Embarrassing injuries that require a trip to ER

[Jedana]

Visit to the ER for two spider bites. One on the finger and one on one of the "girls". Same visit, guess the spider got me twice. The one on the finger swelled the whole finger almost three times the size of normal, within 4 hours. The one on my chest was swelling outward--it looked like I had a pool ball stuck in my bra.


Burns--I worked in a pretzel making place in the mall at one point. I had a bad habit of leaning forward on my forearms. Well, I did it on the hot oven. You would think I learned my lesson, but no. I did it about 4 more times that day--I had stripes of burn marks running up and down my arms. The ER staff thought I had been beaten or tortured or something---I had a heck of a time trying to get them to understand it was from me being stupid at work!



The Worst:
Two visits to the ER with concussions. Exact same thing happened twice in the space of a month.

DH (before he was DH, and was only Dbf) had a waterbed. Wood, and no bumpers on the sides.

Fun was happening
and someone flipped someone
and someone knocked her head (near the base of the skull) on the wood sides.
Knocked out both times. Don't remember it happening either time, but the waterbed was gone shortly after the 2nd time.

 

[tazdev3225]

Nurse here, so I know the er staff which made it more embarrassing. Had to get stitches after a freak accident with a cat food can. Very deep cut! Love the pop top ones now!

My son did that but with a flip top can. No problem. The cut was on his hand between his thumb and I knew it needed stitches. I used a clean sanitary pad to put pressure on it and to help with the bleeding. I took a first aid course and the instructor advised this course of action. Clean, sterile and absorbent product and it leaves no lint in the wound. My son was 14 and just asked me why I had to remember that ONE thing. He was way more embarrassed than I was.

For me personally all you need to do is look at my tag. I really did suck my thumb up the vacuum. I was doing the stairs and my hand slipped. Of course my DH thought it was hysterically funny as the beater bar kept banging my thumb. I was lucky there was no break but it was badly bruised.

 

[mlynn]

Not me but my husband.
9 years ago.While I was at the end of my 2nd pregnancy. Myhusbadn came home from fishing with a fish hook with a feather lure hanging out of his eyebrow. He got snagged and when he pulled it out it flew back and got his eyebrow.
The hospital didn't have anything in the er to cut the hook. So the doctor went and got his craftsman tool set out of his trunk and used his own cutters. Everybody came in to see his eyebrow piercing. I heard about a million times. I guess this isn't the reason you wanted to be here.(Had my daughter a few days later) I still laugh at him because he saved the lure and it hangs in his work shop. LOL

 

[jdb in AZ]

A friend who's an ear/nose/throat specialist treated a kid who got a toy car stuck up his nose. The father couldn't believe a car could fit up there, so HE tried it. Yup, the doc had to remove the car from the dad's nose too.

 

[Jessica14]

Years ago one of my second grade students came in crying. Her mom went to the ER because when she blew dried her hair, a small piece of eyeliner blew into her eye and she couldn't get it out.

My DS once bit a Christmas bulb off the tree but was fine. He also swallowed a quarter once. We went back for a recheck a week later (I had been "searching" for it) and found out that it didn't come out! Still floating around in there!

Once I was almost too embarrassed to go. I had terrible chest pains and my DH insisted it was gas. He didn't think it was anything a Tums and a burp couldn't cure. Well, I overcame the embarrassment and found out I had to get my gall bladder removed. I'm glad I didn't let embarrassment keep me from going!

 

[RadioNate]

Well, it should have been the ER, but I waited a day and ended up in a lot more pain at Urgent Care.

I was cutting an avocado after a particularly heated telephone call with a loved one. As I was opening up the avocado, I was telling my husband about the conversation. I was really worked up and stuck the knife (quite aggressively) into the pit of the avocado. You know where this is going, right? The knife went through the pit and into the palm of my hand. So stupid.

I ended up having to have the wound re-opened and thoroughly cleaned, got a tetanus shot, antibiotics, and four stitches.

Idiot move.

Ann

I did the same thing. My (now ex) husband refused to take me to the Dr. It was oozing & gross the next morning so it was tetanus shot, antibiotics & too late for stitches.

I went in last week for something so embarrassing I can't even post it.

 

[Jessica14]

Just rereading- the quarter was removed with a small procedure. At the time, we were surprised to see it still floating around. It's not still there!

 

[Disneychix]

My DH broke both of his elbows when he fell forward off his bike. We didn't go to the ER right away. Dh woke up in the middle of the night and promptly fainted from the pain while standing in the bathroom.
I drove him to the ER at 3am and the night nurses had a ball listening to a grown man's story of falling off his bike and breaking both his elbows.

 

[MommyJack]

Easter morning two years ago I was making banana smoothies for my kids with frozen bananas. As I sliced into the banana with my very sharp chef's knife, the banana rolled. I sliced right into my pinkie nail. As soon as it happened I knew it was bad. Ever the helpful one, DS suggested I superglue it. I opted for the er. Of course, by the time I got to see a Dr, it had stopped bleeding. I was starting to feel a bit silly until they x-rayed it and found I had actually broke the bone.

The next day my pastor's wife left a tool at my back door that covers your fingers and helps you hold round things while slicing.

 

[cybrkitn]

Former ER nurse here. I can't even hint at the "embarrassing" things I saw and heard. Love to, but soooo not family friendly.

After watching a few ep's of Untold Stories of the ER I can only imagine what happens in the ER!

 

[Tink575]

My son did that but with a flip top can. No problem. The cut was on his hand between his thumb and I knew it needed stitches. I used a clean sanitary pad to put pressure on it and to help with the bleeding. I took a first aid course and the instructor advised this course of action. Clean, sterile and absorbent product and it leaves no lint in the wound. My son was 14 and just asked me why I had to remember that ONE thing. He was way more embarrassed than I was.

My son-in-law cut his hand on a knife and my DD had to take him to urgent care. It was bleeding badly and he had it wrapped in paper towels. When they got to the car the towels were soaked through and she wrapped his hand in a sanitary napkin from a box she had in the trunk. When the nurse at Urgent Care saw his hand she asked "Is that what I think it is?" He was SO embarrassed.

 

[KiKi Mouse]

My ex husband cut his eyeball with a piece of paper. Yes, a paper cut to his eye. You could see the flap of tissue folded down. Gross.

Another time he ran over his foot with the lawnmower. I came home from work and he was sitting on the back step with his foot in a bucket of ice water. He was too afraid to take off his cut shoe and sock and see the damage. The damage didn't turn out to be too bad. He still has ten toes.

One of my kids ran into a fence and her teeth went through underneath her bottom lip. It wasn't until we got to the ER that I noticed she had a big goose egg on the back of her head. In addition to stitches she had a concussion.

I remember being in an doctor's office and a guy came in who has somehow got a crochet hook through his foot.

 

[Heidict]

When I was about 5 I decided that I wanted to see if I could catch a piece of bread like the dog did. So down on all fours , next to my dads chair, he tossed me a piece of bread. Only problem was, no one thought to hold back the dog.

She ended up going for the bread also and her tooth went through below my lower lip. Blood everywhere, but I didn't care. I was just so excited that I caught the bread!!!!

They had fun trying to convince the ER staff that it was all my idea and that they didn't normally make me beg for my food like a dog

 

[Disney Ella]

They had fun trying to convince the ER staff that it was all my idea and that they didn't normally make me beg for my food like a dog

I can just imagine that conversation!

 

[nighttowll]

My son-in-law cut his hand on a knife and my DD had to take him to urgent care. It was bleeding badly and he had it wrapped in paper towels. When they got to the car the towels were soaked through and she wrapped his hand in a sanitary napkin from a box she had in the trunk. When the nurse at Urgent Care saw his hand she asked "Is that what I think it is?" He was SO embarrassed.

Well as embarrassing as it is. I've taken a number of first aid classes, and that's what they all tell you to do.

 

[Dizneefamily+4]

When I was in college, I was curling my bangs in the morning (this was the early 90s ) and somewhow, the curling iron slipped off my hair and before I could blink, it burned my eyeball. Oh, did I scream! My roommate was in the shower and came running out soaking wet figuring I must be in the throes of being murdered.

So, being still young and somewhat stupid, I called - my dad. Hysterically. 300 miles away. He, of course, ordered me to go straight to the ER.

My roommate drove me. Explaining that one to the doc (once they put numbing drops in and I could function without immense pain) was embarrasing because I just felt so stupid!!

Edited to add: When my dd8 was an infant (about 5 weeks old,) I was talking to my mom on the phone with it held to my ear by my shoulder as I was carrying dd in one arm and had something in the other (can't remember what.) I was walking into dd's bedroom to put her in her crib when I heard this loud BUMP. Didn't register what it was until dd started screaming. Yep, I hit her head on the door jamb as I was walking through. I freaked out, hung up on my mom and we raced to the ER as the goose egg was forming. I was so afraid that the ER would think child abuse. Nope, they trusted our story. It was still embarrassing though...

 

[tvguy]

There are entire websites dedicated to this.......some with photos.

 

[Halloweenqueen]

My eldest cut his head above his eyebrow on the bus. He needed 9 stitches. I was getting the kids ready to head back to the urgent care to get the stitches removed when my youngest trips on a floor lamp needing stitches above the same eyebrow. I was so embarked to be running between rooms with one child getting stitches out while the other was getting them in!

 

[minkydog]

I can't think of anything real embarrassing--I've had a few injuries that I was too embarrassed to GO to the ER. Broke my ankle on Thanksgiving Day and I'll be darned if I was going to go to the ER for that. By the time I did go, 5 days later, my ankle was swollen the size of a gallon paint can.

Now, I do remember an embarrassing moment that one of my friends had...When I was in HS we used to go down to the Pizza Hut in the nearest town, 30 miles away. We would pack the restaurant and the boys would always try to sneak beers from the over-18 students(back when legal age was 18). One time my friend managed to get a beer and drank it down. He decided to take the glass as a "souvenir" , so he tucked into his back pocket and walked out the door. Somehow between the door and the car he forgot it was in his back pocket and when he jumped in the car, he sat right on that glass! Yowza! Good thing he was only a couple blocks from the hospital. They put about 15 stitches in his butt and called his dad, who was ready to kill him for drinking beer at Pizza Hut. I think he was grounded for about 2 months.

 

[Sparkly]

I was messing around at school in Year 8 pretending to be a pirate on a bench, my friend grabbed my coat to pull me down but I went the other way, straight over the back of the bench. Fractured my upper arm. 13-year-old me wasn't known for making good decisions.