooling blood. I'm also keenly aware of the fact that doctors won't always get you in right away and you simply have to wait until they can squeeze you in.

So, I'll say it again while he should have been better at containing the blood, you can't assume he hasn't already contacted his doctor.

[Rapscallion]

I'd prefer it if we didn't have to reroute this to Fratching, please?

Rapscallion