Think you've seen it all in the ER? Think again.
Posted by CEP America on Thu, Apr 15, 2010 @ 03:21 PM
Emergency physicians and nurse practioners know all too well that there are patients who belong there for good reason. And those who...well...don't.
We thought we would pass along some true tales originally posted on Gather that highlight why some people end up in the ER in the United States. The statistics were collected by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission:
In 2004, a 24-year-old woman said she slipped in the shower - when she stepped on a basketball.
In 2006, an 18-year-old woman was looking for a cell phone in a dumpster at a sorority. It had a rubber lid which fell onto her head when the wind blew.
In 2006, a 46-year-old woman reported that her husband was wiring the Internet when antlers fell off wall and hit the patient on top of head.
In 2008, a 30-year-old man was chasing a raccoon at night, and forgot he had a cable set up in the yard. He tripped and twisted his left wrist.
A 37-year-old man was cutting branches with a circular saw, using a running wood chipper as a saw horse. When the man cut off several fingers with the saw, they fell into the wood chipper.
CPSC statistics also showed that:
- Men account for 56 percent of the ER visits.
- Men suffer 80 percent of "pressure washer" injuries.
- Men suffer 90 percent of injuries involving a "mobile home" plus "alcohol".
- And 96 percent of "nail gun" injuries are suffered by men.
All of which leads to the obvious conclusion: with people like this running loose in the world, there should never be a shortage of head scratching stories. Or a reason to keep emergency department doors open.
Have your own humorous, puzzling, head-slapping stories from the ER? Please share them!