I seem to be developing a habit of making a visit to the ER on holiday weekends. This time, I’d seen my regular doctor for a nasty nasty bacterial infection that pretty much closed up the entire left side of my throat due to being so swollen. I couldn’t eat a thing, and forced myself to swallow some water even though it was incredibally painful. I got a shot of antibiotics, got a script, and my doctor said “If it’s not better tomorrow, go to the emergency room.” It wasn’t better, so I spent about 5 hours in the ER getting rehyrated (two liters of fluid), getting IV antibiotics and IV steroids, and off with a prescription for Vicodin and even more steroids.
And yes, both my GP and the ER guy made an “icky” face when they looked at my throat.
Only two weeks at the new job and already I had to take two days off. But at least I’m not contagious anymore, so I should be able to salvage something of the holiday weekend, including going to a freinds’ party tomorrow. I’ve rented three movies (“Amelie,” “Serendipity,” and “Spy Games”).
yea, nothin’ says “Caring” like the doctors commenting on the oddness of your illness/injury. I remember the ER doctors calling each other around to gaze at the unique burn pattern from my 2nd degree burn covering my torso. Thanks, guys.
take care of that throat - (when my son had strep+mono, word got around the entire ER, so I could hear folks mutter as they walked past “that’s the kid…”)
I has a similiar experience about nine years ago. I had had a sore throat for about two weeks. I finally broke down and went to one of those “immediate med” places (which just happened to be across the street where I worked). I’m sitting on the exam table and the doctor gives me the “Say ah” routine. I do so and he says, “Ewwww”.
I had picked up some nasty virus from somewhere. It took six weeks of antibiotics to get rid of it!
Nearly every year since then, I have had a relapse. I can usually tell when it’s about to hit, so I start scarfing down Sudafed to prevent my sinuses from clogging (the first sign the “throat grunge” is about to hit).
I’m viciously allergic to fragrance – I get rashes that are actually much more like chemical burns.
For some reason, I thought Tiger Balm would be okay to put on some very sore back muscles (it had menthol, and camphor and wax and the ingredience didn’t look like anything I’d react to…)
Went to my doctor, she looked at my back and said " OO!.. NEAT!"
Apparently, she’d never seen a rash/chemical burn that actually looked like it was painted on with neon orange paint! She thought it looked pretty cool. So all the doctors in her office had to come on in and take a look.
For awhile there was some spectulation that I’d be permanently scarred, but luckily I wasn’t.
In my case it wasn’t really detrimental to my morale – I’m too pragmatic. But with the other doctors traipsing through the examination room to see this “extra-cool looking rash/burn” I must admit I felt like a bit of an ass for being stupid enough to put ANYTHING on my skin.
I’m 11 years old, the doctor is probing around in my profoundly cut palm of my hand. I had a finger pretty much just dangling there.
Dr. : “You are one lucky dog. You are one luck-” (Face goes serious)
Dr. to my mother: “I need to speak with you outside right now.”
That will make an 11-year-old slightly nervous.
[sub]I’d cut up some tendons. To this day, I can’t bend that finger certain ways.[/sub]
I have a friend who is a professional snowmobile racer, who suffered a bad crash that really messed up the flesh on his leg, a few years ago. I don’t want to gross anybody out, and he made a full recovery, but the injury was disgusting. (I’ve seen photos of it, pre-treatment.)
Anyway, he had doctors, interns and nurses coming into his room and saying, “I know you’re not my patient, but I’d heard about your injury, and I was wondering if I could have a look.”
I went to the ER last summer with a nasty case of scarlett fever. I had broken out in a bright red, raised rash over my arms neck and back.
The nurse took one look and immediately called the doctor, which made me a tad nervous. The doctor came in and took one look and said “Oh wow. That’s the worst case I’ve ever seen. You look even worse than the photo in the book!” and called for another doctor.
For the next 20 minutes, I was oohed and ahhed over and poked and prodded by no less than 3 different doctors and 4 nurses.
I guess it was a slow day in the ER.
Last time I was in the ER, I had a bad ankle sprain (mucho ligament damage), and it was swelling so fast you could literally watch it grow. A few of the interns or nurses or whatever found it pretty interesting, and called their buddies in to see the show. I didn’t care.
Think of it as education. No matter the amount of training a health professional gets, we’ll find a way to surprise them. But the next time someone comes in with a Tiger Balm Burn ™, they’ll know what it looks like.
Thanks for the sympathy and comiseration, everyone.
Actually, I didn’t really mind it at all the “ick” look - I was somewhat amused. Kind of a badge of honor. My other ER experiences has been limited to migraines and low back pain - apparently neither of these have the same visceral impact as pus-infected tonsils. And since I have a pretty high threshold for pain, it’s not always apparent how bad things are. Besides, some people fake things like migraines or back problems to get opiates, but I don’t think anyone “fakes” bacterial infections to get steriods and antibioticis.
I also got something similar when I went to the same GP for what I thought was a bladder infection. I’d never had one before. Apparently they could tell just by looking without running the test (thought they ran it anyway). Got lots of sympathy - “oh, that’s a really bad infection.” Bacterial infections apparently hit me hard and fast - by the time I get to the doctor, they’re pretty far gone.
I know the feeling, sorta. I developed an abcess from an infected tonsil, and the inside of my throat was so swollen on one side that my hangy-downy thingy was pointing due east. Doctor came in, peered down my throat and said, “Whoa! THAT’S pretty weird!”
(Yes, I know it’s called a uvula. I just prefer the term “hangy-downy thingy.”)
Sometimes the “ick” look, or qhatever equivalent says “wow, this is one helluva mess!” is actually reassuring. I once went for a second surgical opinion on whether I needed bone graft surgery for multiple tibia/fibula fractures that hadn’t healed properly after more than a year; I was beginning to think I was some kind of hypochondriac freak, because although you could still see the fracture lines quite clearly on the X-rays, it looked like the bone had filled in most of the way and I shouldn’t have been having nearly as much pain and difficulty walking as I was.
Luckily, the second orthopedic surgeon had a brain and figured there might be something else on; he sent me for a CT scan, and as it turned out, most of what had looked like newly formed bone on the X-ray turned out to be crapola (or whatever the medical term is), basically spongy non-bone tissue which could not in any way logically support my weight, and that in fact the doc was amazed that my bones hadn’t collapsed on themselves.
He brought in all the ortho residents, saying “Guys, you really have to see this; it’s quite extraordinary!” and had them poke my leg and confirm that I wa not in fact screaming in pain, although I basically had gunk where I should have had bone. It sucked to find out that the surgery was indeed not such a bad idea after all, but at least I was reassured that my pain was not imaginary.
Sometimes the “ick” look, or whatever equivalent says “wow, this is one helluva mess!” is actually reassuring. I once went for a second surgical opinion on whether I needed bone graft surgery for multiple tibia/fibula fractures that hadn’t healed properly after more than a year; I was beginning to think I was some kind of hypochondriac freak, because although you could still see the fracture lines quite clearly on the X-rays, it looked like the bone had filled in most of the way and I shouldn’t have been having nearly as much pain and difficulty walking as I was.
Luckily, the second orthopedic surgeon had a brain and figured there might be something else going on; he sent me for a CT scan, and as it turned out, most of what had looked like newly formed bone on the X-ray turned out to be crapola (or whatever the medical term is), basically spongy non-bone tissue which could not in any way logically support my weight, and that in fact the doc was amazed that my bones hadn’t collapsed on themselves.
He brought in all the ortho residents, saying “Guys, you really have to see this; it’s quite extraordinary!” and had them poke my leg and confirm that I was not in fact screaming in pain, although I basically had gunk where I should have had bone. It sucked to find out that the surgery was indeed not such a bad idea after all, but at least I was reassured that my pain was not imaginary.
