"Things I learn" & "Medicine Sucks" discussion thread

[ArmyBoy]

You're a hyperglycemic noncompliant diabetic hoarder lying in a pool of your own urine and feces, and I have a family member with power of attorney for you standing ten feet away (not that I need him):

"Ma'am, can you tell me what day of the week it is?"
"It's Not Going to the Hospital Day!"

Really? Could've fooled me!

Urk! How was s/he able to maintain enough lucidity to respond with that good a quip?

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[gutonc]

Urk! How was s/he able to maintain enough lucidity to respond with that good a quip?

Practice. Lots and lots of practice. Lucidity is a relative thing.

 

[Dzerzhinsky]

Urk! How was s/he able to maintain enough lucidity to respond with that good a quip?

Practice. Lots and lots of practice. Lucidity is a relative thing.

Pretty much!

We'd already ascertained earlier in the call that it was Going to the Hospital Day (ascertained about the time we assessed her condition from the doorway, specifically), and had mentioned that to the family member. She caught onto that and repeated it nonstop with a Not prefixed in response to any question. I've seen the echoing behavior before in disoriented but conscious patients.

It was a great line, though.

 

[ArmyBoy]

Just trying to jibe being disoriented enough to be able to remain in a puddle of one's own waste matter, with being able to communicate that (very good) line. But I guess, since I've read and heard enough cases of living in one's own filth, that, in and of itself, doesn't require that level of disorientation, for some people. But still, gross, and GREAT quip. Might have to try and remember that one next time I've taken a noggin-knocking, and am getting a concussion check. No smart remarks from those involved in the above debate...I get 'em from doing stupid stuff WHILE wearing helmets...rappelling, kayaking in shallow white-water, or rocky coastal shallows, stuff that's a lot of fun, but likely to knock you about, a bit.

 

[Stryker One]

For the record, while a staph infection IS an important and dangerous thing, I was having recurring MRSA(again, long story involving an open lawsuit), and had already had it lanced and packed, and I was living on antibiotics. She had no reason to go after it, she could see the iodine stains and the packing sticking out.

And last, but certainly not least...The rotisserie I mentioned above. I work at a grocery store, in the deli,

You have MRSA and you work in a deli?

 

[JMHO]

I got yelled at by a ER Doc twice in a row a few years ago.

Back story is a 3 year old daughter with Cat Scratch Infection. All the Lymph nodes in her body are swollen and she spikes that 104.3 fever the Doctors always warn you about.

So I pick her up and run out the door with her, down the stairs and step on a Black Walnut. Rolled my foot sideways and off the sidewalk, CRACK.

I keep hobbling for the car, drive a 5 Speed 20 minutes to the Childrens hospital. Where I walk on the foot for 8 hours while my 3 year old is evaluated and treated. Doctor comes in to discharge her , notices the bruised and swollen ankle and foot and yelled at me for walking on it. She had me taken to the car in a wheelchair, my daughter strapped in for me and told me to go straight to the regular ER.

So 10 hours after the injury, I finally get to a Adult ER,get the xrays And the Doctor comes in the Room, and say's.
" So at what point did walking around on a Broken Ankle seem like a good idea?"
Well my Youngest was really ill, and we had to take her to the Childrens hospital.
So She say, and you couldn't have brought her here?
That Doctor had the best response ever!
I couldnt have though, she has a problem with her immune system they would have just transfered her.

 

[Perrotfish]

You have MRSA and you work in a deli?

MRSA isn't as rare as it used to be. In the hospital I'm at now 30% of the community has it on their skin. The protocol for a detected MRSA infection has evolved from isolation an 4 drug eradication protocol (2 topical 2 oral) to I&D any abscesses and take a bath mixed with a small amount of everyday household bleach.

In other words, he can work in a deli

 

[morbo]

No joke - one patient BROUGHT A WHITE COAT and pretended to be a doctor. No, they didn't interact with patients. They went to the nursing station and pretended to give HIMSELF a prescription for all kinds of narcotics.

He basically had a grocery list of narcotics. It's like he didn't think nurses knew who actually worked there...

 

[Melanthe]

You have MRSA and you work in a deli?

Oh nonono. Wait, sorry, I guess that came out totally wrong.

I worked at the deli ages ago. The MRSA has been in the last 12 months, and it was after I stopped working there. Even if it was a crappy deli job (I don't care what anyone says about the meniality of it, I was good at it and my customers really were like family to me) I loved it and as I just said, I loved my customers. I would never have gone in to that job with something as dangerous as MRSA hanging out on me. I would never ever risk spreading something like that.

Besides, it looked so incredibly gross on my arm that had I been working at the time, they'd have kicked me out anyhow.

Perrotfish:

That's exactly what I did. When I went in, they slathered it with antibiotic stuff, and gave me penicillin. Then they lanced it, drained it, packed it, and sent me on my way. But the conditions that caused it (septic tank in our yard in deplorable condition, owners of house being completely lax in doing anything but just dump it on ground without even putting the required lime on it; as a result constant crapwater bubbling up into my yard.) would have led me to stay away from work anyhow, as one of my coworkers at the deli had a compromised immune system, and I imagine she would have picked it up easily.

Unfortunately I've learned since that once you've had MRSA, the chance for recurrence is higher; I got it once again on my arm and again on my cheek. For anyone who cares, it was CA-MRSA as opposed to hospital acquired (not that that couldn't be inferred above) and we're not filthy people by any stretch.

Also, CVS brand Icthammol ointment is AMAZING. Smells like oil, but has saved much trouble around here.

Oh, some pages ago people were discussing this topic, and how it shouldn't hurt that bad (to lance and drain) unless you have extra sensitive pain receptors brought about usually by opiate use. I've got hypersensitive pain receptors but not from taking opiates; I've had some severe dental problems that went untreated for far too long; as a result my ability to deal with pain is messed up. I stub my toe and I feel like I've been shot in the foot. This morning I woke up massive pain in my knee, unable to put weight on it without screaming...turned out that I had hyperextended my patellar tendon. Heat and cold alternating will take care of it, but when I woke up I was in such a ridiculous amount of pain that I would have sworn I tore something; and I've torn it before, so I know what it feels like.

It blows being super sensitive to pain. Why couldn't I have super sensitive hearing or vision? There was a mixup at the super power dispensary.

 

[Kittenmommy]

Silly intern: *had not asked about sick contacts*

Silly Intern is just so silly! I eagerly look forward to the next exciting installment of Silly Intern Theatre!

 

[Perrotfish]

...

 

[Melanthe]

So last night I went to the ER because I had done something ridiculous to my foot. I'd fallen on the front stairs to my house, and then again on the back. Then, while climbing over a low wall, I tripped and fell on the same foot AGAIN.

I heard a pop and felt some crazy pain, so to the ER we went. I waited about 10 minutes before I was taken to triage, where everyone got a laugh at my coordination. The X-Ray tech found it amusing that I knew exactly which way to move my foot to get the shots, as I injure my foot all the time.

I head back to triage, waiting for the results, and it turns out I've torn my...hold on, don't make fun if I mess this up...peroneus longus.

Upon discharge, I've already told everyone about this site, and inform my nurse that after I leave, she and her coworkers are free to make as much fun of me as they want. "As much as we want?" She asked. "Yup. I know you guys have to put up with some crazy stuff here, and I can't afford to feed you or send flowers, so cheap entertainment it is!" She was pleased.
​

 

[Seanette]

Yet another civilian signing in to thank our ER staff. Haven't had to go to ER in a long time, thankfully, but if I do and I'm your patient, as long as you take care of me, you can then proceed to laugh about whatever brainless move landed me there. I'll probably be laughing, too, once the pain subsides.

I considered going into medicine, but I just don't have the emotional resilience. I'd get way too emotionally involved for my own good (also ruled out the veterinary field for the same reason). Closest I've come is medical/dental insurance call centers, and those can be, ahem, "interesting". When I was working in Medicare prescription coverage, it was not uncommon for one caller to be a very nice person with a very real issue (needing anti-seizure/diabetes/heart/blood pressure meds), and the next to have a serious oxycontin/Vicodin/hydrocodone/similar prescription who was outright abusive about how pharmacists, the company I worked for, and I personally were violating their rights by following Federal law regarding their meds. Seemed like the more really serious the problem, the nicer the patient was, and it was the ones with prescriptions that had recreational use or street resale potential who were the mean and nasty ones.

 

[GORK]

Anybody not know what a GORK is? It took me a long time to get here (I had to read 63 pages), and I sure wasn't just a SOCMOB (I think that's the term) before I found myself to be a GORK.

Thanks to a student Doc making rounds in the middle of the night - he found me 'lights out'.

It's a long story and, for the moment, it will remain untold.

Good night.

 

[syndaryl]

me-"Tell me about your chest pain"
patient-"well, I let the devil sit on my chest yesterday, and his head is still in my chest and I would like it out today. It hurts real bad when I pray to jesus to quit smoking cigarettes.".........psych consult anyone?

Hey, hypnogogic paralysis! Pt. may not be quite as "psych-consult" as they sound - hypnogogic paralysis messes up your sleep-wake transition something awful, and if you don't know what's happening it's very easy to mistake for "reality". Also known as being hag-ridden.
A really miserable thing to mix with existing psychiatric problems, as it throws very "real" seeming but fantastic experiences into a fragile situation.
Not saying that the pt. doesn't need a consult, but having "the devil sit on his chest" is pretty classic hag-ridden and indicates pt. has sleep disorders to add to their list of problems

 

[GORK]

So, 31 years ago, today, I was dropped off at the ER with:

Compound fracture of right femur
bi-lateral tibia and fibula fractures, left fibula 2x
right patella fractured (shattered?)

I still had a sense of humor, so I'm told .

Sometime that first evening I had the pleasure of a cerebral embolism, and the lights went out for nearly two weeks. I can tell you that comas can be interesting, but now I see the dog wants out, so I'll return to this at some point. (There's still a bit of humor to come!)

 

[Kittenmommy]

The ED is the ideal place to come on Friday night with your complaint of dry chapped lips for 4 years.
Complain bitterly and repeatedly about your long wait while the ED staff deal with a 55MPH roll-over with 2 unbelted teen-age passengers and their hysterical families and about 40 other fairly unwell people (in a small double coverage shop that provides care for 140,000+ people - the next emerg even close to our size is 2 hours away, everything in between is tiny - like 3 rooms or less tiny). Finally leave at 1 am - wish I could do the same - without being seen. Probably registered the next night too.

Sounds more like attention-seeking behavior than anything else. Has this person never heard of Chap-Stick??

 

[Hamhock]

Sounds more like attention-seeking behavior than anything else. Has this person never heard of Chap-Stick??

psychiatrist

wrong thread

find the discussion group

feeling onery,

HH

 

[Kittenmommy]

psychiatrist

wrong thread

find the discussion group

feeling onery,

HH

Yes.

Don't care.

Meh.

Feeling rebellious.

 

[Stryker One]

So, 31 years ago, today, I was dropped off at the ER with:

Compound fracture of right femur
bi-lateral tibia and fibula fractures, left fibula 2x
right patella fractured (shattered?)

I still had a sense of humor, so I'm told .

Sometime that first evening I had the pleasure of a cerebral embolism, and the lights went out for nearly two weeks. I can tell you that comas can be interesting, but now I see the dog wants out, so I'll return to this at some point. (There's still a bit of humor to come!)

Ramblin Man, rambles.

 

[ArmyBoy]

GORK...had one in my Army days, similar story...but I was in on pickup, not later care.

Guy panicked doing dope-on-a-rope insertion drill (one bounce rappel from a helicopter...if done right, you come to a dead stop in your fall at exactly the instant your feet hit the ground...most ain't perfect, but close 'nuff for gubmint work)...with rappelling, swing the rope to the side (slack) to speed up, or free fall, and pull it down behind you to add friction through the figure 8, slowing or stopping you. This poor kid had done training, but was on what was apparently his first non-training-school drill.

Freaked out when he got to going too fast, grabbed rope in front of him, TIGHT, in both hands, removing tension from the figure 8 almost entirely. Rope burns I could barely look at while field dressing, impact damage we couldn't assess very well, but weak and thready pulse, BP almost wouldn't register with a manual cuff setup, and finding a vein wasn't a problem...but getting a fluids line started most certainly was. Extreme physical shock, clearly, indicating pretty severe internal trauma.

But what was the most "disturbing" part was the fact that his head had struck his rucksack frame, just under the helmet, when he came down, and he had a rather visible horizontal dent matching the wrecked frame piece, was out cold, with both eyes open, and, while his pupils were responsive, we could get no other reaction from him.

Again...he might have been saved, at the medical center, but I don't know. Once we handed him off, we had no further responsibility, or knowledge. I wouldn't say it was a likely thing though.

Thank goodness I didn't see MUCH like that, but when I did see a nasty, it was usually pretty spectacular, in some way.

 

[Arcan57]

I read back a few pages to be sure, but this thread has gone from being the best thread on SDN to a meandering piece of crap. While it's interesting to you, minor pathology (or even major pathology) picked up in common ways is.. well common. And by extension, uninteresting. Spraining your ankle (unless it's the only injury from a 20ft fall after a truck plowed into the ladder and through the wall of the house you were working on) doesn't make the cut for interesting. Even if you did have to drive a stick-shift to get medical care.

In the realm of just toughing things out, a 67 yo farmer had a combine roll over on him destroying his pelvis. He then crawled for 3 hours to get into cell phone range so he could call for help. He rated his pain as a 6/10. Or the drunk that had proximal femur amputations after getting run-over by a train and then went back to drinking with his friends, that's something most people wouldn't think could happen. The guy that fractured his pelvis while taking his electric wheelchair through an automatic car wash cause he wanted it to look nice for the 4th of July parade.

Keep it short and make it interesting or please strongly consider why you are posting in this thread.

 

[Depakote]

moving some posts into the appropriate thread.

 

[MedicDownUnder]

.

 

[oldiebutgoodie]

I read back a few pages to be sure, but this thread has gone from being the best thread on SDN to a meandering piece of crap. While it's interesting to you, minor pathology (or even major pathology) picked up in common ways is.. well common. And by extension, uninteresting. Spraining your ankle (unless it's the only injury from a 20ft fall after a truck plowed into the ladder and through the wall of the house you were working on) doesn't make the cut for interesting. Even if you did have to drive a stick-shift to get medical care.

In the realm of just toughing things out, a 67 yo farmer had a combine roll over on him destroying his pelvis. He then crawled for 3 hours to get into cell phone range so he could call for help. He rated his pain as a 6/10. Or the drunk that had proximal femur amputations after getting run-over by a train and then went back to drinking with his friends, that's something most people wouldn't think could happen. The guy that fractured his pelvis while taking his electric wheelchair through an automatic car wash cause he wanted it to look nice for the 4th of July parade.

Keep it short and make it interesting or please strongly consider why you are posting in this thread.

Oh, relax.

 

[drlisa0318]

When you punch your buddy in the tooth and cut your hand by all means glue it shut and don't tell anyone for 2 days...

This friend wouldn't by chance be a representative of the law that corrolates number of teeth to the value to society?

 

[deleted6669]

This friend wouldn't by chance be a representative of the law that corrolates number of teeth to the value to society?

bingo.

probably meets the rule of 6 T's for snakebite too:
teenager
tequila(drunk)
truck(pickup, drives)
teeth(bad)
tattoos(many)
tobacco(smokes)

 

[njac]

bingo.

probably meets the rule of 6 T's for snakebite too:
teenager
tequila(drunk)
truck(pickup, drives)
teeth(bad)
tattoos(many)
tobacco(smokes)

Testosterone
Trailer Park
Tennessee Top-hat (mullet)
T-Shirt (with or without sleeves)

 

[Cerberus]

Resident A to Resident B: "Man, there are a lot of blacks on the board today (ESI 1 are black on our tracking board).

Random African American patient who was in hearing distance: "You racist mother****ers, I knew I should have gone to X hospital"

 

[beanbean]

Resident A to Resident B: "Man, there are a lot of blacks on the board today (ESI 1 are black on our tracking board).

Random African American patient who was in hearing distance: "You racist mother****ers, I knew I should have gone to X hospital"

Can't call "Computers on Wheels" COWs anymore. Patient complained she was called a cow by the staff. Apparently another patient was offended hearing the term PhAP for Physician at triage so that term has been disallowed as well.

 

[jbar]

Can't call "Computers on Wheels" COWs anymore. Patient complained she was called a cow by the staff. Apparently another patient was offended hearing the term PhAP for Physician at triage so that term has been disallowed as well.

Along those lines in EMS we used to check pulse, motor, sensory function before and after spliting. Women at car accidents got upset that people were saying that had "good PMS."

So now it's CSM (cirrculation, sensation, motion)

 

[theseeker4]

Along those lines in EMS we used to check pulse, motor, sensory function before and after spliting. Women at car accidents got upset that people were saying that had "good PMS."

So now it's CSM (cirrculation, sensation, motion)

Do they still say "Patient is a little SOB"?

 

[telenurse]

Do they still say "Patient is a little SOB"?

No, it is DOE for dyspneic on exertion.

Also, apparently be careful where you use the terms "pink puffer" and "blue bloater" in regards to COPD. I was discussing the differences with a new GN, and a pt's family member overheard me and I got my @ss reamed later by management. Sigh...I really hate that healthcare is now about the client, and not about taking care of patients.

 

[gutonc]

Do they still say "Patient is a little SOB"?

And our EMR automagically converts SOB when typed in a note into shortness of breath.

 

[jbar]

No, it is DOE for dyspneic on exertion.

Also, apparently be careful where you use the terms "pink puffer" and "blue bloater" in regards to COPD. I was discussing the differences with a new GN, and a pt's family member overheard me and I got my @ss reamed later by management. Sigh...I really hate that healthcare is now about the client, and not about taking care of patients.

Not to be nit picky but there is a difference between SOB and DOE. SOB is the subjective feeling of not having enough air, typically at rest. So the patient sitting in bed says they have SOB. DOE is shortness of breath after exerting oneself, like walking up stairs.

It's the same difference between angina and unstable angina.

 

[telenurse]

Not to be nit picky but there is a difference between SOB and DOE. SOB is the subjective feeling of not having enough air, typically at rest. So the patient sitting in bed says they have SOB. DOE is shortness of breath after exerting oneself, like walking up stairs.

It's the same difference between angina and unstable angina.

Then just use dyspneic...

 

[Missorleans]

If you absolutely must comfort your boyfriend in the ER because he's so scared of needles (despite his vast array of tattoos) please don't do it by giving him a handjob. If you can find no other means of getting him to behave rationally during his visit please at least stop doing it when I walk into the room to talk to him.

in circumstances like this, are you allowed to call security? It seems like they'd be breaking some kind of public indecency law or something.

 

[TooMuchResearch]

in circumstances like this, are you allowed to call security? It seems like they'd be breaking some kind of public indecency law or something.

Calling security for every ED handjob would get old in a hurry.

 

[docB]

in circumstances like this, are you allowed to call security? It seems like they'd be breaking some kind of public indecency law or something.

It's usually futile. Security can't do anything except ask them to stop or throw them off campus. If I have them tossed off campus and they really do have a medical problem I'm screwed per EMTALA and med mal. The cops really don't care what happens in the ER. They generally think of the ER as being a kind of lawless frontier where psychs and addicts can beat on people, yell, threaten, etc. and unless someone gets killed or a weapon is involved they let it go.

 

[deuist]

Calling security for every ED handjob would get old in a hurry.

Not to mention all of the staff that would have to stop coming to work.

 

[ArmyBoy]

From the same patient I learned that while medical professionals are used to all sorts of crazy MDRO bacteria and such and don't blink an eye and just wear gowns and gloves; if instead you have crabs the nurses will be trying to switch off your case and you will get the fastest stat derm consult I have ever seen and people will be wearing hair nets and double booties and double gloves when they go in your room.

Do you blame them? Had a few boys in the service get those buggers...once one latches on, the following infestation is a beast to get rid of.

 

[alphaholic06]

Apparently disposable stethoscopes and a roll of medipore tape can become a fishing apparatus for the sharps container to obtain partially used vials of narcs and syringes. And if the nurses were properly wasting like good nurses, then just cheek your oxycontin, crush it, use the leftover saline from the bottle from your dressing change, mix in a syringe you fished out of your sharps container and shoot it up your PICC line.

Wow!!!

 

[MikeWilliamson]

Something I just learned from a friend, who learned it from an ER Doc.

When a very large woman comes in shrieking in pain, and complains she's had agonizing back pain for three weeks, and trips and falls in the process of getting into the wheelchair, then shrieks again, it's a good idea to say, "How dramatic!" in a contemptuous tone of voice.

After all, she probably doesn't have metastatized stage IV cancer throughout her body, and probably hasn't just broken her femur.

Unfortunately my friend does, and did, and has a few weeks to live, and said doctor is having a discussion with the higher ups.

 

[Rendar5]

1)If it's a busy night when you come in painfully constipated because you stopped taking colace along with your chronic narcotics for your multiple pain syndromes, you will get a hall bed despite having arrived by ambulance. When I interview you and tell you I'm arranging for a more private place for us to do this disimpaction (O Joy), please continue to periodically bear down, red faced, right there in the hall. Not 5 feet from other patients and just outside of x-ray, so plenty of traffic. It's okay, everyone else wants to see and hear you. Also, your husband should keep lifting the sheet up to check and see if you've had any result.

2)The most appropriate therapy for a bong left in a vagina is pumping the stomach, this will definitely get the bong out. (Fixed delusion, had been seen for this complaint many times, the really zany part was that after the normal bimanual we finally caved and did an endocavitary ultrasound and she had a big dermoid. Fun explaining that without exacerbating the delusion).

delusions have a strange tendency to become some sort of real syndrome at some point. heard a psychiatrist mention that people with fixed delusions about a certain body part had a very high incidence of having something wrong with that body part several years down the line.

 

[StevieStud]

delusions have a strange tendency to become some sort of real syndrome at some point. heard a psychiatrist mention that people with fixed delusions about a certain body part had a very high incidence of having something wrong with that body part several years down the line.

Yep. Sometimes it don't very long time either.

Way back in the days there was this dude visiting the ED who complained of a non specific problem with his organ. Had seen Urology in the clinic and didn't like the diagnosis so he came to the ED for a 2nd opinion. After an exam the Attending gave him a referral to outpatient Pysch.

Dude didn't like the referral.

An hour later EMTs bring the dude back in..... GSW thru said organ, one missing finger and entrance/exit wound thru upper thigh.

He got to visit all his friends and a few more.

 

[MikeWilliamson]

delusions have a strange tendency to become some sort of real syndrome at some point. heard a psychiatrist mention that people with fixed delusions about a certain body part had a very high incidence of having something wrong with that body part several years down the line.

Conversion disorder. A friend of mine may be developing that after 4 years of pain level 5 migraine (it never stops) with occasional spikes to 10+, complete incoherence and convulsions, BP 180/140, pulse 130, episodes lasting 2-3 HOURS in the ER with monitors tracking. Everyone who looks at him (including the psychiatrist and neurologist) says, "Dude, you are SICK."

Unfortunately, nothing shows on MRI, so the benefits wonks (VA and SSI both) insist he's faking.

All the docs can do is keep offering anti-anxiety and pain meds that he can't keep track of due to, you know, debilitating pain. The symptoms are increasing, and psychologist considers it may be response to the lack of response from the benefits people. The brain manufactures real illnesses until it's sufficient for a response.

That's a lay interpretation and is probably incomplete.

Meanwhile, he's trying to survive on $450 a month, since he can't work.



But to my story, which I thought I'd posted a few days ago, but I don't see. If there was reason to remove it, please drop me a PM.


I learned from a friend that if a very large woman comes into the ER complaining of 3 weeks of excruciating back pain and screaming, and falls while attempting to get into the wheel chair and screams more, the doc should roll eyes and mutter, "How dramatic."

After all, she probably doesn't have Stage IV cancer metastasized through her body, and probably didn't just fracture her femur.

Unfortunately, she does and she did and doesn't have long for this world, and the doctor is getting a lecture from the higher ups.

 

[burning1]

New member. Loving this thread, and a lot of other information on the forum. As a member of the northern California motorcycling community, I tend to see the heroic efforts of emergency medical teams on a fairly regular basis.

With that said, I'm sorry for the slight thread-jack. But, since the conversation was pretty intense earlier, I thought it might be okay...

You say this as if riding like this is a bad thing. Aside from the barley and hops fermented beverage part, that's an ideal way to ride, if you're hitting that kind of speed. As a doc, you know all a helmet will do at 45mph+ is change a crippling crash that follows with tons of medical bills on your family, with your loss of ability to aid for a messy, but likely very quick, death.

Registered to respond to this particular post.

Choosing to not wear a helmet not only significantly increases the risk of death, but also significantly increases the risk of incurring a TBI in an accident you might otherwise walk away from injury free. Here's a NHTSA study on the subject. See page 23 esp; notice that in every case, the severity of injury and risk of death is lower with a helmet (and this report isn't even broken down into type of helmet.)

Here are a few 3D CT scans, from riders who apparently survived their no helmet accidents: 1, 2, 3

It's important to note that California's helmet law came in the wake of Gary Busey's non fatal accident, which, while non fatal, did result in TBI.

As someone who's experienced 5 motorcycle accidents in excess of 40 miles per hour (full disclosure: I race) and walked away from all of them (worst resulting in a dislocation, rest resulting in no injury other than a bit of stiffness) I can absolutely confirm that an accident in those speeds will not necessarily kill you, and in fact, wearing a helmet at those speeds is more likely to result in no head injury than anything else.

You are significantly less likely to place a burden on your family and society in general if you are wearing proper gear, including full face helmet.

I'm unconvinced that the majority of those riding without helmets are making informed decisions.

If you wish to kill yourself, methods to do so are mentioned earlier in this very thread. Jumping off a high building seems to be pretty effective.

 

[tkim]

But to my story, which I thought I'd posted a few days ago, but I don't see. If there was reason to remove it, please drop me a PM.


I learned from a friend that if a very large woman comes into the ER complaining of 3 weeks of excruciating back pain and screaming, and falls while attempting to get into the wheel chair and screams more, the doc should roll eyes and mutter, "How dramatic."

After all, she probably doesn't have Stage IV cancer metastasized through her body, and probably didn't just fracture her femur.

Unfortunately, she does and she did and doesn't have long for this world, and the doctor is getting a lecture from the higher ups.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showpost.php?p=11585294&postcount=675

It was the post just before your quoted post. FWIW, if she did that in front of me, I'd probably say the same thing - internally. Then I'd thank ghod I did when I saw the fx.

 

[ArmyBoy]

burning1, I partially agree with you...but you seem to miss a rather salient point.
What I had said, specifically, is that it turns a crippling crash into a deadly one. Emphasis on crippling.

I believe the helmet, if it comes into contact at all, in more than an incidental manner, is actually more dangerous, in the way of being the cause of spinal and cervical injury, at high speed, by statistics.

As a racer, I'm certain you "know how to take the fall" at speed. Most riders don't. If you know how to take the fall, it's more a long slide, than anything else, minimal tumbles, and, if possible, taken AS tumbles, not somersaults. And in that kind of "high speed dismount", your helmet is basically a skid plate...and a big lifesaver.

But take your common rider, whose instinct is to try to keep the head off the ground, and tumble them in such a way that the helmet "protects" them, by being skipped off the pavement like a stone, and how often are you going to end up with unrecoverable injury, where going helmet-less would be an almost certain death? My stance amounted to "I'd rather be dead than deal with a permanent and uncorrectable injury that would require ongoing medical care, as well as forcing my family into the position of having to take on all my responsibilities, plus those of taking care of me".

Thus I dislike helmets at 45+ (excepting on dirt courses, or prepared track...I've done both, and they are fun, I agree!), and have a living will that amounts to "if it's determined that I have very little chance of being productive, for the rest of my life, pull the plug, and make it a short "rest of my" life".

In all honesty, quadriplegia is my greatest, most terrifying fear. Psychotic phobia level. But that's me. Anyone choosing to wear, for whatever reasons, I'm sure not going to demand otherwise...I just don't like being required to wear, myself, when there are reasons for my preferences to be counter to safe action. And in this case, it's because it greatly decreases the chances of survivable, but debilitating, trauma, that fails to put my living will into circumstance, but greatly increases the chance of death. It's a preference of one over the other. Nothing more. Others will have different perspectives and preferences.

 

[VELOv]

I learned that when checking into the ED, a perfectly acceptable CC is "possibly pregnant.'

The funny thing is I saw this twice in the same night last week.

Dsoz

Dude, a lot of hospitals won't let you see any doctor, even with another doctor referring you, if you don't have insurance--the only option is to go to the ED where they aren't allowed to turn you away, which is what I had to do when I started having simple partial seizures as an adult. It wasn't emergent in that I hadn't lost consciousness, but by rights, I should have been able to see a doctor within a month of presentation, just because of the horrible things that could have been causing the seizures. . . ED was my only option.

But anyway, pregnancy test wands cost like $15 for a three-pack at the drugstore, whereas the ER has much lower expectations with billing. My downstairs neighbor owes something like $40,000 between his recurrent "kidney stones," some busted teeth and the time he punched his wall.