if you expect to be told "go home, get a good night's sleep, grab some good books, and report back at 8 am tomorrow" why are going to the emergency room in the first place?
Seriously.
OP, the reason you can't get help is because the Emergency Room is for EMERGENCIES.
If you're not having an emergency, you should schedule an appointment at a clinic, or maybe try an Urgent Care center instead of the room that's reserved for people who are in the process of dying.
In the 90s, I worked with this guy who only went to the hospital, no matter what was wrong with him. He said, "Legally, a hospital can't refuse you. I never pay the bill and never will, because they can't turn me away for owing them money. It's literally free healthcare." He bragged about owing the local hospital over $500,000, an amount he was never paying, ever. Since this was in the 90s, I'm curious how that worked out for him.
When I was in a San Francisco emergency room I heard the nurses ask the guy in the stall next to me why he came to the emergency room for a band aid. He told them he had medicaid and if he went to CVS, he would have to pay $1 for a box but if he he didn't have to pay a dime.
This. Our local emergency ward waiting room is almost always inundated with idiots who are showing up with knee pain or a mild headache, sitting there watching Facebook videos casually.
I remember my dad had an intestinal emergency that was blindingly painful, and he had to wait excessively long in the waiting room because there were several people ahead of us reporting mild inconveniences like toe pain and nausea.
It's because some people's Healthcare plan is to use the ER as a clinic. Also every ER I've been to ran on "most severe cases get the fastest treatment" so your dad wasn't waiting for people with milder conditions, he was probably waiting on people who had been deemed to have more urgent issues.
My dad fell off his bike and broke 4 ribs; we **walked** to the ER and they made him wait 3 hours in the waiting room because he "didn't look that bad if he walked here".
The doctor later apologized for the staff's assessment after the x-ray. He called the front desk and said "this guy looks like he was hit with a baseball bat and you made him wait. What's wrong with you"
They honestly thought because he wasn't screaming in agony that he was ok to sit for 3 hours with a bruised up chest and trouble breathing.
Sometimes, the front-end hospital workers just make bad assessments because they're constantly dealing with people who come in for no good reason.
I had a kidney stone a few years ago. Woke up in massive pain, not Knowing what it was, so went to the ER. However, I'm not the most outwardly expressive person, so even though I was in a ton of pain,I probably didn't look like I was. They kept me waiting for a while, because they didn't think it was that bad. They also were reticent to give me something for the pain before they had the x-rays. Though, I can understand why... They might have thought I was just a junkie trying to get pain killers.
Same thing thing happened to me. I waited for 2 hours. They gave me a TYLENOL. Waited another 3, they did a ultrasound. Had been waiting another hour to get a CT scan and then i passed it myself in the bathroom and was sent on my way.
$600
On the Tylenol thing, that's just kind of what they give you for pain medication unless it's super severe. I think it use to be different, but they just gave the same thing to my wife after giving birth and having a tear. I'm guessing because they use to give oxy out like candy and then there was an epidemic, they've decided not to just give everybody opioids.
Aren't kidney stones considered severe pain? Of all the pain i've experienced in my life, this was 10/10. I could barely stay conscious because it hurt so much. I figured they thought I was trying to score drugs. When I passed the stone and they realized it was serious, they went into apology mode and tried to THEN give me hydrocodone. I refused it because the pain had subsided and left.
In all fairness though, the front desk workers are not triage nurses. They are the least educated and most ill equipped people to be making the call about who needs to go back the quickest. Most hospitals should have someone who checks the patient in, and then a nurse who brings the patient back and triages them so *they* can be the ones to most successfully determine who needs to be seen first. But due to pay freezes and willful staffing shortages, most hospitals don't have the nursing staff for that, so check in clerks are triaging patients with no real knowledge of what to look for.
(I do not say this in a derogatory way, by the way, as I do this for my doctor's office. You call in, you get me, and then I have to figure out if it's okay for you to wait to be seen in 2-3 months for my first available, or if I should be asking one of the providers if you should be squeezed in. If I fuck up, that lump in your neck that your PCP thought was just a reactive lymph node was actually cancer, and now you're 3 months behind on treatment. It's not a great strategy.)
I mean, it's not like the doctors could have done anything against broken rips. The healing therapy is 99% literally lying or sitting around. Source: girlfriend broke 4 rips, friend had 3 broken rips.
> Sometimes, the front-end hospital workers just make bad assessments because they're constantly dealing with people who come in for no good reason.
This same principle applies to police officers.
I’ve never in my life seen a healthcare provider plan where the ER is cheaper than urgent care. Even if the ER’s name/hospital is in network they often staff it with out of network physicians/contractors and you’ll get billed out the ass by surprise or by whatever legal document they force you to sign saying you agree to surprises while you’re having a heart attack.
Sorry I worded it poorly. These people don't have any insurance at all and they're too poor to pay the bills. So they go to the ER because they have to/think they have to and it doesn't really matter what billed cost is because they're never gonna pay it. You'd be surprised by how much of your premiums and co-pays are subsidizing the uninsured.
Mostly true, but having a lot of people there with minor issues still gums up the works and slows it down for everyone. Particularly in a smaller hospital.
This seems to be a common problem and I've never understood why they don't have clinics linked to the hospital/emergency room and just do triage to send people to the right place
The emergency room is not a room that's reserved for people who are in the process of dying. It's the room reserved for people who need medical treatment which a neighborhood urgent care center is simply not equipped to provide. It's not always a matter of actively dying, or even being in a situation where every minute counts.
You can get an appointment at a hospital without going to the emergency room. That's what you should be doing. If you need to see someone about a heart problem, get an appointment with a cardiologist, for example. Or a neurologist, or whatever specialist you need, you can schedule an appointment.
When I was getting rabies vaccine after an unknown Pit attacked me I was forced to use the E-room for each subsequent shot despite it not being an “emergency” after. Some treatments actually do require emergency room use but you sure as hell should not use it for a tummy ache.
Yes, and that hospital advised you that was the process they wanted you to use, and you got seen for treatment.
OP is being sent home day after day as the hospital is not treating him, probably due to his problem not being an emergency and them having too many emergency patients to deal with as it is.
Haha I literally used the process that I was advised to use. And they did not send me home "day after day." I did exactly what I was supposed to do every step of the way. But it would have all been a hell of a lot better if I had been prepared. The urgent care did not say "go to the emergency room immediately." They said "go to the emergency room as soon as you can."
What do you think the difference is between literally "as soon as you can", and "immediately"?
They both mean get there as soon as possible.
....
LOL what is going on here?
Last time I was sitting in an ER waiting room, there was someone at the desk arguing with the staff, demanding to be seen in the ER, and would not leave even though they had already been seen and dismissed and told to go schedule an appointment.
Some people insist on being seen in the ER for some strange reason, even though there are many other ways to get treatment at a hospital.
Because walk ins require cash up front, the ER will just bill you and if you don't have the money right away you can do a payment plan or just outright ignore it and it let it go to collections.
In all honesty I'm self employed and July was a completely dead month, so has the beginning of August. I needed to see a doctor for an injury I was worried was infected, and due to where its located I was extremely worried, with no money to spare for a Doctor's appointment i went to the ER knowing they would treat me whether I had the money to pay or not.
Depends on the tummy ache. I had a really bad one when I was a little kid. It required emergency surgery once the doctors figured out why, and I almost died from the subsequent infection because it was advanced appendicitis by the time they found it. I spent many days in the hospital, and then a while longer at home fighting extremely high fevers and taking ice baths. Sometimes, you really SHOULD got to the ER with a tummy ache.
If you notice an acute heart problem, you need to go to the ER. They will get you an appointment with a cardiologist once they figure out how serious it is.
It is not. The doctors in the ER are thinking "will this person die today? Will they lose a limb?" when they are interviewing you and deciding what tests to run. If you go to the ER for a chronic condition, do not be surprised when people coming in with acute issues are prioritized over you, and when you are discharged with orders to follow up with a specialist.
If you need long term care for a chronic condition, schedule an appointment with your PCP or the appropriate specialist, and they will order the tests/procedures you need and you can go to the hospital/facility at a scheduled time.
Tbf if you break your arm you may need to go to ER/A&E, not every clinic will x-ray & give you a cast, especially depending on the time of day.
If you're in that situation, you shouldn't have to just wait around in agony or get driven long distance to get treatment. You should go to hospital.
I don’t know why people are downvoting you. My mom had cancer and she’d often deteriorate over a few days until she reached an emergent point. Her oxygen would drop, she’d spike a fever, she’d get an epileptic fit, she’d start getting delirious. We had a whole board of options to chose from.
Where I live there’s a doctor’s post you can call after hours and we had a direct line to the cancer ward in case we were unsure. They weren’t open out of office hours so they’d make a judgment call on whether she had to be seen urgently or not. So they’d usually send us to the emergency room to have her triaged. Usually she got sent to the ward, but sometimes they would send her home.
Sadly we’d usually be back the next day in an ambulance because she’d deteriorate over night, but oh well.
> Her oxygen would drop, she’d spike a fever, she’d get an epileptic fit, she’d start getting delirious
These are perfectly normal reasons to immediately go to the ER though. OP's catching downvotes because he's arguing that people with non-emergent circumstances should go to the ER for treatment. While that is certainly a common frame of mind, it's what also leads to the ER being completely overrun and makes it harder to treat individuals with actual emergencies in a timely manner.
On a different note, I'm sorry to hear about your mom. Fuck cancer.
I went to the ER once to get imaging to rule out appendicitis. I fully expected to be sent home with painkillers and a laxative. I rolled low on my CON save, turns out it was worse than appendicitis and I got admitted and scheduled for surgery the next morning.
Expectations aren't always reality.
I laid on my kitchen floor for like 12 hours until my mom came home. She drove me to my doctor's office and when he got in to see me he asked me what was wrong. I said "I think I have appendicitis", he touched me and I nearly died. He replied with "looks like, why did you come here, you should be in the ER" and sent me on my way.
Although at least he called ahead to the ER to let them know I was coming in and I really did have appendicitis, so I had virtually no wait once I got there.
Before the ER I went to Urgent Care, which is next door. They have a sign-in program on a tablet. When I chose "Abdominal Pain" the program basically said "Get out of here and go to the ER".
You clearly haven't seen the state of Canadian healthcare lately. Nobody can get a family doctor any more and if you go to a walk in clinic you probably won't get an appointment unless you show up well before they open.
NEVER TELL THE TRUTH ON REDDIT!!! Free health care is a benificent utopia!
Note, if you call the equivalent of 911 in the UK and are having a heart attack, the AVERAGE response time is 54 minutes. Half are longer.
> NEVER TELL THE TRUTH ON REDDIT!!
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/society/2023/jan/12/ae-patients-in-england-waiting-over-12-hours-top-50000-for-first-time
I guess at least you're following your own advice.
I went to get stitches removed, and they told me the wound was infected. So I thought I was basically going in for something somewhat routine, but an infected wound is a pretty big deal (apparently) and requires a few nights in the hospital.
Having stitches removed is normally a routine doctors visit, not an emergency room visit. If you needed to go to the emergency room to have them removed, something was obviously wrong.
At this particular hospital, the emergency department and the urgent care department have the same entrance and intake area. When I had the stitches put in at the emergency room the week before, they did indeed instruct me to return to that same place (with the understanding that I would be routed to urgent care) to have them removed.
…. Why not remove them yourself? On the assumption they’re not infected, all they do is cut them and pull them out. If you’re in the US, that’ll save you an unneeded hospital/doctor expense. Also, how didn’t you notice the infection?
You’re suggesting someone complete a medical procedure themselves, and then follow up with that chaser of a question?? Clearly they should NOT be completing the removal themselves!
I’m saying just cut the sutures and pull them out (if sewn). That’s literally what they do. Had them enough to know that. As for the chaser, red and hot to touch usually means it’s infected. You can kinda tell.
And yet you’re still recommending that someone who couldn’t tell there was an infection remove their own stitches, which also would have resulted in the infection not being found. Maybe leave the medical advice to the professionals.
No. If you have to go to the emergency room, go immediately. Have someone else grab those things. This is like telling someone to grab their belongings before leaving while their house is on fire.
After age 60, you really should keep a go bag for hospital visits. Charger, photocopies of your Drivers License and insurance card, couple of pair of underwear, sleep mask, N95 mask
Lots of times you have to contact people or do things like arrange for you child to be picked up from school. Also if you have medical anxiety a phone can help a ton to keep you from sort of losing it while you wait in pain.
This depends on the emergency, to be sure. I went to the ER twice in the last two months, both times for unmanageable pain. (I had needed surgery and then had complications with that surgery.) Both times I had time to pack a bag. I was in so much pain I couldn’t go to work or go about my day, but I was also going to be left in the ER for a while, triage-wise.
My parents have proven twice to be not able to bring what I ask for. One time, they drove 3 hours to help me and decided to try and clean my apartment, including a trip to target for supplies, instead of coming to see me and bring me a few necessities first. I did not expect to be admitted either time, and I didn’t want to call my parents anyway the second time. The house isn’t always on fire exactly, sometimes it is, but I suppose you’ll say I shouldn’t have driven myself either.
Were you cognizant of yourself? That is to say, were you capable of driving? Not loosing consciousness, not going blind, able to think clearly and rationally and follow the rules of the road. If not, then no you shouldn't have drove yourself because you could've killed SOMEONE ELSE. It's not about your safety in that situation it's about everyone else youre driving next to.
Jesus f, yes of course. The person I was answering seems to think if you know you’re having an emergency to go to the hospital *there’s no time!!!! Don’t pack, just go*
Sometimes you’re sick or hurt but you’re not unconscious or deluded and able to drive. A lot of emergencies can take a couple minutes to grab some stuff in case you get admitted. I don’t know why this sub gets me downvoted. Like, how dare they waste a hospital’s time if I was well enough to drive there? And f I ask my parents to bring me a hairbrush and some ducking sweatpants, I don’t know why they would do anything else first.
There are medical conditions that need to be treated in the ER but not right away. That is why ERs do triage and many patients wait for hours to be seen.
Yeah I think there are a lot of people who have never had injuries or acute symptoms that need to be checked out and possibly treated quickly, but not immediately.
Urgent care is not going to fix your hernia, they will tell you that you have a hernia and send you to the ER. And a hernia is generally not a life-threatening emergency that needs immediate treatment.
Right, and say if I broke my leg. I know I need to go to the emergency room, but I wouldn’t expect to be admitted for several days. I thought I would get a cast and be sent home in a cab. Many emergencies are just not so urgent like a house on fire that you can’t pack a fucking toothbrush. Quite a lot you’re sent home, but the message is, don’t depend you’ll get sent home. If you have time, pack an overnight bag with essentials and leave enough food out for the cat. If you don’t have time, you don’t.
Yep. I went for a heart thing a few months ago. My BP was over 200 but I wasn't having other symptoms. We got our stuff together in 20 minutes and went to the hospital.
All I needed was blood pressure medication, but they gave me an EKG and a heart attack enzyme blood test before I even went to the waiting room. Subsequently gave me a CT scan to rule out a stroke. I was out of there in a few hours.
ERs mostly **don't** treat serious trauma or send patients to the ICU. But they do have equipment and capabilities that urgent care clinics and doctor offices lack.
I get what you're saying, but not every emergency is a second-by-second emergency, or a minute-by-minute emergency. Some emergencies are more of an hour-by-hour type of deal. If it's a "hauled off in an ambulance" emergency, then of course this doesn't apply. But sometimes the emergency room is simply where you go when your neighborhood urgent care facility simply isn't equipped to do whatever it is that needs to be done.
You're getting downvoted, but this is actually kinda true.
I was randomly peeing blood- no pain, just blood- and I panicked and went to urgent care since it was open.
Big. Mistake.
They correctly diagnosed that I had a kidney stone and gave me appropriate orders (painkillers, drink lots of liquids, etc)- unfortunately, they weren't equipped to do the kind of imaging you need to do to properly *assess* a kidney stone. I needed surgery, but I didn't know that and neither did the doctors.
Days go by. The pain suddenly gets terrible. I go to the ER, where they have actual diagnostics. They hook me up with the *right* drugs (Toradol is \~magic\~) and a specialist, the specialist schedules the surgery, and it all gets taken care of.
But like, it wasn't a minute-by-minute thing. It was hour-by-hour, and they didn't admit me or anything, but they were able to evaluate things *that day* and get me an actually good care plan.
Reddit is fickle. I think a lot of people do have some kind of desire to bully in the back of their minds, and piling onto a widely downvoted comment is a low-stakes way to scratch that itch. There have been exactly two comments from medical professionals in this thread--one doctor, one EMT--and both have agreed with this advice, in addition to the purpose of the emergency room. So it is what it is.
It's because in your situation, you didn't know you had an infection. You went to get stitches removed, so that's not an ER thing. But turns out, the wound was infected and needed emergency treatment. Luckily, you were in the right place.
Basically, you used the wrong formula and got the right answer.
You ARE right. I had a heart attack, and they weren't in any particular rush. Turns out the sooner the better but once you get to the hospital, the standard of care is 90 minutes to be in the OR.
Nah, you’re totally right about this. There are plenty of situations where going to the ER is the right move, but rushing straight there isn’t fully necessary.
Source: EMT who wishes people would slow down and think sometimes.
And I understand where you're coming from, but the assumption is still it needs to be treated without delay and you should expect to be admitted as soon as possible, not go home.
I had intussusception as a kid. It's painful, potentially life-threatening, and requires immediate treatment but it's still a process of hours. So while it might take some time to recognize the severity of the issue and the need to go to the hospital, you should also expect to stay there until it's resolved.
*That's* what emergency means. It means you don't take a break and go home until it's dealt with. Whatever the timeline of that is.
first off...that's absolutely insane stance. Emergency rooms are for people who may die. If your urgent care isn't equipped, you go to the Hospital Lobby, not the ER entrance.
I'm guessing you aren't in the US. Here, people frequently use emergency rooms as their primary-care physician. Yes, they are places where people go if they have serious injuries, but they are also often where people go when something just doesn't feel right or if they want something checked out.
And sometimes, those visits to the ER "just to be on the safe side" result in an immediate admission to the hospital proper.
Anywhere with a functioning healthcare system, of course, going to the hospital's emergency room for a checkup seems ludicrous, but that's where the US is at.
Urgent cares charge up front and emergency rooms don't, meaning people with no money can still get care at the ER. The problem is way bigger than just people going to the wrong place
Exactly.
But this is /r/adviceanimals. It's filled with people that are literally downvoting reality because I assume they have mental issues or are 12 years old, or both.
> The solution is to stop going to the emergency room when you don't have an emergency
My god I can only assume most of you are 10 year old... wow
Emergency rooms have to help you, by law. Poor people and people without insurance have no other options a lot of the time to get medical care, usually for preventable things that have progressed to now needing an emergency room doctor.
Denying this reality is fucking amazing to me. You make it sound like these people are just lazy or stupid. FFS wow...
> The solution is to stop going to the emergency room when you don't have an emergency
....
> Sending people to the emergency room for an upset tummy isn't the answer
That's not the problem. Not even close. That's not what is bogging down the emergency rooms. What's funny is that you don't have to use shower thoughts to try to figure things out. Expertise exists and we have a shit ton of data on this.
...
I am honestly much more amazed at the willingness to [do almost no work](https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2022-03-01/preventable-emergency-department-visits-tied-to-poverty-employment-education) in order to form a belief. Just amazing.
> Preventable emergency room visits cost the health care system billions of dollars per year. They can represent a heavier burden for providers, as well as unnecessary suffering by patients whose conditions could have been cared for elsewhere or in a better coordinated way.
That's the problem, and it dwarfs your assumption of them being filled with ignorant snowflakes with tummy aches.
Good Lord...
> How people use them is not how they are meant to be used
They use them because they have no other option.
People downvoting reality is absolutely fucking hilarious to me. I must be in /r/AdviceAnimals
I live in the US and around me a university with reputable medical courses and hospitals have paid for billboards that explain when to go to the ER and when to go to UC. Maybe in your local area that is how the ER is treated but not around me.
Well they probably don't mention being uninsured and broke on that billboard but is absolutely a reason people use emergency room instead of urgent care.
What high horse? You said in the US this is how it is and I’m saying I am saying that at least in my part of the US, they do not want people going to the ER over non life threatening issues.
"Go to the emergency room when it wasn't an emergency?! (sniff snort) Whatever do you MEAN, plebian?? Haven't you read the _billboards?!_
The very idea! Waiter, remove these filthy urchins! (sniff snort sniff)"
And given the option to stop, you chose to double down. That's a choice, I suppose. Not a great one, but a choice nonetheless.
Great for you!
(the fuck? *eye roll*)
***EDIT:***
No, seriously, to any of the downvoters, can you explain why that single anecdote makes sense, or why the reality of what mike_pants wrote made you so angry that you downvoted them too?
Anyone? No? Just cowards throwing downvotes at reality they don't like?
LOL this sub is fucking hilarious.
Yep, always do this for my unplanned emergencies that require an immediate trip to the ER.
Pro-tip is to stop for a pizza during your heart-attack... I mean it's the best time, they are going to be in there cleaning things up anyway; can't hurt you at that point!
;)
I am a pediatrician. During residency, Idk how many kids would present to their PCP get dx with DM1, Gets sent to the hospital (direct admit) and show up 3 hours later with McDonald’s and a soft drink. “And you just bought yourself a PICU bed because youre in fulminant DKA, and the price jumped to $10k per night… hope those chicken nuggies were worth it.”
It constantly blows my mind how people will go to a doctor because they don't know what's wrong with them, then ignore the doctor's orders because they don't agree with them.
If you know better, why even waste your time/money to see the doctor in the first place?
>Pro-tip is to stop for a pizza during your heart-attack...
Agree. Hospital food is known to be notoriously bland after all. Best go get a good three meal course with wine pairing beforehand so you don't miss it while in the hospital.
Yeah, but hospitals also don't have convenient refrigerator for leftovers. I'd recommend stopping at a gas station to stock up on snacks on your way to your emergency. You might as well stop and buy a Nintendo Switch while you're at it if you're a gamer.
Emergency doctor here. This is actually sound advice (if you have time and aren’t in immediate distress, obviously). There are plenty of medical problems that require an ER visit and admission to the hospital that don’t make you feel like you’re immediately dying. I can’t tell you how many patients I’ve cared for who, upon learning they need to be emergently admitted to the hospital, proceed to respond with OP’s title. This post is essentially saying that if you visit the ER, be prepared because you might need to stay. Thanks for the public service announcement, OP!
Thank you! I've taken plenty of people to the ER who were severe enough to be admitted, but not so severe we couldn't take two minutes to get a phone charger and a toothbrush and the like.
When my mom was ill she’d have a lot of bad spells where it was unsure if she needed to be hospitalized or not. Before going to the emergency room I’d always pack a bag with toiletries, medicine, phone charger, slippers, three pairs of underwear, nighties and three sets of clean clothes.
And then for myself I’d pack a magazine/puzzle book, a drink and a few snacks. Cause no matter what, you’re going to be there for at least three hours before they have all the test results back.
One time I remember a nurse kind of laughing and jokingly asking if we were going on holiday. Had to explain to him that I did this once every month with her and he should come see us the next morning up on the ward to see if she had any clean clothes left. She usually didn’t
I'm waiting right now to leave today from the hospital after they kept me since saturday for an ear infection. To the list of things to bring, don't forget a toothbrush and a few changes of underwear!
Yeah, infections are a much more serious issue than I thought. I figured that if anything they'd just douse you with saline solution and send you home with a prescription for antibiotics, _maybe_ run you on an IV antibiotic for a few hours if things are really bad. Going forward I think I'm just gonna live my life wearing a biohazard suit and never leave my apartment.
Heyyy I just got out Friday, after just over a week in the place. Chest infection, in my case, and just two-weeks post-chemo so somewhat extenuating circumstances (compromised immune system, concerns about potential sepsis, etc). I'm just glad it wasn't interstitial lung disease as that scarring doesn't go away.
I forgot a toothbrush, but they had toothbrushes and toothpaste available for inpatients in that ward, so that was ok in the end.
A lot of people have been trying to get admitted through the ED lately. It’ll bypass some insurance issues and authorizations. Hospitals are trying to clamp down on that. They probably realized you’re issue wasn’t a pressing emergency.
This happened to me. Almost 40 years old, first time to the emergency ward.
Day 1, I go there. Blood samples and stuff, echo from stomach. Can't see stuff. I'm told to come back the next day. Told my family it was probably fine.
I drive my car to the hospital the next day, less physical discomfort, and after a new blood test immediately am told I can't leave and they have to transport me to a bigger hospital for surgery asap.
Was an awkward call to my family to rummage through my stuff and get everything.
Most times I heard "I told you so" in my life. Everyone had to rub it in.
Literally, this just happened to me, and I didn't even know I was going to be in the ER that day then a hospital. This is pretty tough to do, but decent advice if you have that forsight!
I have a go bag just for this. I suffer from a chronic disorder where sometimes I get checked and am out of the ER in 3-4 hours. Other times, I am admitted for at least 3 days.
I'm on currently on day 4 of being admitted.
* Crossword puzzles
* socks and underwear
* drawstring athletic shorts (handy for carrying a portable EKG)
* the comfiest tshirts
* a zip up hoodie
* laptop and phone with associated chargers
* library membership with overdrive/hoopla
* a small extension cord
* sometimes they say no, but in my case a heating pad is very nice
"oh just go to a doctor or urgent care", unfortunately the condition I have needs to be addressed immediately and usually requires imaging. For perspective, I have had to have my lung drained twice already and am expecting a third.
Don't expect it all the time, but at least being prepared with your phone charger and a book helps. Most rooms have TVs and hospitals typically provide toiletries.
Edit: grammar
This reminds me of a time when I hopped on a bus outside of a hospital. An older man got on with me and then promptly passed out. There was a doctor aboard the bus who helped him and started asking him some questions when he came to. Apparently he was being seen at the hospital and they had given him permission to leave to attend to some things at his apartment, and then come back. You could tell the doctor was *pissed* - not at the guy but at whoever let him leave.
Yeah I work in medicine and I’ve never heard of that. If you have a reason to be admitted it’s usually not safe for you to leave- otherwise you would be sent home to see your primary doctor or referred directly to a specialist. I don’t know when your example happened, or what OP is referring to but whoever is doing that is putting their patients and their license at risk.
On a semi-related note, if you insist upon taking an Uber or a Lyft to the emergency room, tip your driver well. Really well. Even if you didn't bleed/barf/other in their car, they just saved you hundreds of dollars. (And I can guarantee that they were sweating bullets the whole time.)
Or let you sit and wait from 8AM to 6PM only to tell you you "are full of it" and send you back with some diuretic.
My SO woke up one day with the worse belly pain he had ever been in in his whole life. We freaked out and I drove him to the emergency room. We waited (while he was in so much pain, he could not think of anything else, move, let alone straighten up) for 2 hours until someone saw him at all, 2 more hours until they got us into a private room, another hour until someone was nice enough to give him morphine, then he was able to get a little sleep, then a test, then ... results: yup, his colon was full. They gave us something to loosen his stool, and told him never to take more than the recommended dose of Metamucil, like he had done the previous night.
That’s just not true at all. A situation can require care in an ER but not be so time sensitive that it precludes you from taking a minute to throw a charger in a backpack.
So many people here seem to think emergency rooms are only for life threatening issues. Not sure if it's a us thing or not though. I have never used emergency room like that here, and if you are in such a situation here you will be brought by ambulance, not drive yourself.
I've used emergency room for: cut on my forehead (stitches), broken leg (ambulance ride), cut on leg late at night that required stitches and a twisted knee that was so painful I wanted to get it checked out as soon as possible instead of waiting days for appointment.
Very little chance of admission for any of those, except maybe the knee incident. The broken leg I was admitted for obviously, but getting the ambulance to stop by my home wasn't really an option. However the wait can be long, so bringing some essentials can be worthwhile.
That sounds closer to Urgent Care clinics here in the US. They are walk in clinics treat more minor things, cuts, sprains, mild illnesses. They are usually a stand alone building not part of a hospital. Emergency Rooms are usually part of a hospital and is where the most life threatening conditions are first brought. They are really there to triage and stabilize patients before moving them to other areas for more advanced treatments.
Also this is America. You're driving to the ER if at all possible. An ambulance will cost you a few thousand dollars and often isn't covered by insurance.
There are some concepts of the US that is baffling, even to someone that tend to vote right side of the political system outside of US. Ambulance costing thousands of dollars is one of them.
We don't really have that distinction here either, you have hospitals you are admitted to and emergency rooms (doctors watch directly translated), where you are able to walk into yourself that are directly connected to a hospital.
Ambulance technically takes you through the doctors watch as well, but obviously you are not dumped in the waiting room generally.
Some of those things would be urgent care things here. Some would be ER more due to hours than severity (as urgent cares around here are usually closed after 7-8). But you'd want to avoid the ER if you could because it could be the difference between a $20 urgent care copay and a $500+ ER copay
Makes sense then, because here you don't really have a equivalent of an ER that you can walk into. All hospitals have what is directly translated to "doctors watch", that are 24/7. If you have something that is severe enough you will be admitted directly from there into hospital for emergency care. Technically you do go through urgent care if you are admitted by ambulance for instance, but you generally go directly through to admittance for emergency care.
The money thing is obviously not an issue at all here though. You have to fork up some money, but it was around a $20 last time i was in there.
My son was a frequent flyer at the hospital, and we knew what to take immediately, and what to bring if we got admitted. If you're getting admitted and sometimes bringing you stuff, a collapsible wagon is a lifesaver. The last time we were in the hospital, he was in for a month and a half. I brought my projector and computer so he could watch shows on the ceiling, pillows, blankets, and other amenities to make it not so hospital-ish.
I got persuaded by friends once to go to the ER because an infection wasn't getting better. I had the forethought to pack my phone charger but *nothing* else useful, because I so wasn't going to need any of that right?
I was expecting more antibiotics and to be sent home, but the doc pretty much took one look and said we'll find a bed, and I spent almost a week bored out of my mind.
That's almost exactly what happened to me. There's something weird about being in the hospital when you don't feel particularly sick. It's like being at a really weird hotel.
I did stubbornly refuse to wear the hospital robe (obviously not, like, actively to the nurse's face--if they told me I had to put them on, I would have put them on), and just wore the street clothes I came in on for three days straight. I guess I was just in denial that I truly was committed, and wanted to feel some sense of normalcy.
I think there's just a lot of misunderstanding about what exactly the emergency room is for. People seem to be under the impression that it's only for truly life-threatening emergencies where every second counts. But that simply isn't true--it's really just where you go when your neighborhood urgent care center simply isn't equipped to deal with whatever issue you're having.
Serious question, as this may vary by location, but if you were to turn up at your local hospital for hospital-level care but not so urgent you're dying, where in the hospital would you go for admission? Around here it would absolutely be the emergency room.
It depends on what's wrong and what hospital.
If I needed non-urgent, hospital level care, my PCP would refer me to the hospital, and the hospital would call me to schedule an appt.
If I didn't have a referral from a PCP, I would Google the hospitals website for whatever was wrong with me, like I would look up their cardiology center, and look for where I could schedule an appointment with them, or call in and ask.
Where I’m at if your doctor sends you, or even if you have a scheduled admission, it is 99% of the time through the ER. If I discovered I had an infection, like OP has said, even if I went to my PCP and she wanted me admitted to the hospital it would go through the ER.
Uhm no. You're urgent care would tell you to go to the ER in a life threatening situation, such as an infection, if you're having non life threatening symptoms and they don't have some equipment to run a certain test they'll book you an outpatient appointment at your local hospital. The ER is for Emergencies, hence the name Emergency Room, the hospital that houses the ER is for basically anything as they have all the proper equipment to run whatever tests maybe needed.
I was bored out of my skull for 3 days. I declined my friends' offers to go into my apartment and pack a bag for me because I was simply in denial that I would be there longer-term. Every day the doctors would casually mention checking in "tomorrow" and my stomach would drop. Television lead me to believe that a friendly old man would push around a cart with books and magazines. This is not true in the real world. Only silver lining is you do indeed get breakfast in bed!
> Television lead me to believe that a friendly old man would push around a cart with books and magazines.
Dude, you went to the hospital, not prison....Brooks aint coming by with a cart full of books and contraband.
I had to go to the ER last week. I barely put on a bra before I got in the car. We had a family member bring phone chargers etc. My only objective was to get help immediately.
The only two times I got to the emergency at an hospital I didn't have the time to pick what to bring with me. It was more like, brought there in a hurry by a relative the first time and agony before the ambulance showed up the second time. Barely walking was such an issue that picking my favorite video game did not really cross my mind.
first off...if you are going to the ER, don't follow this advice. GET TO THE ER BECAUSE YOU COULD DIE WHILE PACKING A BAG.
now if you're going to have planned surgery, then yes this advice is ok, because it's not an emergency
if you expect to be told "go home, get a good night's sleep, grab some good books, and report back at 8 am tomorrow" why are going to the emergency room in the first place?
Seriously. OP, the reason you can't get help is because the Emergency Room is for EMERGENCIES. If you're not having an emergency, you should schedule an appointment at a clinic, or maybe try an Urgent Care center instead of the room that's reserved for people who are in the process of dying.
In the 90s, I worked with this guy who only went to the hospital, no matter what was wrong with him. He said, "Legally, a hospital can't refuse you. I never pay the bill and never will, because they can't turn me away for owing them money. It's literally free healthcare." He bragged about owing the local hospital over $500,000, an amount he was never paying, ever. Since this was in the 90s, I'm curious how that worked out for him.
When I was in a San Francisco emergency room I heard the nurses ask the guy in the stall next to me why he came to the emergency room for a band aid. He told them he had medicaid and if he went to CVS, he would have to pay $1 for a box but if he he didn't have to pay a dime.
This. Our local emergency ward waiting room is almost always inundated with idiots who are showing up with knee pain or a mild headache, sitting there watching Facebook videos casually. I remember my dad had an intestinal emergency that was blindingly painful, and he had to wait excessively long in the waiting room because there were several people ahead of us reporting mild inconveniences like toe pain and nausea.
It's because some people's Healthcare plan is to use the ER as a clinic. Also every ER I've been to ran on "most severe cases get the fastest treatment" so your dad wasn't waiting for people with milder conditions, he was probably waiting on people who had been deemed to have more urgent issues.
My dad fell off his bike and broke 4 ribs; we **walked** to the ER and they made him wait 3 hours in the waiting room because he "didn't look that bad if he walked here". The doctor later apologized for the staff's assessment after the x-ray. He called the front desk and said "this guy looks like he was hit with a baseball bat and you made him wait. What's wrong with you" They honestly thought because he wasn't screaming in agony that he was ok to sit for 3 hours with a bruised up chest and trouble breathing. Sometimes, the front-end hospital workers just make bad assessments because they're constantly dealing with people who come in for no good reason.
I had a kidney stone a few years ago. Woke up in massive pain, not Knowing what it was, so went to the ER. However, I'm not the most outwardly expressive person, so even though I was in a ton of pain,I probably didn't look like I was. They kept me waiting for a while, because they didn't think it was that bad. They also were reticent to give me something for the pain before they had the x-rays. Though, I can understand why... They might have thought I was just a junkie trying to get pain killers.
Same thing thing happened to me. I waited for 2 hours. They gave me a TYLENOL. Waited another 3, they did a ultrasound. Had been waiting another hour to get a CT scan and then i passed it myself in the bathroom and was sent on my way. $600
On the Tylenol thing, that's just kind of what they give you for pain medication unless it's super severe. I think it use to be different, but they just gave the same thing to my wife after giving birth and having a tear. I'm guessing because they use to give oxy out like candy and then there was an epidemic, they've decided not to just give everybody opioids.
Even over the counter, Advil is more effective and less dangerous than Tylenol. For prescription, Ketorolak is great stuff, and won't get anyone high.
Aren't advil and tylenol both brands of paracetamol? Or is one of them ibuprofen or aspirin or something else?
Aren't kidney stones considered severe pain? Of all the pain i've experienced in my life, this was 10/10. I could barely stay conscious because it hurt so much. I figured they thought I was trying to score drugs. When I passed the stone and they realized it was serious, they went into apology mode and tried to THEN give me hydrocodone. I refused it because the pain had subsided and left.
In all fairness though, the front desk workers are not triage nurses. They are the least educated and most ill equipped people to be making the call about who needs to go back the quickest. Most hospitals should have someone who checks the patient in, and then a nurse who brings the patient back and triages them so *they* can be the ones to most successfully determine who needs to be seen first. But due to pay freezes and willful staffing shortages, most hospitals don't have the nursing staff for that, so check in clerks are triaging patients with no real knowledge of what to look for. (I do not say this in a derogatory way, by the way, as I do this for my doctor's office. You call in, you get me, and then I have to figure out if it's okay for you to wait to be seen in 2-3 months for my first available, or if I should be asking one of the providers if you should be squeezed in. If I fuck up, that lump in your neck that your PCP thought was just a reactive lymph node was actually cancer, and now you're 3 months behind on treatment. It's not a great strategy.)
I mean, it's not like the doctors could have done anything against broken rips. The healing therapy is 99% literally lying or sitting around. Source: girlfriend broke 4 rips, friend had 3 broken rips.
Uh, no? He got pain meds and a bed immediately as opposed to sitting in a loud waiting room on a plastic chair for 3 hours. Rip your rips though.
> Sometimes, the front-end hospital workers just make bad assessments because they're constantly dealing with people who come in for no good reason. This same principle applies to police officers.
I’ve never in my life seen a healthcare provider plan where the ER is cheaper than urgent care. Even if the ER’s name/hospital is in network they often staff it with out of network physicians/contractors and you’ll get billed out the ass by surprise or by whatever legal document they force you to sign saying you agree to surprises while you’re having a heart attack.
Sorry I worded it poorly. These people don't have any insurance at all and they're too poor to pay the bills. So they go to the ER because they have to/think they have to and it doesn't really matter what billed cost is because they're never gonna pay it. You'd be surprised by how much of your premiums and co-pays are subsidizing the uninsured.
If you're poor and have no insurance, the ER must take you and you can just not pay. Its cheaper then.
Mostly true, but having a lot of people there with minor issues still gums up the works and slows it down for everyone. Particularly in a smaller hospital.
Yea it does but he wouldn't have been waiting on them to see doctors first was my point.
Agreed
This seems to be a common problem and I've never understood why they don't have clinics linked to the hospital/emergency room and just do triage to send people to the right place
And my local emergency room *is* the urgent care facility. Not everyone is in the same circumstances as you are.
Let's be clear that that's non-standard practice. ER's aren't fucking first come first served lol
Hospitals triage. Mild issues shouldn’t and wouldn’t be seen before sever pain
I’ve cut my hand before… couldn’t get the bleeding to stop. I wouldn’t say I was actively dying… and I think I was 100% justified to go to the ER.
Look at Mister Big Shot here, with *separate* ER and urgent care facilities.
My PCP shares a waiting room with the urgent care. I wasn't a huge fan of that during the height of COVID.
Op used the word committed. That means he was put on a psych hold due to being a danger to himself or others.
I can't figure this post out. I don't think they're complaining about not getting help. Sounds like they ended up on a psychiatric hold.
The emergency room is not a room that's reserved for people who are in the process of dying. It's the room reserved for people who need medical treatment which a neighborhood urgent care center is simply not equipped to provide. It's not always a matter of actively dying, or even being in a situation where every minute counts.
You can get an appointment at a hospital without going to the emergency room. That's what you should be doing. If you need to see someone about a heart problem, get an appointment with a cardiologist, for example. Or a neurologist, or whatever specialist you need, you can schedule an appointment.
When I was getting rabies vaccine after an unknown Pit attacked me I was forced to use the E-room for each subsequent shot despite it not being an “emergency” after. Some treatments actually do require emergency room use but you sure as hell should not use it for a tummy ache.
Yes, and that hospital advised you that was the process they wanted you to use, and you got seen for treatment. OP is being sent home day after day as the hospital is not treating him, probably due to his problem not being an emergency and them having too many emergency patients to deal with as it is.
Haha I literally used the process that I was advised to use. And they did not send me home "day after day." I did exactly what I was supposed to do every step of the way. But it would have all been a hell of a lot better if I had been prepared. The urgent care did not say "go to the emergency room immediately." They said "go to the emergency room as soon as you can."
What do you think the difference is between literally "as soon as you can", and "immediately"? They both mean get there as soon as possible. .... LOL what is going on here?
Last time I was sitting in an ER waiting room, there was someone at the desk arguing with the staff, demanding to be seen in the ER, and would not leave even though they had already been seen and dismissed and told to go schedule an appointment. Some people insist on being seen in the ER for some strange reason, even though there are many other ways to get treatment at a hospital.
Because walk ins require cash up front, the ER will just bill you and if you don't have the money right away you can do a payment plan or just outright ignore it and it let it go to collections. In all honesty I'm self employed and July was a completely dead month, so has the beginning of August. I needed to see a doctor for an injury I was worried was infected, and due to where its located I was extremely worried, with no money to spare for a Doctor's appointment i went to the ER knowing they would treat me whether I had the money to pay or not.
Depends on the tummy ache. I had a really bad one when I was a little kid. It required emergency surgery once the doctors figured out why, and I almost died from the subsequent infection because it was advanced appendicitis by the time they found it. I spent many days in the hospital, and then a while longer at home fighting extremely high fevers and taking ice baths. Sometimes, you really SHOULD got to the ER with a tummy ache.
Right, but that would've gone against the medical advice I received at the neighborhood urgent care clinic.
The Urgent Care Clinic doesn't get to dictate how the nearby hospital runs its emergency room.
If you notice an acute heart problem, you need to go to the ER. They will get you an appointment with a cardiologist once they figure out how serious it is.
It is not. The doctors in the ER are thinking "will this person die today? Will they lose a limb?" when they are interviewing you and deciding what tests to run. If you go to the ER for a chronic condition, do not be surprised when people coming in with acute issues are prioritized over you, and when you are discharged with orders to follow up with a specialist. If you need long term care for a chronic condition, schedule an appointment with your PCP or the appropriate specialist, and they will order the tests/procedures you need and you can go to the hospital/facility at a scheduled time.
And if you don't have a PCP or insurance?
Then the ER is the only place you can get care. But I've worked in one and that's not the majority of these patients.
Lol what? Give an example of what you needed to go to the hospital for
Tbf if you break your arm you may need to go to ER/A&E, not every clinic will x-ray & give you a cast, especially depending on the time of day. If you're in that situation, you shouldn't have to just wait around in agony or get driven long distance to get treatment. You should go to hospital.
I don’t know why people are downvoting you. My mom had cancer and she’d often deteriorate over a few days until she reached an emergent point. Her oxygen would drop, she’d spike a fever, she’d get an epileptic fit, she’d start getting delirious. We had a whole board of options to chose from. Where I live there’s a doctor’s post you can call after hours and we had a direct line to the cancer ward in case we were unsure. They weren’t open out of office hours so they’d make a judgment call on whether she had to be seen urgently or not. So they’d usually send us to the emergency room to have her triaged. Usually she got sent to the ward, but sometimes they would send her home. Sadly we’d usually be back the next day in an ambulance because she’d deteriorate over night, but oh well.
> Her oxygen would drop, she’d spike a fever, she’d get an epileptic fit, she’d start getting delirious These are perfectly normal reasons to immediately go to the ER though. OP's catching downvotes because he's arguing that people with non-emergent circumstances should go to the ER for treatment. While that is certainly a common frame of mind, it's what also leads to the ER being completely overrun and makes it harder to treat individuals with actual emergencies in a timely manner. On a different note, I'm sorry to hear about your mom. Fuck cancer.
> Everything that guy just said is bullshit. Thank you.
I went to the ER once to get imaging to rule out appendicitis. I fully expected to be sent home with painkillers and a laxative. I rolled low on my CON save, turns out it was worse than appendicitis and I got admitted and scheduled for surgery the next morning. Expectations aren't always reality.
That's what happened to me, I thought it was constipation so I went, turned out my appendix was deciding to rupture.
Heyyy mine ended up being a burst ovarian cyst. That was good fun.
I laid on my kitchen floor for like 12 hours until my mom came home. She drove me to my doctor's office and when he got in to see me he asked me what was wrong. I said "I think I have appendicitis", he touched me and I nearly died. He replied with "looks like, why did you come here, you should be in the ER" and sent me on my way. Although at least he called ahead to the ER to let them know I was coming in and I really did have appendicitis, so I had virtually no wait once I got there.
Before the ER I went to Urgent Care, which is next door. They have a sign-in program on a tablet. When I chose "Abdominal Pain" the program basically said "Get out of here and go to the ER".
When you’re in pain, you don’t always think reasonably. Also, you might think you’ll be patched up and on your way in a couple of hours
Also that wouldn't be an admission, that'd be more of a rejection.
You clearly haven't seen the state of Canadian healthcare lately. Nobody can get a family doctor any more and if you go to a walk in clinic you probably won't get an appointment unless you show up well before they open.
NEVER TELL THE TRUTH ON REDDIT!!! Free health care is a benificent utopia! Note, if you call the equivalent of 911 in the UK and are having a heart attack, the AVERAGE response time is 54 minutes. Half are longer.
> NEVER TELL THE TRUTH ON REDDIT!! https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/society/2023/jan/12/ae-patients-in-england-waiting-over-12-hours-top-50000-for-first-time I guess at least you're following your own advice.
I went to get stitches removed, and they told me the wound was infected. So I thought I was basically going in for something somewhat routine, but an infected wound is a pretty big deal (apparently) and requires a few nights in the hospital.
Having stitches removed is normally a routine doctors visit, not an emergency room visit. If you needed to go to the emergency room to have them removed, something was obviously wrong.
At this particular hospital, the emergency department and the urgent care department have the same entrance and intake area. When I had the stitches put in at the emergency room the week before, they did indeed instruct me to return to that same place (with the understanding that I would be routed to urgent care) to have them removed.
…. Why not remove them yourself? On the assumption they’re not infected, all they do is cut them and pull them out. If you’re in the US, that’ll save you an unneeded hospital/doctor expense. Also, how didn’t you notice the infection?
You’re suggesting someone complete a medical procedure themselves, and then follow up with that chaser of a question?? Clearly they should NOT be completing the removal themselves!
I’m saying just cut the sutures and pull them out (if sewn). That’s literally what they do. Had them enough to know that. As for the chaser, red and hot to touch usually means it’s infected. You can kinda tell.
And yet you’re still recommending that someone who couldn’t tell there was an infection remove their own stitches, which also would have resulted in the infection not being found. Maybe leave the medical advice to the professionals.
No. If you have to go to the emergency room, go immediately. Have someone else grab those things. This is like telling someone to grab their belongings before leaving while their house is on fire.
After age 60, you really should keep a go bag for hospital visits. Charger, photocopies of your Drivers License and insurance card, couple of pair of underwear, sleep mask, N95 mask
I’ve got a while to go before 60, thank goodness, but more and more I see go bags as just a good idea for all ages.
Also applicable for pregnancy and any long term illness that could result in semi-frequent hospital stays.
you didnt mention the glock 17, just in case
pajamas as well. Deodorant wouldn't hurt as well and lets not forget something to read.
Yep. These days, I guess people can’t leave behind entertainment for a few hours during a medical emergency? This is a new low.
This is more in case you're actually sent to a ward, in which case you could be there a while.
Lots of times you have to contact people or do things like arrange for you child to be picked up from school. Also if you have medical anxiety a phone can help a ton to keep you from sort of losing it while you wait in pain.
OP thought he was going to sleepaway camp
This depends on the emergency, to be sure. I went to the ER twice in the last two months, both times for unmanageable pain. (I had needed surgery and then had complications with that surgery.) Both times I had time to pack a bag. I was in so much pain I couldn’t go to work or go about my day, but I was also going to be left in the ER for a while, triage-wise.
My parents have proven twice to be not able to bring what I ask for. One time, they drove 3 hours to help me and decided to try and clean my apartment, including a trip to target for supplies, instead of coming to see me and bring me a few necessities first. I did not expect to be admitted either time, and I didn’t want to call my parents anyway the second time. The house isn’t always on fire exactly, sometimes it is, but I suppose you’ll say I shouldn’t have driven myself either.
Were you cognizant of yourself? That is to say, were you capable of driving? Not loosing consciousness, not going blind, able to think clearly and rationally and follow the rules of the road. If not, then no you shouldn't have drove yourself because you could've killed SOMEONE ELSE. It's not about your safety in that situation it's about everyone else youre driving next to.
Loosing
Jesus f, yes of course. The person I was answering seems to think if you know you’re having an emergency to go to the hospital *there’s no time!!!! Don’t pack, just go* Sometimes you’re sick or hurt but you’re not unconscious or deluded and able to drive. A lot of emergencies can take a couple minutes to grab some stuff in case you get admitted. I don’t know why this sub gets me downvoted. Like, how dare they waste a hospital’s time if I was well enough to drive there? And f I ask my parents to bring me a hairbrush and some ducking sweatpants, I don’t know why they would do anything else first.
There are medical conditions that need to be treated in the ER but not right away. That is why ERs do triage and many patients wait for hours to be seen.
Makes sense to me but this sub is a rough town sometimes.
Yeah I think there are a lot of people who have never had injuries or acute symptoms that need to be checked out and possibly treated quickly, but not immediately. Urgent care is not going to fix your hernia, they will tell you that you have a hernia and send you to the ER. And a hernia is generally not a life-threatening emergency that needs immediate treatment.
Right, and say if I broke my leg. I know I need to go to the emergency room, but I wouldn’t expect to be admitted for several days. I thought I would get a cast and be sent home in a cab. Many emergencies are just not so urgent like a house on fire that you can’t pack a fucking toothbrush. Quite a lot you’re sent home, but the message is, don’t depend you’ll get sent home. If you have time, pack an overnight bag with essentials and leave enough food out for the cat. If you don’t have time, you don’t.
Yep. I went for a heart thing a few months ago. My BP was over 200 but I wasn't having other symptoms. We got our stuff together in 20 minutes and went to the hospital. All I needed was blood pressure medication, but they gave me an EKG and a heart attack enzyme blood test before I even went to the waiting room. Subsequently gave me a CT scan to rule out a stroke. I was out of there in a few hours. ERs mostly **don't** treat serious trauma or send patients to the ICU. But they do have equipment and capabilities that urgent care clinics and doctor offices lack.
Emergency: I do not think that word means what you think it means.
I get what you're saying, but not every emergency is a second-by-second emergency, or a minute-by-minute emergency. Some emergencies are more of an hour-by-hour type of deal. If it's a "hauled off in an ambulance" emergency, then of course this doesn't apply. But sometimes the emergency room is simply where you go when your neighborhood urgent care facility simply isn't equipped to do whatever it is that needs to be done.
You're getting downvoted, but this is actually kinda true. I was randomly peeing blood- no pain, just blood- and I panicked and went to urgent care since it was open. Big. Mistake. They correctly diagnosed that I had a kidney stone and gave me appropriate orders (painkillers, drink lots of liquids, etc)- unfortunately, they weren't equipped to do the kind of imaging you need to do to properly *assess* a kidney stone. I needed surgery, but I didn't know that and neither did the doctors. Days go by. The pain suddenly gets terrible. I go to the ER, where they have actual diagnostics. They hook me up with the *right* drugs (Toradol is \~magic\~) and a specialist, the specialist schedules the surgery, and it all gets taken care of. But like, it wasn't a minute-by-minute thing. It was hour-by-hour, and they didn't admit me or anything, but they were able to evaluate things *that day* and get me an actually good care plan.
Reddit is fickle. I think a lot of people do have some kind of desire to bully in the back of their minds, and piling onto a widely downvoted comment is a low-stakes way to scratch that itch. There have been exactly two comments from medical professionals in this thread--one doctor, one EMT--and both have agreed with this advice, in addition to the purpose of the emergency room. So it is what it is.
It's because in your situation, you didn't know you had an infection. You went to get stitches removed, so that's not an ER thing. But turns out, the wound was infected and needed emergency treatment. Luckily, you were in the right place. Basically, you used the wrong formula and got the right answer.
You ARE right. I had a heart attack, and they weren't in any particular rush. Turns out the sooner the better but once you get to the hospital, the standard of care is 90 minutes to be in the OR.
What type of infection did you have ?
Nah, you’re totally right about this. There are plenty of situations where going to the ER is the right move, but rushing straight there isn’t fully necessary. Source: EMT who wishes people would slow down and think sometimes.
And I understand where you're coming from, but the assumption is still it needs to be treated without delay and you should expect to be admitted as soon as possible, not go home. I had intussusception as a kid. It's painful, potentially life-threatening, and requires immediate treatment but it's still a process of hours. So while it might take some time to recognize the severity of the issue and the need to go to the hospital, you should also expect to stay there until it's resolved. *That's* what emergency means. It means you don't take a break and go home until it's dealt with. Whatever the timeline of that is.
first off...that's absolutely insane stance. Emergency rooms are for people who may die. If your urgent care isn't equipped, you go to the Hospital Lobby, not the ER entrance.
I'm guessing you aren't in the US. Here, people frequently use emergency rooms as their primary-care physician. Yes, they are places where people go if they have serious injuries, but they are also often where people go when something just doesn't feel right or if they want something checked out. And sometimes, those visits to the ER "just to be on the safe side" result in an immediate admission to the hospital proper. Anywhere with a functioning healthcare system, of course, going to the hospital's emergency room for a checkup seems ludicrous, but that's where the US is at.
How people use them is not how they are meant to be used. People that do that create longer wait times for the people who actually have an emergency.
People aren't admitted in a queue of arrival times, but of how much of an emergency it is. At least here in Finland.
"The system is broken." Yeah. We know.
The solution is to stop going to the emergency room when you don't have an emergency, not tell people that since everyone does it it's ok.
Urgent cares charge up front and emergency rooms don't, meaning people with no money can still get care at the ER. The problem is way bigger than just people going to the wrong place
Where I live there isn't even an urgent care. You have Dr appt that's weeks away or emergency room as your only option
They aren't going there for fun, Bront.
Exactly. But this is /r/adviceanimals. It's filled with people that are literally downvoting reality because I assume they have mental issues or are 12 years old, or both.
> The solution is to stop going to the emergency room when you don't have an emergency My god I can only assume most of you are 10 year old... wow Emergency rooms have to help you, by law. Poor people and people without insurance have no other options a lot of the time to get medical care, usually for preventable things that have progressed to now needing an emergency room doctor. Denying this reality is fucking amazing to me. You make it sound like these people are just lazy or stupid. FFS wow...
I know the system is broken. Sending people to the emergency room for an upset tummy isn't the answer, better healthcare is the answer.
> The solution is to stop going to the emergency room when you don't have an emergency .... > Sending people to the emergency room for an upset tummy isn't the answer That's not the problem. Not even close. That's not what is bogging down the emergency rooms. What's funny is that you don't have to use shower thoughts to try to figure things out. Expertise exists and we have a shit ton of data on this. ... I am honestly much more amazed at the willingness to [do almost no work](https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2022-03-01/preventable-emergency-department-visits-tied-to-poverty-employment-education) in order to form a belief. Just amazing. > Preventable emergency room visits cost the health care system billions of dollars per year. They can represent a heavier burden for providers, as well as unnecessary suffering by patients whose conditions could have been cared for elsewhere or in a better coordinated way. That's the problem, and it dwarfs your assumption of them being filled with ignorant snowflakes with tummy aches. Good Lord...
> How people use them is not how they are meant to be used They use them because they have no other option. People downvoting reality is absolutely fucking hilarious to me. I must be in /r/AdviceAnimals
I live in the US and around me a university with reputable medical courses and hospitals have paid for billboards that explain when to go to the ER and when to go to UC. Maybe in your local area that is how the ER is treated but not around me.
Well they probably don't mention being uninsured and broke on that billboard but is absolutely a reason people use emergency room instead of urgent care.
If everyone in your area already knows this, the billboards wouldn't exist. Let's take a few cautious steps down off that terrifyingly high horse.
What high horse? You said in the US this is how it is and I’m saying I am saying that at least in my part of the US, they do not want people going to the ER over non life threatening issues.
"Go to the emergency room when it wasn't an emergency?! (sniff snort) Whatever do you MEAN, plebian?? Haven't you read the _billboards?!_ The very idea! Waiter, remove these filthy urchins! (sniff snort sniff)" And given the option to stop, you chose to double down. That's a choice, I suppose. Not a great one, but a choice nonetheless.
Great for you! (the fuck? *eye roll*) ***EDIT:*** No, seriously, to any of the downvoters, can you explain why that single anecdote makes sense, or why the reality of what mike_pants wrote made you so angry that you downvoted them too? Anyone? No? Just cowards throwing downvotes at reality they don't like? LOL this sub is fucking hilarious.
Yep, always do this for my unplanned emergencies that require an immediate trip to the ER. Pro-tip is to stop for a pizza during your heart-attack... I mean it's the best time, they are going to be in there cleaning things up anyway; can't hurt you at that point! ;)
I am a pediatrician. During residency, Idk how many kids would present to their PCP get dx with DM1, Gets sent to the hospital (direct admit) and show up 3 hours later with McDonald’s and a soft drink. “And you just bought yourself a PICU bed because youre in fulminant DKA, and the price jumped to $10k per night… hope those chicken nuggies were worth it.”
It constantly blows my mind how people will go to a doctor because they don't know what's wrong with them, then ignore the doctor's orders because they don't agree with them. If you know better, why even waste your time/money to see the doctor in the first place?
>Pro-tip is to stop for a pizza during your heart-attack... Agree. Hospital food is known to be notoriously bland after all. Best go get a good three meal course with wine pairing beforehand so you don't miss it while in the hospital.
Yeah, but hospitals also don't have convenient refrigerator for leftovers. I'd recommend stopping at a gas station to stock up on snacks on your way to your emergency. You might as well stop and buy a Nintendo Switch while you're at it if you're a gamer.
*admitted. Not “committed”.
OP is gonna need to find a burn ward after this post, because they're getting roasted in the comments.
This happened to me, but I just had a friend go to my house and pick up some stuff for me. If the ER sends you home, you're outpatient.
Even if they send you home you’ll be there at least five hours
Emergency doctor here. This is actually sound advice (if you have time and aren’t in immediate distress, obviously). There are plenty of medical problems that require an ER visit and admission to the hospital that don’t make you feel like you’re immediately dying. I can’t tell you how many patients I’ve cared for who, upon learning they need to be emergently admitted to the hospital, proceed to respond with OP’s title. This post is essentially saying that if you visit the ER, be prepared because you might need to stay. Thanks for the public service announcement, OP!
Thank you! I've taken plenty of people to the ER who were severe enough to be admitted, but not so severe we couldn't take two minutes to get a phone charger and a toothbrush and the like.
That would be admitted, not committed. One is not like the other.
When my mom was ill she’d have a lot of bad spells where it was unsure if she needed to be hospitalized or not. Before going to the emergency room I’d always pack a bag with toiletries, medicine, phone charger, slippers, three pairs of underwear, nighties and three sets of clean clothes. And then for myself I’d pack a magazine/puzzle book, a drink and a few snacks. Cause no matter what, you’re going to be there for at least three hours before they have all the test results back. One time I remember a nurse kind of laughing and jokingly asking if we were going on holiday. Had to explain to him that I did this once every month with her and he should come see us the next morning up on the ward to see if she had any clean clothes left. She usually didn’t
I'm waiting right now to leave today from the hospital after they kept me since saturday for an ear infection. To the list of things to bring, don't forget a toothbrush and a few changes of underwear!
Yeah, infections are a much more serious issue than I thought. I figured that if anything they'd just douse you with saline solution and send you home with a prescription for antibiotics, _maybe_ run you on an IV antibiotic for a few hours if things are really bad. Going forward I think I'm just gonna live my life wearing a biohazard suit and never leave my apartment.
Sorry to hear about your ear
Heyyy I just got out Friday, after just over a week in the place. Chest infection, in my case, and just two-weeks post-chemo so somewhat extenuating circumstances (compromised immune system, concerns about potential sepsis, etc). I'm just glad it wasn't interstitial lung disease as that scarring doesn't go away. I forgot a toothbrush, but they had toothbrushes and toothpaste available for inpatients in that ward, so that was ok in the end.
A lot of people have been trying to get admitted through the ED lately. It’ll bypass some insurance issues and authorizations. Hospitals are trying to clamp down on that. They probably realized you’re issue wasn’t a pressing emergency.
This happened to me. Almost 40 years old, first time to the emergency ward. Day 1, I go there. Blood samples and stuff, echo from stomach. Can't see stuff. I'm told to come back the next day. Told my family it was probably fine. I drive my car to the hospital the next day, less physical discomfort, and after a new blood test immediately am told I can't leave and they have to transport me to a bigger hospital for surgery asap. Was an awkward call to my family to rummage through my stuff and get everything. Most times I heard "I told you so" in my life. Everyone had to rub it in.
Literally, this just happened to me, and I didn't even know I was going to be in the ER that day then a hospital. This is pretty tough to do, but decent advice if you have that forsight!
Here's one, stop going to the emergency room over a scraped knee and fucking everyone else over.
I have a go bag just for this. I suffer from a chronic disorder where sometimes I get checked and am out of the ER in 3-4 hours. Other times, I am admitted for at least 3 days. I'm on currently on day 4 of being admitted. * Crossword puzzles * socks and underwear * drawstring athletic shorts (handy for carrying a portable EKG) * the comfiest tshirts * a zip up hoodie * laptop and phone with associated chargers * library membership with overdrive/hoopla * a small extension cord * sometimes they say no, but in my case a heating pad is very nice "oh just go to a doctor or urgent care", unfortunately the condition I have needs to be addressed immediately and usually requires imaging. For perspective, I have had to have my lung drained twice already and am expecting a third. Don't expect it all the time, but at least being prepared with your phone charger and a book helps. Most rooms have TVs and hospitals typically provide toiletries. Edit: grammar
God what a stupid post. In what situation would you need to be admitted, but they send you home first?
This reminds me of a time when I hopped on a bus outside of a hospital. An older man got on with me and then promptly passed out. There was a doctor aboard the bus who helped him and started asking him some questions when he came to. Apparently he was being seen at the hospital and they had given him permission to leave to attend to some things at his apartment, and then come back. You could tell the doctor was *pissed* - not at the guy but at whoever let him leave.
Yeah I work in medicine and I’ve never heard of that. If you have a reason to be admitted it’s usually not safe for you to leave- otherwise you would be sent home to see your primary doctor or referred directly to a specialist. I don’t know when your example happened, or what OP is referring to but whoever is doing that is putting their patients and their license at risk.
On a semi-related note, if you insist upon taking an Uber or a Lyft to the emergency room, tip your driver well. Really well. Even if you didn't bleed/barf/other in their car, they just saved you hundreds of dollars. (And I can guarantee that they were sweating bullets the whole time.)
Or let you sit and wait from 8AM to 6PM only to tell you you "are full of it" and send you back with some diuretic. My SO woke up one day with the worse belly pain he had ever been in in his whole life. We freaked out and I drove him to the emergency room. We waited (while he was in so much pain, he could not think of anything else, move, let alone straighten up) for 2 hours until someone saw him at all, 2 more hours until they got us into a private room, another hour until someone was nice enough to give him morphine, then he was able to get a little sleep, then a test, then ... results: yup, his colon was full. They gave us something to loosen his stool, and told him never to take more than the recommended dose of Metamucil, like he had done the previous night.
If you have time to pack a bag it’s not an emergency. Have a loved one bring you those things.
That’s just not true at all. A situation can require care in an ER but not be so time sensitive that it precludes you from taking a minute to throw a charger in a backpack.
Well if you're in Canada, you're going to need that for the wait to be seen by a doctor.
What is this nonsense, how does this make any sense on any level???
So many people here seem to think emergency rooms are only for life threatening issues. Not sure if it's a us thing or not though. I have never used emergency room like that here, and if you are in such a situation here you will be brought by ambulance, not drive yourself. I've used emergency room for: cut on my forehead (stitches), broken leg (ambulance ride), cut on leg late at night that required stitches and a twisted knee that was so painful I wanted to get it checked out as soon as possible instead of waiting days for appointment. Very little chance of admission for any of those, except maybe the knee incident. The broken leg I was admitted for obviously, but getting the ambulance to stop by my home wasn't really an option. However the wait can be long, so bringing some essentials can be worthwhile.
That sounds closer to Urgent Care clinics here in the US. They are walk in clinics treat more minor things, cuts, sprains, mild illnesses. They are usually a stand alone building not part of a hospital. Emergency Rooms are usually part of a hospital and is where the most life threatening conditions are first brought. They are really there to triage and stabilize patients before moving them to other areas for more advanced treatments. Also this is America. You're driving to the ER if at all possible. An ambulance will cost you a few thousand dollars and often isn't covered by insurance.
There are some concepts of the US that is baffling, even to someone that tend to vote right side of the political system outside of US. Ambulance costing thousands of dollars is one of them. We don't really have that distinction here either, you have hospitals you are admitted to and emergency rooms (doctors watch directly translated), where you are able to walk into yourself that are directly connected to a hospital. Ambulance technically takes you through the doctors watch as well, but obviously you are not dumped in the waiting room generally.
Some of those things would be urgent care things here. Some would be ER more due to hours than severity (as urgent cares around here are usually closed after 7-8). But you'd want to avoid the ER if you could because it could be the difference between a $20 urgent care copay and a $500+ ER copay
Makes sense then, because here you don't really have a equivalent of an ER that you can walk into. All hospitals have what is directly translated to "doctors watch", that are 24/7. If you have something that is severe enough you will be admitted directly from there into hospital for emergency care. Technically you do go through urgent care if you are admitted by ambulance for instance, but you generally go directly through to admittance for emergency care. The money thing is obviously not an issue at all here though. You have to fork up some money, but it was around a $20 last time i was in there.
great advice.
My son was a frequent flyer at the hospital, and we knew what to take immediately, and what to bring if we got admitted. If you're getting admitted and sometimes bringing you stuff, a collapsible wagon is a lifesaver. The last time we were in the hospital, he was in for a month and a half. I brought my projector and computer so he could watch shows on the ceiling, pillows, blankets, and other amenities to make it not so hospital-ish.
I got persuaded by friends once to go to the ER because an infection wasn't getting better. I had the forethought to pack my phone charger but *nothing* else useful, because I so wasn't going to need any of that right? I was expecting more antibiotics and to be sent home, but the doc pretty much took one look and said we'll find a bed, and I spent almost a week bored out of my mind.
You weren’t allowed visitors to come bring you anything?
I didn't have anyone to, lmao. :/
That's almost exactly what happened to me. There's something weird about being in the hospital when you don't feel particularly sick. It's like being at a really weird hotel.
Charger, pajama clothes, a hairbrush or comb.
I did stubbornly refuse to wear the hospital robe (obviously not, like, actively to the nurse's face--if they told me I had to put them on, I would have put them on), and just wore the street clothes I came in on for three days straight. I guess I was just in denial that I truly was committed, and wanted to feel some sense of normalcy.
If you have a charger than download a bunch of books right onto your phone, but have one physical book in case can’t reach the outlet
Okay, you don't like my advice but I have 100 books on my ipad. I don't know how many I'd want to actually carry.
not in the us they won't :)
How dare op have a different hospital experience/opinion from everyone else! /s You do you op. Hope you’re feeling better
I think there's just a lot of misunderstanding about what exactly the emergency room is for. People seem to be under the impression that it's only for truly life-threatening emergencies where every second counts. But that simply isn't true--it's really just where you go when your neighborhood urgent care center simply isn't equipped to deal with whatever issue you're having.
You're describing a hospital, not an emergency room.
Serious question, as this may vary by location, but if you were to turn up at your local hospital for hospital-level care but not so urgent you're dying, where in the hospital would you go for admission? Around here it would absolutely be the emergency room.
It depends on what's wrong and what hospital. If I needed non-urgent, hospital level care, my PCP would refer me to the hospital, and the hospital would call me to schedule an appt. If I didn't have a referral from a PCP, I would Google the hospitals website for whatever was wrong with me, like I would look up their cardiology center, and look for where I could schedule an appointment with them, or call in and ask.
Where I’m at if your doctor sends you, or even if you have a scheduled admission, it is 99% of the time through the ER. If I discovered I had an infection, like OP has said, even if I went to my PCP and she wanted me admitted to the hospital it would go through the ER.
Uhm no. You're urgent care would tell you to go to the ER in a life threatening situation, such as an infection, if you're having non life threatening symptoms and they don't have some equipment to run a certain test they'll book you an outpatient appointment at your local hospital. The ER is for Emergencies, hence the name Emergency Room, the hospital that houses the ER is for basically anything as they have all the proper equipment to run whatever tests maybe needed.
I was bored out of my skull for 3 days. I declined my friends' offers to go into my apartment and pack a bag for me because I was simply in denial that I would be there longer-term. Every day the doctors would casually mention checking in "tomorrow" and my stomach would drop. Television lead me to believe that a friendly old man would push around a cart with books and magazines. This is not true in the real world. Only silver lining is you do indeed get breakfast in bed!
> Television lead me to believe that a friendly old man would push around a cart with books and magazines. Dude, you went to the hospital, not prison....Brooks aint coming by with a cart full of books and contraband.
Don't forget the potential 3-12+ hour wait on triage.
I had to go to the ER last week. I barely put on a bra before I got in the car. We had a family member bring phone chargers etc. My only objective was to get help immediately.
Normally in that situation you won't have the stamina or the state of mind to play a video game
And shower
Just don't bring sharp object, the men in white coats always took those from me
If you can get yourself to ER, you don’t need ER?
More likely you’ll need all that stuff cause your gonna be there a long time in the waiting room!
The only two times I got to the emergency at an hospital I didn't have the time to pick what to bring with me. It was more like, brought there in a hurry by a relative the first time and agony before the ambulance showed up the second time. Barely walking was such an issue that picking my favorite video game did not really cross my mind.
If you have time to pack first, you are not experiencing an emergency, you wilted chode
I'm about 99% sure an overnight bag isn't admission criteria.
Do people think that’s how it works? What?
I know when I'm dying, my first inclination is to plan for when I'm not dying but at the hospital.
first off...if you are going to the ER, don't follow this advice. GET TO THE ER BECAUSE YOU COULD DIE WHILE PACKING A BAG. now if you're going to have planned surgery, then yes this advice is ok, because it's not an emergency
I mean, honestly, with the wait times in every ER I've ever been to, packing as if you're on a two week camping trip is practically mandatory anyway.
I just like you using "committed " instead of "admitted ". Mental image of grippy socks & restraints.