Ouch! I Think I Need To Go To Hosptial, My Finger Hurts

[MalahatTwo7]

Now if only we could get the "Masses" to read and understand this:

When To Go To The Emergency Room. Physicians Create List Of Warning Signs

POSTED: 12:15 pm EST November 16, 2006
UPDATED: 8:44 am EST November 17, 2006

WASHINGTON -- At one time or another, just about everybody's wondered if they were sick enough to go to the emergency room.

To help spot the signs of conditions that require immediate medical attention the American College of Emergency Physicians created a list of warning signs on when to go to the ER.

Watch Doreen Gentzler's Report

Dr. Eric Glasser is an emergency room physician at Georgetown University Hospital who admits it can be tough for patients to know if they're dealing with an emergency.

"Think about the symptoms you are having, when they started, because that's very important. Think about past medical history," said Glasser. "Whatever you are doing at home, medications at home you normally take, allergies, these are all important things that go into when we look at the case, how sick the patient is," he said.

When you get to the ER, be very clear about what's wrong with you, be specific when describing your symptoms, because timing is key. Every second counts when it comes to surviving things like a stroke or a heart attack.

Linda Lewis of Northeast Washington is reminded daily of the stroke she suffered more than 20 years ago.

Words don't always come easy. Her right arm is paralyzed. And walking can be difficult.

Lewis's experience is not so unusual. She didn't realize she was having a stroke while it was happening.

She didn't know she should have gone straight to the emergency room. Instead, she went home to rest, hoping she'd feel better soon.

Today she hopes other people can learn something from an experience that changed her life.

"Headaches and whatever, you need to check it out," said Lewis.

Conditions Requiring Immediate Medical Attention:

Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
Fainting, sudden dizziness and weakness
Changes in vision
Confusion
Sudden or severe pain
Pain or pressure in your chest or upper abdomen
Persistent diarrhea or vomiting
Uncontrolled bleeding

http://www.nbc4.com/news/10335993/de...211172006&ts=H

Copyright 2006 by nbc4.com.

[needlejockey]

Notice how being sick for 4 days and calling the ambulance at 3 in the morning is not on that list.

[voyager9]

Notice how being sick for 4 days and calling the ambulance at 3 in the morning is not on that list.

I didn't see "Because I need a ride to the city" there either.

[Resq1scnd2none]

this is one reason why health insurance premiums are so high. (People calling 911 for the BS that is!) That and the "patients" then sue the doctors because they claim "malpractice".
Stop crap like this and everyone can have good and inexpensive healthcare!

[Ladder8]

Stop crap like this and everyone can have good and inexpensive healthcare!

But then the poor lawyers would be out of work....

[Engine58]

How about..."I need a shower & a turkey sandwhich" This is our monthly call from the locals that inhabit the front stairwell of the lobby...

[DaSharkie]

He, He -

I got this one from one of my Physicians:

Rules For The ED

1. The world of the E.R. does not revolve around you. There are sick people here, and you may or may not be one of them. We get to decide that. If it’s chronic, already diagnosed by your doctor, it’s not an emergency. (Like your back pain for the past 3 years.)

2. Our definition of sick may not be your definition of sick. If a member of the E.R. staff says that someone is sick, it means that they are in the process of DYING. They have had a massive stroke, are bleeding out, having a heart attack, or have been shot. We don’t consider a toothache sick. Painful, yes. Sick, no.

3. At any given time, one nurse has six patients. One doctor has up to 15 or 20. There is a law (similar to Murphy’s) in the E.R. If you have six patients:

- Two of them will really be sick. (See #2 for the definition of sick.)
- Two of them will be whining constantly. This includes family members who insist on reading the monitor and pressing the call bell.
- One of them will be homeless.
- One of them will be a delightful patient.

- Don’t be the whiner. Do not ask for a warm blanket before you get into a gown. This is not a bed and breakfast. It’s also rude to eat and then leave AMA.

4. Physicians and nurses are not waiters. We are not customer service representatives. This is not McDonalds, and you very well may NOT have it your way. Our job is to save lives, or least make you feel better.
- If you want a pillow, two blankets, the lights dimmed, and the TV on channel 14, go to a hotel.

5. If you have one of these four things, go to your own doctor in the morning:
A: A cold.
B: The flu.
C: A Stomach virus.
D: Anything chronic.

6. If your child has a fever, you had better given them Tylenol before coming in. Do NOT let the fever remain high just so we will believe the child has a fever. Do you want your child to have a seizure? Well, do you?

7. We have priorities. We understand that you have been waiting for two hours in the waiting room. If you don’t want to wait, make an appointment with a doctor. The little old lady that just walked in looking OK to you is probably having a massive heart attack. That is why she goes in first.

8. Do not ask us how long it will be. We don’t know. We don’t know what’s coming through the door 30 seconds from now…So we surely don’t know when you’ll be getting a room. Never ask the triage nurse if you’ll be admitted.

9. We are not here for primary care. An “Emergency” is something that is life or limb threatening that requires immediate attention. Get a family doctor and go see him.

10. If you have diabetes and do not control it, you are committing slow suicide. Non-compliance will not get you much sympathy. Especially the 4th time.

11. We know hoe many times you’ve been to an E.R. We can actually tell if you are faking or just seeking drugs in the first 5 seconds of talking to you. Do not lie to us. If you lie about one thing, we will assume you are lying about everything. You don’t want that. Coming in for de-tox 2-3 times a week is insincere.

12. If you are well enough to complain about the wait, you are well enough to go home.

13. If your mother is a patient and we ask her a question, let her answer it. We are checking her level of consciousness, not yours!

14. If you see someone pushing a red cart down the hall at full speed and you hear bells going off…do not ask for a cup of coffee. Someone is dying.

15. If you have any sort of stomach pain and you ask for something to eat, you are not sick. If you are vomiting, we are not going to reload you.

16. If you can complain about the blood pressure cuff being too tight, or the IV needle hurting, you are not in that much other pain.
P.S. If you have more than 3 piercings or tatoos, don’t tell me that you are afraid of needles.

17. If you want to get something, be nice. I will go out of my way to tick off rude people.

18. Do not talk badly about the other members of the staff. I work with them. The doctor you hate, I work with every day, and I know that he knows what he is doing. I trust him a lot more than I trust you. I am not here to be your friend, and neither is he. I will tell him what you say, and we will laugh about it.

19. Every time I ask you a question, I learn more about what is wrong with you. I don’t care if someone has asked you what day it is four different times. Each time I ask, it is for a reason. Just answer the questions, regardless of whether you have answered them all before.

20. Do not utter the words “You have my records.” I don’t have your records, and I don’t have time to call and get them. Just tell me.

21. Do not bring your entire family with you. One person at the bedside is all you need. It is really difficult to work around seven people in the event that you are really sick (see #2 for a definition of sick.) This is a hospital, not a place for a family reunion.

22. Bring a current list of your medications and allergies. Include the doses. Nobody should be taking medicine if they do not know what they are and what they are for.

23. I know your doctor said to “go to the Era and I will call and tell them that you are coming.” He probably did not call, and chances are even less that he will “meet you there later.”

24. If your doctor sent you here because his office was busy, you may want to let him know that you waited 5 hours in the waiting room with 60+ contagious people and 4 more hours in the actual E.R. to get your sore throat looked at.

25. We don’t do dental. Don’t come here because you did not pay your doctor or dentist for your last visit and you think that you can stiff us for the bill. We will collect, and an office call at the doctor’s office is about $85. An E.R. visit will be around $1,000.

26. It’s not cool to call 9-1-1 and tie up an ambulance crew for a non-emergency just because you do not have cab fare. On the same note…Don’t hit us up for a cab ticket and then ask for change for a $20 to get a Pepsi on the way out. (We have seen this happen.)

27. Coming to the E.R. by ambulance does not guarantee you will get right in. We routinely move folks from the ambulance stretcher to a wheel chair and triage them to the waiting room.

28. We have seen it all. Moaning, writhing, screaming, falling out on the floor, or faking a seizure will not speed up the process one bit. Making obnoxious retching noises and then spitting in an emesis basin is not convincing either. If you are going to barf….then barf for crying out loud.

29. If you come in on Tuesday with chest pain that started Saturday, don’t expect us to get excited. You didn’t! Any chest pain should go to the nearest E.R. immediately.

[PureAdrenalin]

Sharkie, I think I love you.

[doughesson]

Sharkie reminded me of a call my old volunteer department got two Decembers ago with a foot of snow on the ground and the quickest responder that week was the guy that said"[email protected] it and walked to the station rather than deal with his vehicle:
"346 Jefferson road,345 Jefferson road,we have a 34 year old female with a lump in her right breast,requesting emergency transport....."
You could hear the groans as people got up and started for the door when our Captain came back"Central,get a call back number,tell this individual to go to the doctor on her own in the morning and to NOT EVER call 911 for something like that again."
I am told that his call to the back door number to central Dispatch got colorful.
Legal Disclaimer:The above mentioned address isn't even in the district and is a warehouse so don't go looking to meet her yourself and ask what she was doing at O200 to find a lump there.