14yo thrown from a horse at summer camp, broken wrist.
23 yo, allergic reaction to antibiotics.
27 yo, thrown from horse, turned out to be soft tissue injuries only but I presented unable to move my legs w/o excrutiating pain.
I would say 2 & 3 were not strictly speaking emergencies but circumstances forced me to the ER- if I had been at home for #2 we would have gone to an urgent care clinic most likely, but a summer camp in loco parentis doesn’t take chances. #3 came on in the middle of the night, then the ER is really your only option.
Three times for me: two miscarriages and one gall bladder attack (that resulted in the removal of my gall bladder).
Once for husband (although he’s had many visits without me): he nearly bit through his tongue while playing rugby.
Five visits for my kids: oldest son needed stitches in his head, youngest had three visits for bronchiolitis (one with pneumonia) as a baby that ended up requiring hospital stays and he put his teeth all the way through his lip just a few weeks ago (I just paid that nearly-$800 bill). One of the bronchiolitis visits included my only ride in an ambulance - he had to be transported to the building across the street for some tests and they wouldn’t let me just pick him up and carry him over there.
Of the nine times I’ve listed (and there were probably a couple more), only two really required treatment. Even when I broke both of my feet, all they really did for me was give me a cane. Bed rest was the best treatment for most of the other things.
I had a panic attack on a choir trip when I was in high school (1989). I didn’t know it was, though, and like many with their first panic attack I thought I was having some sort of heart attack. It was frightening and humiliating at the same time.
While working a temp job in 1993 with a severe sinus infection, I bent over to pic something up…and then the room started spinning. The infection hit my middle ear (or at least eustachian tube) and it made me miserably dizzy and I promptly vomited over, and over, and over again. The office called the paramedics, and I was vomiting into a “yak bag” as I called it as I was wheeled out of the office. The docs called it a “viral labrynthitis”–basically, a virus in the middle ear–gave me some potent anti-vertigo meds,and I went home and avoided movement for a while. I’ve since learned that if I don’t keep up on decongestants, I’ll get this severe vertigo, so I don’t think it was a virus–I think it was just inflammation from the infection I had at the time tickling the middle ear. Vertigo is THE WORST, I gotta say.
1994-ish, I thought it was HILARIOUS to pound on friend’s windows late at night to scare the beejesus out of them. One night my uppence came, though, and I punched right through the window. I wound up going to ER for stitches, where I learned I had sliced right through my pinkie’s tendon. I needed surgery and physical therapy on my PINKIE. Der.
I had a severe UTI in 2000 that I had tried treating at home. But, it went to my kidneys and was miserably painful one night. Now-hubby then-boyfriend took me to ER, where they gave me a test that came back “red hot” according to the sympathetic nurse. The nurse immediately gave me drugs and a anti-nausea shot in the hip, as the infection was making me seriously queasy and he didn’t want me barfing up the meds.
Christmas 2005, I was 6mos pregnant with my first and got a violent stomach flu while at my inlaws. One those lovely flus where you run to the toilet and aren’t sure what end to put in first. I called my OB after a few rounds of puking, and was told if I vomited again I had to go to the ER for fluids. I did, so we went. I remember Boy 1 was pissed and moving all over the place at the ER–the nurse who checked him had a hard time getting his heartrate as he was on the move so much. Apparently, all the violent lurching and my dehydration stresses the little guys. The nurse said the fluid thickens through the umbilicus and the fetus can definitely tell something is wrong. Anyway, an anti-nausea shot and two pints (!!) of fluids later, and I was feeling much better. I slept for two days, but no more hurling.
That’s it–I’ve managed to be ER-free for 5 years now. Woo wee!
Dangit, I missed the edit window. My post is a bit sloppily written and I was trying to clean it up. My apologies, Dopers.
I also wanted to add that 2005 trip to the ER was an eye-opener for me as we learned those bags of fluids (I think saline) cost $1500 each. The nurse said it’s about as basic as care can get, and the pricing was outrageous.
For myself, my visits have been very few, but offbeat. No broken bones or bad wounds:
About 20 years ago, I needed a “blood patch” to fix a leaky lumbar puncture. Note to self: Don’t schedule anything for the day before a holiday - if anything goes wrong, the ER is the only option.
About a month ago, I had a bout of “steakhouse syndrome” as an unexpected complication of stomach surgery that had been done 10 years ago - the sphincter at the top of the stomach was in spasm and my esophagus had most of dinner stacked up in it, unable to get into the stomach.
I don’t remember any stories of my parents taking me to the ER or an urgent trip to the pediatrician. And they would’ve likely told me, over and over and over again.
I’ve been to the ER:
For a sliced finger, when I was 4, which required 4 stitches. Interestingly, I don’t remember crying or feeling pain. My mom was more freaked out. I think the office meeting I interrupted ended right then.
For an anaphylactic attack after getting bitten by ants. It was relatively mild, and, because I also had a cold, my dad had given me some meds before going to the ER. Turns out he unknowingly help me, as the meds had anti-histamines. I spent a few hours, but didn’t get treated as I was improving. Went home. Around 7-8.
For getting a ring stuck to my finger. They went to the ER when my parents couldn’t take the ring out. It was fast, all they did was take out a small saw-thingie that cut through the ring and released it. Around ten.
No more ER for me until I was almost 27 and fractured my arm about 10 months ago. First ambulance trip, too. And yes, I was treated and admitted to the hospital. Ended up with a metal plate on my arm. Coolest fracture I’ve seen.
One “urgent care” clinic recently… I went to the after-hours clinic at the university because I hit my head with a street sign and it was bleeding. It bled a lot, but it was superficial, and all I got was surgial glue.
I think twice. When I was 10, I was in a car accident. I guess they took me to the ER, to the extent that our small town hospital had one. (Only real thing that had to be addressed was I had broken a bone in my foot.)
The other I was in my late 20s, and while casually driving one evening, I put my hand up against my neck and noticed a huge knot that had not previously been there. I drove straight to the ER.
(The knot on my neck was a swollen lymph node. Turned out I had mono AND an attending bacterial throat infection.)
Just once, for a fever high enough to make me incoherent when I was 20. I have had countless falls, bad cuts, bike accidents, I own numerous power tools, and have been in 2 car accidents, but never broke anything or cut anything so badly I needed stitches. I’m either built well or lucky.
Broken arm, age 7
Broken foot, in undergrad
Ruptured groin, couple of years ago (ER on birthday)
Deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism, last April
My husband’s old rugby team played on a field that was infested with fire ants. That made for some interesting games and the addition of benadryl to the first aid kit. There were a couple incidents of guys having an anaphylactic reaction that required an ER visit. Although the ants were a drawback, the field had the benefit of being right across the street from the hospital.
Four times for me.
Once when I was six months old and went through a car windshield (pre child seat days).
Once when I was 14 and stepped on a nail and needed a tetanus shot.
Once when I was about 16 for an asthma attack.
Once when I was 17 and my pinkie got smashed between two hockey sticks and they needed to drain the blood out from under the nail (that was fun to watch).
The next 30 years have been bringing other people.
So far I’ve been lucky, no ER visits yet. Of course, when I was growing up, my parents would not have bothered taking us for stitches unless it was a huge gash or on the face or something like that. Working in the ER I’ve seen a lot of parents who want stitches on small wounds that my parents would have just put a band-aid on.
Twice. Once when I was a pre-teen and participating in a Parks department summer activity; I broke my toe and the group leader sent me to the ER. These days I’d just tape it to the next toe. (The weird thing is, they misdiagnosed a broken toe that was significantly raised out of place and a tad crooked! The doc held up the x-ray to the overhead light, said it was just sprained, sent me home. My PCP took one look at the foot a couple weeks later and said, “that was broken.” Then he showed me on that ER x-ray where the break line clearly showed. :smack: )
Second time was a few years ago, I slipped and fell on the ice and landed hard on the heel of my right hand. Curled up in agony on the ground. My husband took me in, and I had a fracture. They splinted it, gave me a pain pill scrip, and gave me a referral to an orthopedist.
Oh yeah, forgot about sticthes. When I was in preschool I split my lip wide open on a board when I fell running to get an Easter egg and had to get it stitched back up. Luckily for me it went well, can’t even see the scar now. Also had to get my elbow cleaned out after a piece of glass got jammed in while in a moshpit.