15 Healthcare Professionals Share The Dumbest Things They've Had To Explain To Patients

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Eric Lund
Dec 6, 2018 6:00 PM EST

This may come as a shock to hear, but having some basic understanding of biology is important. Thank doctors and nurses, at least someone knows what's going on.

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  • 01
    Text - HerpieMcDerpie 2.2k points 10 hours ago I, a male nurse, had to explain to a 25 year old female what her period was. She came to the ED and was concerned she had cramping and vaginal bleeding monthly. Thought for sure I was being pranked by co-workers. Nope.
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  • 02
    Text - notrachelfromglee 1.8k points 4 hours ago Was giving a grown patient IV Benadryl for a rash and itching on the upper body. The IV was in the right arm so I started to give the medication into the right arm. The patient panicked when I said I was done. "What do you mean you're done? You only put it in my right arm my left is itching too!" I calmly explained that putting medication in the IV sends it to the whole body. She exclaimed "you mean it even goes to my neck?" I said yes and she sai
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  • 03
    Text - 11 hours ago 3pinephrine 4.6k points Got a phonecall in the ER from a diabetic who said her sugar was reading "high" (that typically means over 400 or 500) and I told her she should come to the ER asap, and she asked "Shou ld I drink some sweet tea until then?" NO
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  • 04
    Text - Save TheLadybugs 1.7k points 11 hours ago I am not a nurse but I work with patients in the surgical care unit at a hospital. The amount of times we have had to cancel surgeries or would have had to cancel surgeries because people don't listen to prep instructions is insane. The hospital goes over these details extensively multiple times and in multiple formats before they come in on their surgery day, which include instructions for eating and drinking. I've had patients come in with a cof
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  • 05
    Text - 12 hours ago ashnich11 3.4k points Got a call from a discharged patient. "So I'm wearing these depends..." "...okay." "Do I need to change them everyday?" "Uhh yeah... or when they're soiled." "Okay and should I clean myself up after that?" "Yes. Yes, please." We thought we were being punked
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  • 06
    Text - Manumit 3.1k points 11 hours ago Had a patient with COPD exacerbation, pretty much couldn't breath and was drowning in the air she couldn't breath out. Had to explain to the family that she should think about quitting smoking. Afterwards the family was telling her to smoke through her nose and to just take shallow puffs.
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  • 07
    Text - justaneuromajor 2.8k points 10 hours ago Not a nurse but I had first time parents on my ward with their three day old jaundiced baby. Conversation as follows... Mom: I don't know why this is happening, I was so careful with everything I ate! Me: You did a beautiful job, this happens with a lot of babies and it is nothing that you did wrong Dad: I know you said there's nothing she did or ate, but I was using a lot of supplements while she was pregnant... could it have been something ate? M
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  • 08
    Text - dontwantanaccount 613 points 5 hours ago Oh man, not a nurse but I work in pharmacy. Had a guy come who wanted malaria tablets but wasn't sure what area of the country he would be travelling in. Rural he would need them but the cities he wouldn't He said "what's the worst that could happen?" "You could get malaria." "Yeah, but how bad can that be?" "Dead. The worst it can be is death." He left the shop anyway
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  • 09
    Text - WessenRhein 2.8k points 8 hours ago Painkilling suppositories come in individual foil packets After my c-section, the nurse handed me one and said "Don't forget to take the foil off." I looked at her and went noooo00000! Somebody did that?". She gave me this really tired look and nodded. Ouch
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  • 10
    Text - Snowbattt 593 points 6 hours ago edited 6 hours ago My best friend is an ER doc. He lost count on how often he had to explain to people he can't prescribe antibiotics for a cold. People don't seem to grasp that antibiotics are ineffective against viruses and that it's better to let illness clear on it's own if possible anyway. I guess people still think antibiotics are the miracle cure to every single illness there is.
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  • 11
    Text - 4 hours ago SonofTreehorn 554 points I had a patient who was in DKA (diabetic ketoacidosis). Not going to go into detail, but your blood sugar is extremely high along with other abnormal labs. One of the goals is to drop the blood glucose and the patient is placed on an insulin drip. This patients numbers were not changing at all over a couple of hours. The patient kept asking if she could eat to which the reply is always, NO! I noticed a candy wrapper in the patient's bed. I then lifted
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  • 12
    Text - omiewise 138 3.6k points 7 hours ago Working at ob/gyn clinic. Had to explain to a concerned husband that his pregnant wife will not strangle the fetus if she eats spaghetti. That's a completely different system of organs.
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  • 13
    Text - attractiveepidermis 2.6k points 12 hours ago Had to explain to a patient, and his family, multiple times that although he does have a defibrillator now he still needs to take his heart medicine... a real headache of a conversation
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  • 14
    Text - 10 hours ago Teammaj 2.6k points Spent WAY too long having to explain to a celiac patient that white bread was still made out of wheat and that's why she was still sick. Nutritionist had already been over it several times and then called me in to try to convince her
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  • 15
    Text - papa_diabolous 160 points 4 hours ago Can't even remember how many post sternotomy patients have been soooo000 Surprised that their chest hurts. You just had open heart surgery! It's gonna hurt!
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nurse medicine doctors diabetes ridiculous health knowledge funny stupid Sad baby pregnant sick
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