Story time! I have a really unusually high tolerance for pain. When I am in pain I tend to get really quiet and stoic about it. Went to the ER with severe flank pain. They asked me for the pain number. I said 9, and continued to sit quietly, because that's what I do. I have a BIG personality. If I'm quiet, something is wrong, but they don't know that. I think they decided that I was just there because I was an addict that wanted a shot of painkiller. I sat quietly for 6 hours. I went to the bathroom several times, and threw up because pain makes me nauseous too, but I never made a peep. When they had seen everyone else in the ER including the 16 year old cheerleader with a bruised knee from falling off the human pyramid, they finally took me back to the CT scanner, and found the TEN MILLIMETER KIDNEY STONE. At that point they fell all over themselves to get a shot into my arm, and got very apologetic about how long i had to sit and suffer. 🤣 They asked why I didn't complain more. I said "You guys were busy." They were super extra nice the rest of the time I was there
I understand being ignored for pain. 13yrs undiagnosed for multiple very painful conditions. I just had disc replacement and spinal fusion 3 weeks ago and the surgeon said the disc was completely obliterated and the hospital physio was in shock saying I must have a super high pain threshold. I just felt like I was finally proven right for being ignored for so long (I had other ppl for years telling me the pain was all in my head and need to meditate) so yeah sometimes I guess put on the theatrics if they're not listening
Wow. I wear my illnesses like clothing. If I'm sick, there is no hiding it. I was on the floor of my apartment throwing up into a basin, in a great deal of pain, when my husband got home and panicked and called an ambulance. I told him not to. The ambos got there and asked me if I wanted a shot of morphine, I said, 'No, I'm allergic, it will just make me throw up more.' My husband said, 'Give her the shot'... and they did. I told them, I'm just passing a gall stone. They brought me to the ER, put me on a gurney, took my temperature, drew blood and left me to pass the stone, which I did. When the doctor said they weren't admitting me and I seemed fine now and I could go home, I realised, I was alone, no phone, no purse. It would have been faster to just walk the couple of kilometres home, because my husband seemed to forget about me. I had to borrow a phone to call him and when he finally picked up, it still took him almost 2 hours to come get me. He's now my ex-husband.
@@TheAccidentalViking wow. That's horrifying. The most horrifying part is the medics injected you with a drug you told them you were allergic to. I'm glad it turned out OK for you in the end
I had my kidney stone during flu season and had to wait for the staff to get to me. I was 21 and “too young to go to the ER for the flu” because I was throwing up from the pain and shaking like I had a fever. The triage nurse was the least compassionate person and treated me like crap. When the doctor finally saw me and realized I had no fever and severe pain he took care of me. The CT showed the stone in my bladder by the time they were able to get it done.
Because hospital's call the cops when they find out a patient took an illegal drug. Not all hospital's, but it still goes on to this day, depend on which hospital and which country you live in.
@@davidestabrook5367 Name one hospital that does this? At least in the United States I don't know of a single hospital that's going to call the cops because you have drugs in your system unless you are being belligerent or are some kind of danger to yourself or the people around you they're not calling the police
@@davidestabrook5367 that's highly unlikely [pun totally intended 🤣], unless mayhaps it wasn't first time they encountered said substance-consuming patient numerous times, &/or if patient might need to be 302'd due to self-harm or endangering others, &/or if a patient was in ER due to an accident that resulted in another person being injured, cuz that info could be necessary for an accident-related injury court case... but ER Docs wouldn't call cops on patients...if anything, cops or attorneys could prly obtain medical records afterwards, like days later ...cuz main goal of ER Staff is to Treat&Inform with a quickness patients to keep the flow going so more patients can get the help they need, STAT ! Why would they waste everyone's time by being silly like that? 🤪😅🤔
I went into the ER with abdominal pain and they detected that my liver enzymes were high. They asked me MULTIPLE times if I had been drinking, if I ever drank, if I had taken too much Tylenol, etc. none of those things were the case, it turned out I had cancer in my liver! Still have it now, gonna need a transplant down the road, but need to deal with the primary cancer in my colon first. All of this was determined in the ER, they saved my life!
I went to the ER multiple times over a few weeks back in 2018 due to abdominal pain and after a few visits some of the staff thought I was an addict looking for a fix. One doctor didn’t though, and I thank God she was the attending doctor the last time I went in due to the pain. She saw my records from the previous few weeks and immediately ordered an abdominal ultrasound to investigate. I was on the table and the ultrasound tech suddenly said “What the HELL is THAT?” and ran out of the room to get the doctor. Next thing I know I’m being wheeled into another room for an abdominal CT scan. It turned out that I had two grapefruit sized cancerous ovarian cysts that were causing all the pain. I’d had them for God knows how long and they hadn’t been causing problems until they got so big they twisted my ligaments and put pressure on the other structures in my lower abdomen. I was in surgery a month later. It would have been sooner but it took awhile for my insurance to approve the referrals, get appointments and get assessed to see if I would be able to tolerate such an invasive procedure.
I know this was a long time ago but I have just seen this UTube post. I do hope that you are ok now and that they were able to remove ALL the nasty cancer masses and cells successfully from you? I pray 🙏🏻 that now you are on the road to a healthy and happy and long life. ❤
Yo, lab tech here: In school, we had to practice lab tests on our own urine, since urine samples had to be fresh. So maybe I can give some insight to some of the questions: What can we see in a urine sample: A lot of things. The look and smell of the urine (is it too dark? Red? Transparent or opaque? Does it smell sweet? Ketonic? Rancid?) will give us first warning signs for infections, diabetes and other conditions. We use a test strip to test for e.g. Red and White Blood Cells, Glucose, Hemoglobin, Proteins, Nitrite (produced by some harmful bacteria), pH (fun fact: we can tell if you're vegan/vegetarian), density, Ketones, ascorbic acid (might disturb in other tests), Creatinine from muscle damage, Urobilinogen for kidney function, Bilirubin for hepatic disease or high blood degradation and other things. This gives us a very good overview and shows us where to look, so to say. Microscope: we centrifuge and look at the solid containts of the urine. Many or large crystals might be indicators for stones, RBCs and WBCs are signs for bleeding or infections (kidney or UTI depending on deformation) etc. Depending on the findings we can then make more accurate/specific tests to figure out your exact problem. Urine samples are one of the most versatile and useful specimens in clinical settings. I probably forgot to list about half the things you can see and test for with a urine sample, lol. Regarding periods: wiping doesn't really help, there will still be RBCs in your sample, so tell your doctor beforehand or else you will have a panicked lab tech asking you if your on your period in a full waiting room. Had to learn that the hard way. Regarding taste: this used to be one test for Diabetes mellitus. Nowadays we just smell and make lab tests, though. If you are one of the two people who will read this, I hope it helps.
I deal with repeat UTI's, and one of my friends shared pictures of a sample under microscope a few days ago. Super cool to actually see what you all look at on the daily! I have so many curiosities about it all. Thank you for sharing!
@@xemirahobbyless For sure! Next time I have to give a urine sample, I will definitely think about the fact that whoever tests it will know that I'm a vegetarian. 😂
I've always been instructed to use those castile soap wipes and then do midstream catch. Does that help with running the lab tests, or is it just to avoid other fluid mixing?
I once went to the hospital on acid. Not because I was freaking out or anything but because I broke my finger. I know the doctor knew. I could also tell he did not care.
Just wanted to let others know this: if you can't pee in a cup because it's physically impossible to do so, you can ask the staff for a "hat". Said "hat" is a plastic bowl with wings that can be placed in between the toilet seat and the bowl so that it can collect the urine. It also has a funnel indent so you can pour it into the cup when you're done.
That is typically what they do if you are checked in. When you are checked in, after a procedure, they are often just checking to make sure that you are producing enough urine and don't send it for testing. They read the volume and put it in your chart. @@J....W....
I use them every month at my pain management appointment after I kept losing my piss when trying to pee in the cups and missed then would have to sit for hrs until I could pee again until someone said use a hat! I said why would I pee in a damned hat?? They didn’t explain what a hat was for in urine samples! The morons!
Just a note on not getting menstrual blood in the sample: I was in the ER a few months ago with abdominal pain, and it was indeed a very nasty UTI. As luck would have it, my period was also insanely out of control that weekend - I’ve got fibroids, and I take medication to control my cycle but my gyno’s office fucked up my prescription renewal and I was out that weekend, and bled worse than I ever have in my life. Tampons were useless to me and did nothing to help. Of course, I stated all of this up front. Every single person I saw in the ER shook the bloody urine cup at me and said “how long has this been going on?” assuming it was blood in the urine. I repeatedly said “my period is just really heavy right now.” I was asked “aside from this period, do you know if there is blood in your urine?” “I don’t know, how can I tell bloody urine apart from the massive amount of blood coming from my vagina constantly right now?” No offense pal, everyone did a great job and got me the meds I needed and I felt way better a few days later. But it’d be great if y’all could just put something on there to indicate “this is most likely just period blood”, especially before giving the patient morphine. Perhaps a red sticker.
People who have never bled from their vagina so heavily that they couldn't get through a work day using the bathroom only every two hours for breaks without turning into a bloody mess just don't get it. There is no "just wipe yourself down" to prevent blood in the urine sample. By the time you wipe yourself down, position the cup, and finish peeing, there's more blood and it *will* be in the urine sample.
For people who use a cup or tampon or disk, leaving that in when you give a urine sample can help keep blood out of the sample. They *can* do a cath specimen if warranted... but that does increase risk of giving you an infection if you didn't already have one. But otherwise we can't definitively tell you that we're sure the blood is just fun your period, Especially if you have a UTI because a UTI can cause there to be blood in your urine. The way to confirm would be see your regular doctor in 2 weeks and give them a urine specimen to check to see if the blood was no longer in your urine. And they were basically asking you if your pee was *usually* that red anyway when you didn't have your period, or if any doctor had ever told you that there had been blood in your urine before.
I agree that leaving the tampon in can help. If it's really that bad and you don't have a tampon in, they may end up using straight catheter just to empty the bladder and gather the sample that way in attempt to prevent menstruation contamination in the urine sample. We try not to cath everyone though because we know it can increase risk for infection (urine is a one-way street and putting an outside object up through your pee-tube can introduce uninvited guests to the party if you know what I mean)
@@mnm039 she just said she had a tampon in and blood was still coming out. I had this problem as a teenager. I literally had to double up on tampons and pads because I would still bleed through it. Some people have really heavy periods and it just can't be helped.
Once, when a doctor asked me for a urine sample, I said "Sure, I have one ready," meaning I knew she would want one and therefore hadn't visited the bathroom before my appointment. She got this "oh God, here we go again" look on her face, and asked for the sample, so I explained it was still in my bladder. She looked really relieved and told me I would not believe the kinds of containers people use to bring their urine samples from home. That really stuck with me. This poor doctor routinely gets given random unsuitable containers filled with piss.
@@cassandrakayanne what gets me is that there must have been a decision process there. Somehow it must have seemed logical and sensible to them to bring you a stool sample in a solo cup.
I once had to send a urine sample from home and didn't have time to pick one up from a facility, so I used a small canning jar. I had plenty, didn't need it, and figured it was the most sterile container with a lid that I had.
Lab tech here. Just because it is clean doesn’t mean it’s sterile and I’ll do a UA dip and microscopic on it but I will reject it for culture and put comments that it was submitted in a non sterile container. Certain tests especially cultures for a UTI need special preservatives or sterile containers. Clean is not sterile. We can’t tell if the bacteria is from your pee or cross contamination the container
I would mention that weed (and other drugs) can make it difficult for the anesthesiologist to put you under properly, because ODing an anesthesia can just straight up kill you. Usually that doesn't matter, but if you're going to be put under for surgery soon after arriving at the ER, you *have* to tell them if you are high or drunk or anything, because the combination of alcohol or weed and certain types of anesthesia can just kill you. Edit: They can still put you under safely, there are drugs that they can use that wont kill you. It's just that they're not the standard. Don't be afraid to go to the hospital high or drunk.
OMG yessss - be honest with your anesthesiologist - 100%.. they don't care what you've taken, but they need to know so that they can do their job properly. Chill people once they can work to the facts
@@Swampgurl777 I'm not an anesthesiologist, but since weed works on the CNS, yes tell your anesthesiologist if you are smoking/using edibles, cos it can affect the amount they need to use. It's no big deal, they do not GAF, it's just smart to tell them what you're taking/not taking. (I smoke myself, often go under for medical procedures, and as much as people think it's 'natural', sure, it's also a substance that affects our CNS - I tend towards needing more sedation than they think at first)
As someone who suffers from a chronic pain condition as well as others, I’m pretty acquainted with the ER. Since my condition is rare I often have to explain it to the doctors and nurses as I’ve had only a few who know what it is. Unfortunately, when explaining my condition and any other tid bits of pertaining health info, I’ve found some providers look at me like I’m med seeking or a med abuser. That greatly interferes with getting care. It’s like because I know my body and what does and doesn’t work, I’m in the wrong. Like when I say I’m a hard stick for an IV and they usually have to do a pic line, EJ, or ultrasound guided line but the nurse insists on making me a pin cushion instead of listening. I’ve even gone as far as to printing out guidelines from Mayo Clinic and other informational sites to hand to those who are providing care. It’s so frustrating to feel like I’m being treated like a druggie when all I want is answers or care like everyone else. It’s gotten to where I’ve avoided going in to the ER when is could’ve caused me to lose my life. What are some things I can do to better communicate or handle ER visits?
I don't know what condition you have but one thing you could do is stay better hydrated. It's hard to get an IV started on someone who is dehydrated. That could be part of the problem with the IV starts. My other suggestion is to let them try to start the IV without saying anything. After they've thrown their best efforts at it, casually tell them...'yeah, usually it takes a picc line (etc) but I was really hoping you would be the first one to manage it!" Your responsibility is putting up with the discomfort. Unless they know you too well, they will not put a picc line in just because you say that's what they will have to do. They have protocols they have to follow. And I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that your condition is not being managed very well if you have to go into an ER frequently without your specialist calling ahead with some orders so the ER can deal with it more efficiently. If you haven't had a discussion with the doctor who manages your condition, I say it's about time to sit down with him/her and work out a plan.
@@patriciamurray5612 I'm guessing ehlers danlos..it not fucking hydration. It's having veins made of cornbread. There's no treatment for a genetic defect so it's not their fault , it's nobody's fault their joints are shit and skin is made of tissue paper. I have it and get this same patient blaming ignorant bullshit. Trust us, if I could not break my toes or arm or fingers from a simple fumble I wouldn't. If I could avoid a dislocation or joint injury I would. If I could make my veins not blow out and rip or collapse I would. Also beyond offensive to suggest it's my job to have my veins blown out and preventable destroyed and scarred up because of your pride. I know my condition, I know a standard needle will not work. I have not yet spoken to an actual doctor or the head nurse and had them agree to put me through needless pain. Especially when the option is yeah you can run the iv if you get it in but can't promise it'll keep it's integrity... hopefully it'll be intact if there's an emergency and if not I sure hope you don't have too much trouble running another with my shitty veins.
In Oz, I think if a nurse fails to get a vein after 3 tries they have to hand over to new nurse. Otherwise, I think they can be charged with assault. Even if you are understanding and not upset.
My Dad had a bracelet a Medical bracelet (for mostly his epilepsy) I believe you can get cards for your wallet that can give certain information also depending on what your condition is could a Med bracelet or card or both help them understand and look into a bit more before making a judgement call about you as a person?
The period blood in the sample reminds me of years ago. I had a bad kidney infection and went to my GP. He asked for a urine sample and when I handed it to him, there was so much blood in it, he asked me if I was on my period. I wasn't. His eyes went very big and after the infection cleared up he sent me for x-rays of my kidneys to make sure they were okay.
Here’s the comment I was looking for! I’ve had period-levels of blood in my urine sample for all three of UTI’s I’ve had. I didn’t get any of that follow-up, though.
I came in one time with a heart rate of 160bpm and the nurses refused to believe me that I was not on cocaine. They kept berating me “we are not going to be mad, we need to know, just tell us, we know you used!” I seriously have never used cocaine I seriously never had heart issues before and this made my heart rate spike more. Found out that day I have sinus tachycardia. That pissed me off.
Has happened to me to and wound up getting adenosine (sp?) Where the restart your heart with meds. NOT fun but yeah and there was nothing in my system and wound up on meds to control the sinus tachycardia. So irritating
I wonder what different treatment they'd provide according to if they believe you're actually on cocaine or not. Might as well take a test for cocaine instead of asking.
Yeah liers make things worse for people who don't do drugs, or who even just tell the truth. Like if I'm coming in all loopy for some kind of medication related crisis, I'm going to act drunk, high, maybe like I'm on meth. Depends on what the situation is. I might be suffering from a vitial deficiency of methylphenidate, depending on what the problem is. There have also been times when the stress of acute injury made me act loopy as well. Please just believe me when I say I know which drugs are in my system and which drugs should be. Same with pregnancy and saying "I'm not having sex" or "I'm not having sex that can result in pregnancy"
@@ssjess2504 I'm sorry that happened to you. Must have been scary as hell. Adenosine is used to treat episodes of supraventricular tachycardia if unable to be converted by basic/uninvasive measures.
Have you ever given a patient a hug? I remember having a very bad flair of a chronic condition that landed me in the ER and the PA felt so bad for me she gave me a hug and it made all the difference...
I had a resident console me better in 10 minutes than about 1 year of therapy with 5 different counselors. First time I had ever met her. She was going into family medicine. I told her I thought she may have chosen the wrong field 😆. Then I had a b**** of a lab tech laugh hysterically at me because of the scars on my arms while drawing my blood. I was so upset & angry that when I went to my car I cried for 10 minutes before I could compose myself. Some people are made for this profession. Others should just find another profession!
@@Jenna.Im.Just.Saying I’m sorry that your feelings were hurt, but the lab tech is obviously the one with the issues, not you. Imagine what a complete imbecile they are, and they have to live with their empty selves 24/7. I’d rather have scars than no soul.
When I was newly clean and sober I actually went to the social worker at a clinic to get urine drug screen. I wanted to make sure that my body had caught up with my mind in the sobriety. I was clean and I got a job. Thanks
Coming from someone in recovery, we often lie because we're afraid of being judged. I have had some reallyyyy bad experiences with medical staff treating me differently. I've also had amazing medical staff..it all depends.
In the past, I’ve had so many “gotcha!” interactions with police/first responders, and have even witnessed patient abuse by shitty doctors in the hospital. Steven is slowly restoring my faith in humanity by saying that (good) medical staff just wants you alive & healthy. Nothing less.
Yeah, i once went to the e.r. because my lungs filled with fluid. Breathing was excruciating and i was constantly so light headed i was regularly falling. I finally went to the e.r. when breathing was impossible and i thought i was dying. They asked if i had drugs in my system, i said heroin, and they immediately went from kindly to cold and stern. I practically had to beg for a chest x ray. They acted like i was being over dramatic over nothing. every breath felt like my chest was burning. After they saw my lungs were full of fluid, i asked for pain meds and a doctor told me that he knew i was in pain because my lungs were full of fluid and if i were anyone else, (ie not a junkie,)i would get pain meds, but with my history, he didn't feel comfortable giving me pain meds. Mind you, he wasn't talking about giving me a prescription for pain meds to leave the hospital with. He was refusing pain management IN the hospital ONLY. It was a treatment "anyone else" would have gotten. I wish that was the only horror story i had, it's far from the only one.
@@Skag_Sisyphus The reason they will not administer drugs to someone who is actively using is because it could kill them. And administering the drugs to someone in recovery could cause a relapse.
@@Skag_Sisyphus Wow, you should have known that they can't give you anything stronger than heroin which is already in your system. If they did, someone would constantly be by your side, to make sure that you are not overdosing. I know, it's a fucked up situation - especially when you were there because of your wind pipe, and heroin is slowing down your breathing anyway. I didn't write this up because I wanted to be rude, but because I had very similar situation. But they explained that to me. I hope you ok, take care.
As a former lab tech...please for the love of god, screw on the lid to the jar correctly (ie: straight). No one involved in that situation wants to have to "recollect" a sample. Steveioe love your vids!~
Yes! screw it shut, wash/wipe the outside of the jar, wrap it in paper towel, and ready it to be deposited in a secure bag for going to the lab. Nobody needs to deal with your urine, even if it's the lesser of all evils in an ER !
Our lab only wants the purple pods to give us cups because those cups don’t have needles. All other ER departments have cups with needles so they can easily transfer them into urinalysis kit tubes WITHOUT having to open the cups. These urinalysis tubes rarely ever “open” in the pneumatic tubing systems but half the times the cups do open causing a recollection. Yet the ER still send us cups and get upset we can’t do a culture on a biohazard bag filled with urine. We don’t want cups lol just give us the kits instead pleaseeee
OMG!!! I’m a lab tech and a ‘vampire,’ YES!!! I don’t know how many times we receive sample through the tube systems that the nurse’s collected but they didn’t screw the lids on right. So by the time it gets to us it’s all spilled out. Some of these samples are from babies and little kids too. Imagine having to recollect that. It literally takes three seconds to screw the lid on right!!
In Tennessee (USA), if the police bring you to the ED on suspicion of DUI, you either sign a special consent form for blood evidence collection, or your license is automatically suspended. The patient/suspect signature is witnessed by a second nurse. The evidence blood draw is a specific procedure different from the usual procedure (one part is clean draw site with a non-alcohol cleaning swab and let dry completely) using a specific blood evidence collection kit, and the blood is sent out to a state criminal lab for testing.
Thanks to videos like this and others done by medical professionals it has made it alot easier for me whenever I'm forced to go into the ER. I'm someone who's in their mid 30's but due to an undiagnosed medical condition I've been been very unwell for several years now with no real answers. I won't go to the ER unless I have to but now it's only because I don't want to waste my time. Where I live in Alberta, Canada we have a phone number you can call and they have a fully registered nurse available to speak to literally 24/7 who will ask you questions and tell you whether or not you firstly should be calling 911 or if not then will ask you several health related questions and determine based on those answers whether or not a hospital visit is required immediately or if it can wait for your doctor appointment. It's a wonderful service actually and saves alot of time if you think about it. Why be uncomfortable in a place full of sick people when you can stay in the comfort of your own home and find the place to go whether it be the ER,Urgent care, doctors office etc. Another point I want to say is thanks to videos like this it makes me feel alot more comfortable about myself,yes there are things I don't want others to see but guess what, your likely the only one who will even notice that you got a funny birth mark on your butt. If your not there for that funny birth mark then I'm pretty sure no one is gonna notice and if they do they are professionals and will not care about that spot unless it's medical. These are just my opinions but yes videos like this make me know I'm just like everyone else. Thanks
The fact that he can admit to not knowing everything as an ER tech just makes me smile. It's alright to not know everything. That's why there are books to read and colleagues to consult. I feel like everyone expect hospital staff to know everything. Been watching Steve for months now and he earned my wholehearted admiration today lol
I asked my then Primary Care Physician about skin irritation from vegetable-tanned leather versus chrome-tanned and he didn't even hesitate to tell me, "I don't know". My respect for him went up by two orders of magnitude with those three words.
All the drug questions and that patients lie reminded me of the following situation: I was at a party and got really heavy nose bleeding. In the beginning I just let it run out and tried the normal things to stop it. But when it didn’t stop after 30 minutes I requested the mother of a friend who came to pick her up to drive me to the ER. So we went there and she and her daughter came in with me. I still had really strong nose bleeding going on and started feeling dissy. The first thing they asked in the ER was what drugs we consumed. I said I haven’t taken drugs and not even drank alcohol but neighter the ER stuff or the mother of the friend believed me. So I had to do crazy test like stand on one leg and touch your nose and they were asking again and again for what drugs I had taken. They wasted like 30 more minutes to it so I was having nose bleeding for over an hour and also had alot if it going in my stomach. I passed out then. Turned out the next day I had an issue with my liver and very low thrombocytes that day and that was why it wouldn’t stop bleeding. So telling the truth and nobody believes you is really hard sometimes. The mother of the friend still believes to this day that we have taken drugs and just were to scared to tell😂
Speaking from a lab point of view that was dumb to make you do all those tests and everything. All they had to do was draw your blood and we would have know what, if any drugs you were on. Sorry they were being crazy for no reason!
Urine sample story time! I used to take meds that require bi-weekly blood samples to ensure that I was okay. One day the hospital calls me and asks if I'm okay. The guy on the phone seems very worried about me because my blood shows that I have a very bad infection. He is even more worries because I claim to be fine. I go see a doctor right away and she does all the test she can possible think of and is about to send me to the hospital to get MRIs and other fancy scans. Last thing before I leave she asks for a urine sample. Turns out I had an extreme case of UTI. Some of the other meds I took masked the symptoms. Turns out that it's very useful to give urine samples
Wanted to echo what a few others have said: I too am a minimizer. I was brought to the ER and parked in a corner. I don’t remember much cuz I kept passing out, but I do remember they kept drug testing me. They were confused since everything kept coming back negative. I was told that they were waiting on a bed for me in rehab. Rehab very quickly kicked me out when they found out that I really wasn’t on anything. It took falling down the stairs a few years later and being put on medication to realise that I had been in pain for years. Now it’s a struggle to find a physician to continue pain management. I’m back to passing out again and haven’t been able to walk for awhile. I have EDS, and want to work on strength but I haven’t been able to
I find it helps to be honest, patient and most importantly courteous. I used to go to the ER quite a lot here in Toronto General for my gout. Figured out that their objective is to get as many patients out per hour. Given I was low risk (as gout isn’t life threatening, albeit super painful), I knew that I’d have to wait quite a while. BUT! Because I was always courteous to the nurses and gout is an easy treatment (prescription for Indomethacin) they’d typically quickly put me on a bed in the hallway and have a doctor take a look at it real quick and prescribe me the meds. In-and-out in 10-30 mins. Much like manufacturing, their performance is based on how many patients they process per hour. Give the ER nurses a reason to prioritize you by being genuinely courteous and honest.
The "be courteous and be prepared" concept works with most jobs where people interact with the public, even those where the employees/organization aren't super into metrics. DMV employees, airline gate agents, and more... If you are courteous and show some sympathy or effort to be prepared, most will do what they can to help move you along and will often overlook minor things. If you're extremely rude, however, don't be surprised if you get hit with every possible charge/fee while you are made to wait, as they take as long as they need to.
I always appreciate a courteous patient but the idea of performance being based on how many patients we see per hour is very much false lol. The only time timing matters is for certain conditions like stroke or heart attack because every second counts as cells die rapidly. Our only goal in ER is to quickly assess and treat life threatening emergencies as fast as possible. If you’re there for something that can be taken care of by a GP or urgent care you will be sitting for a very long time. You never want to be seen first in an emergency room because that means you are literally dying. Gout is very painful but is a chronic condition that should be managed by a family doctor and lifestyle changes and routine medication with an as needed prescription for indomethacin. Colchicine is a routine med that can prevent flairs on top of limiting foods that increase risk of flairs. I’m not sure how it work in Canada but in the US urgent care centers can easily treat gout and don’t clog up the emergency medical system.
@@frankied.roosevelt6232 ?? We all know that he quit because TH-cam and tiktok took off. He *worked* in the ER as an ER tech. I think that's enough qualification to make funny videos on social media.
LND nurse(retired) here. We had a patient who stayed home with a worsening UTI while waiting the three days to clear her meth. She almost died. Seriously, I had to send her to the ICU for a week. Don’t do that. Come in fully loaded. PleAse.
Steve this is my absolute favorite video you’ve ever made. So informative and non judgmental. Thank you and please keep them coming. I wasn’t even aware we could ask you questions. Much else that you would answer them. Good to know.Thanks again.
I can't help but notice the doors behind you. I love them! When I went with my friend's gf to her cardiologist appointment & she started lying (saying she didn't smoke), I corrected her & said "She smokes cigarettes, she vapes, and she smokes marijuana". She was angry, but I told her she needed to be honest with the doctors bc they needed to know. She has a very hard time answering questions and I have to help her fill out forms. She's really really dumb. People who lie to doctors piss me off. It makes those of us who are honest have a harder time. If I even think I got something on the outside of the canister I wash the outside (with the lid securely on) and dry it and keep a paper towel around it just in case. I had a situation in the ER where I told the truth & some of the staff believed I was lying but one nurse believed me & apologized to me for how I was being treated (and by treated, I mean how they were condescending, rude & dismissive-- they never even examined me or provided any medical treatment- I ended up leaving after 4-1/2" hours & having a doctor tell me that I needed to admit that I wasn't really having chest pains or they'd kick me out). I've had blood get into a urine sample when I had to give one during a heavy period. I wiped myself down & even used tp to plug myself up a bit but it still came out. I told them I was having a heavy period at the time (this wasn't for an ER visit though). My friend's gf was getting UTIs & vaginal infections bc no one ever taught her to wipe front to back-- and she's in her 20s and had a baby by that point. I had to explain it to her.
I went to ER with extremely bad stomach pains the nurse called me a drug addict and insisted I was there to get drugs I left still in pain a couple days go by and the pain gets worse so I went to another er at first they didn’t believe me until a blood test came back and decided to keep me over night next thing I know I’m going into surgery and then emergency surgery because my appendix burst. I get some people go to the er to get drugs but some of us are actually in pain I never got into weed let alone drugs I don’t even drink
Its no fun when your pain is not taken seriously. I get a lot of pain. Have chronic pain problems so have had to learn to tolerate what would send a lot of prople to the ER.
I’ve done many urine samples and once I had to pee while on my period. No one told me I had to keep the blood separate from the pee so I just handed it in with the blood. It’s not like we can control the blood that comes out of our body. We can’t make sure only pee comes out🤦🏼♀️
From what I understand, normal periods don't bleed heavily enough to be a problem for the short time you are giving the urine sample. Wiping thouroughly is enough. If yours are heavy enough to interfere with that, its not a normal period. Something I had to learn..
@@ashenivy3014 It depends on the person and what day of the period it is. Some people naturally have heavier flow and day 2 and 3 are going to be the heaviest days. Wiping thoroughly is NOT enough for millions of women with perfectly healthy periods.
1) urine exits the body via a different opening than menstrual fluid. (It’s surprising how many people do not know this) 2) every time I have had to give a urine sample… there has been instructions posted about thoroughly cleaning the labia before beginning to pee
Yeah, it’s pain- And that’s why you do your very darned hardest to keep that blood away from it- I’m saying this having done this. Period, got annoyed and wanted to make sure I wasn’t bleeding from my urethra or anything like that, went ham on the cleaning of the blood and finally realised it was red because I was on my period, not internal bleeding. Hopefully there wasn’t internal bleeding- I also noticed I needed more water. Just simple tests for the everyday person. It’s easy to tell that bloody urine is not normal (unless you’re on your period then it’s harder). More opaque urine means more hydration is needed.
I've had the same. It was for a UTI which I also have blood in my pee when I get those. So prob didn't matter much. Good to know this info and try the best we can. Maybe some different angling on the toilet, lol!
I really appreciate this video, it helped me to understand one of my more unpleasant experiences at the ER. I was having a migraine and they asked me if I was pregnant, and I said no, and then they took a urine sample and gave me a pregnancy test anyway, without telling me why. Since I've had issues with doctors in the past (sexual harassment, being not believed, not receiving appropriate care), this small thing felt really upsetting and like a loss of bodily autonomy at the time. Understanding that they probably did it in anticipation of a doctor asking for one later, rather than from a place of just assuming I was lying, really helps me to contextualize what happened there.
Probably at least half of women who are early in pregnancy will have NO idea they are pregnant, and they have to know if you are pregnant BEFORE treating you because so many things they might want to do to treat you (lots of medications) could cause birth defects if given to a pregnant person. So their lawyers tell them they have to test all women of child-bearing age before treatment, they can't just take your word for it. Consequently, I assumed that I was going to get a pregnancy test with every urine sample, right up until I was in full menopause (done bleeding for a whole year or more). It has nothing to do with them not believing you, it is just standard practice for all women and teenage girls.
I love your sense of humor. I wish the nurses who do the prep for the ER visits and the outpatient procedures had it too! Some do. Having worked as an OB-GYN volunteer in military regional hospitals we did everything a med-rech does, except injections. We would normally see hundreds of patients in a single day. I think humor can and often does play a role in a positive medical visit. If I can't laugh with my doctor it's not a good sign. Not long ago I had a medical consult with a vascular surgeon regarding the existence of a fairly rare genetic mutation or not. As a writer, I usually do a lot of research on unfamiliar stuff. So he asked me the purpose of my visit and I launched. He got a funny look on his face but didn't interrupt. I just explained what I had learned and that now I needed his expertise. He grinned a big grin and said, "when you want something, you really get after it, don't you?" and we both laughed. About a month later, tests confirmed the gene mutation and another rare condition that is considered a birth defect. So, we have the best communication anyone could ask for, and I get to laugh it up with his entire staff. The Beachboys had a song called Good Vibrations! Yeah, they were visionaries before their time, cause that's what it's all about, good vibrations with your doc and his people! Thanks for another super post!
I was in the ER one night with my mother (uncontrolled nose bleed caused her a major spike in her blood pressure). She was a recently retired sheriff's deputy at the time. There was a drunk and disorderly patient in another room and he was really loud and somewhat entertaining. The ER staff was so patient with him. She told me funny stories of having to deal with drunks during her career and we had some laughs that night. I also came away with mad respect for the people who work in the ER!
I had that period pee issue. I was in a car accident and they took a urine sample and there was blood in it because I had just gotten my period like that second in the ER. So then they thought I had internal bleedeing and catheterized me to get a clean sample right from my bladder which I did not enjoy. And of course they cut my favorite Amherst sweatshirt off of me. I broke my jaw in 3 places and snashed up my teeth. Good memories.
Lab tech here - yes we can usually tell someone has a kidney/urinary infection based on the chemistry and microscope results. We can also see crystals which sometimes correlate with stones. Also please dry the outside of the cup and make sure the lid is actually tight and not cross threaded so it doesn't leak and either make a mess of the transport system or leak all of it on the bag and potentially contaminate it with the wrong bacteria so the culture would be inaccurate, or there's nothing left and you have to recollect.
A friend took her son (underage) to the ER one night because he had come home with a bizarre change in behavior. He was wailing out loud and pounding his head against the floor, saying bizarre things. She told the staff what he had admitted to her, that he had tried dabs for the first time. The staff kept him there until they were sure nothing else was going on and sent them home once he had calmed down. No police.
@@Scotty-vs4lf nope. Unless you’re doing something that’ll put you/someone else in danger, a doctor legally cannot share anything you say to them unless they have a document of your written consent. Don’t worry👍🏼
Lab tech here! To answer your question - yes, there are often signs in the urine when the UTI is in the kidneys! They won't always demonstrate, but when the signs are there, we know. Something called white cell casts are a key indicator. More info - Blood contamination from periods can be a problem, but is sometimes unavoidable. At a lot of sites, if the lab and the doctor know that blood contamination is possible we'll interpret accordingly. Doctor may ask for a new sample in a couple of days if required. We need a minimum of 10 mL of urine if you want accurate urinalysis. 10-40 mL is ideal, depending on what tests the doctor wants.
Dude! I just wanna say I have a LOT of anxiety when I go to the ER. You videos have helped me get over that and approach everything with a sense of humor. Thank you!
Edit to add an important message: don’t lie to the doctor about what you are on, things move much faster! Yes they can tell you you have a kidney infection from urine. And always put a paper towel around your sample no one wants to touch your pee. After kidney issues, infertility treatment, 7 pregnancies (only two live births), now a chronic pain patient I’ve given so many urine and blood samples I’m like a pro. I think health class in school should teach what a clean catch is. So when you hear it the first time it’s not a shock.
Women in particular are not given instruction and support nearly enough. I can’t imagine how much excess antibiotic is prescribed from contaminated urine samples. Urine cups aren’t aren’t any cheaper than something engineered better. Just a lazy patriarchal system.
YASSS finally someone says it. Like bro you have a hot dog ofc 'just aiming' is easy for you.. not so mucn your non-hot dog having viewers. I always have to ask for the boat you put in the toilet set because I aiming is difficult.
When I had a massive kidney infection, it was a combination of urine and lightly tapping on the kidney area of my back that told the doctors that I had a very, very bad kidney infection.
I just went to the ER for kidney stones - and your series helped me a lot. Urine sample, sure. Gotta wait an hour or two, yessir. Tell the truth? No problemo
I have had multiple kidney stones. The last time I went in with one I told them exactly what was wrong and they still needed a urine sample. No problem. The problem came when they lost the sample I had originally given and they asked for another one. Those that have had kidney stones can tell you, it is almost impossible to pee, so that second sample was like torture. Thankfully, I had my husband’s grandmother there who was advocating for me. I highly recommend having an advocate with you if at all possible in an er situation, outside of covid circumstances.
At a particular hospital visit, I asked them to give me 20mins for a urine sample. They decided I needed a catheter. 🤬 I would rather die than go back to that hospital. 🤬
I make them often. I've laid there in pain for hours because they forgot to do a pregnancy test so I can't have a CT until they know. Guys, just ask. Or check my chart. I've had a tubal and an ablation. There is nothing implanting in this uterus. Ever.
One time I went to the ER after drinking a little (turned out I did have a UTI) but I was kind of drunk. When the person asked how many drinks I had I said “15” and the doctor looked at me like 🤨 no you didn’t. You’d be dead/unconscious. 2. I had 2 drinks. Thanks to my friend for confirming. But I insisted it was 15 drinks 😶
I love that you are answering all of these questions this way I recently retired from the medical field people just don't get it we're not the enemy we're not the ones that are there judge and jury thank you for doing such a fine job explaining things
Steeeeeeve!!!!!! I have been working in a So-Cal hospital/trauma center/locked psych unit for the past 4 years on the non-clinical side, specifically the support team who has to go in there with you guys, wrestle the dope heads, and restrain the weirdo’s. I fucking love your videos bro because they’re the god damn truth. You don’t bull shit any of your answers and you’re supper informative to the people who don’t know how ED’s are ran behind the scenes. I have nothing but love for you and what you do. Keep up the great work and I hope you keep succeeding. I’m currently going through a terrible traumatic episode and keep finding my way to your videos for comfort and laughter because I can relate to your experiences so much. I can honestly say you may have been a part of saving my life when I was deeply down these past few weeks, ever since the incident occurred. I’m doing a lot better now, again, partially thanks to you. looking forward to the next video. Keep’em coming!!! Much love and respect to you! Keep those B-52’s on standby 😂 Love ya man! 👊🏻
You work with psych patients & refer to them as dope heads & weirdos?? JFC Heaven help your patients. Maybe time for some self reflection or a career change if that's how you refer to human beings with mental illness & substance dependency.🤦🏽
@@1970Mom Do you currently or have you ever worked in a hospital? Do you see what we see? Do you cope well with trauma, are you the one who gets bodily fluids thrown at you because a drug addicts is pissed a concerned citizens called 911 for them due to an O.D resulting in a narcan wake up? We cope, uplift and support each other in a joking way. If you’re so sensitized by my comment then I don’t think this channel is for you. Learn to laugh and stop dwelling in your thoughts because clearly snd honestly I don’t give a shit what you think or say. Until you walk in our healthcare boots then you’ll be relevant. But until then you can keep sitting in that sad little corner you’re in.
@@Concertspectator😂😂 Ohhhh sweeetheart. 😂You are soooo out of your league right now. Yes. Yes. & YES sweet cheeks. 30+YEARS as a RN. ER. ICU. L/D. Peds. Psych. I've had patients from premies-100+ yrs old & every diagnosis imaginable. Been cursed at. Bitten. Knocked to the ground chunk of hair pulled out & grapefruit size BLACK bruise on my stomach from a direct kick. Spit at. Peed on. Puked on. Ass grabbed. Breast grabbed. Verbal threats that escalated to outside of employment. Witnessed/broken up physical assaults between patients & family members. Harassed & badgered by persons in withdrawl. Anything else???? Yes. Yes. & YES. & ALL patients ARE STILL deserving of RESPECT. They ARE NOT "dope heads", they have substance addictions/dependencies. They ARE NOT weirdos. They have MENTAL ILLNESSES. Granted many people are just fricken AHoles. That has NOTHING to do with their illnesses. If a hcw thinks of their patients as "weirdos" & "dope heads", it's time to GTF OUT of healthcare. ALL PERSONS deserve competence & compassion from those they are seeking care from. Judgment needs to be checked when a hcw accepts responsibility for a person's care & well-being. The original comment showed a TOTAL disrespect for patients as persons with ILLNESSES
@@lunacouer Absolutely. I don't think that kid even holds a license or is a legitimate Mental Health Tech. Professionals understand mental illness & dependency issues. A dose of reality & accountability seems to have put him in his place. Please don't let comments like that keep you from seeking out mental health care, ESPECIALLY when in a crisis. Even with our most difficult & trying patients, have I EVER seen or heard of a mental health worker like that loser❤
One of my favorite stories is when my friend who broke her leg told the E.R. she only had 2 beers because we were underage and I flat out told her "Stop lying, they don't care." and told the nurses she went shot for shot with someone and probably had closer to 20.
I was an ER tech for like 4 years and your videos bring back the good ole days and make me laugh because they are soooooooooo true! Thank you Steveioe!
I think the period blood in the urine sample is quite valid. I'd much rather be cathed now than told hours from now that my sample was contaminated and I have to start over.
Re: smoking cigarettes and urine sampling, the person asking the question ought to know that although the ER doesn’t test for nicotine, insurance companies might. If you’re applying for insurance and undergoing a medical for it, your urine will be tested for nicotine. If there is nicotine in your urine, you’ll pay smoker rates that are significantly higher than non-smoker rates. Yet another good reason to quit! 😀
I remember I went to the hospital for an allergic reaction the day after I got back from EDC Las Vegas. The doctors were so funny because when the question, “have you drank any alcohol or done any drugs the past week” came up I stone face was like “Look. I just got back from Vegas. The answer you’re looking for is definitely” And they sauntered out of the room, I know they were stifling laughs.
FYI....Feel comforted and confident trusting the workers at the hospital each and every time you are BEING HONEST AND TRUTHFUL with them 😁 ...even if they are suspicious that you're lying to them, tests will prove you haven't been false and then their pre-judgement of you won't matter whatsoever anymore. A good rule of thumb is to ALWAYS be forthcoming and disclose all information as it pertains to your health, anytime you are dealing with a medical professional.
I'm also a lab tech. For police to get a copy of drug test, they MUST have a court order. Most of the time, drug test is to help with treatment and keep from drug interactions. And yes, smoking cigarettes can be detected in the urine for about 72 hour to a week depending on how much you smoke. As for blood in the urine, there's often a small amount of blood cells in the urine even when not on menstrual cycle. Usually unless there are other values that are elevated, it's usually nothing to worry too much about.
Kidney infection answer: personal experience- I came into the er with back pain that was unbearable that morning, it was an ongoing issue for 4 weeks, but that morning I had numbness and just felt awful. Went to the er, told them everything including I like my wine.. urine and blood tests, ct scan, X-ray.. they said I had a uti and gave me antibiotics, they helped a little but after two weeks the pain was bad again, but they had given me a follow up Dr to call, went in for more blood work.. I had a bilateral kidney infection (both kidneys) and they gave me a super antibiotic and after a week all better.. use that follow up number if you are still in pain!!
For kidney infections we can sometimes tell. One of the things the lab will look for are things called casts, casts are just a build-up of protein that when it releases catches anything else that was in the nephrons with it. Casts can be normal but if we find white blood cells in the casts we then know that what otherwise looks like a normal UTI is actually a kidney infection.
I've had that happen to me, the ER nurse told me they couldn't tell whether the infection had travelled to the kidneys and they just gave me antibiotics, the pain went and I haven't had any since. But I still never found out what it really was.
I actually really like this video. The shorts are definitely entertaining, but these videos are actually quite interesting and educational as well. Would be nice to see longer videos like these!
I love that you're doing this! Minus the part where you tell people vulvas to aim when peeing as if it's a super easy thing to dooo... But wanting to help people better understand and be more comfortable with processes that happen in the ER is wonderful and much needed. Especially, if you have an history of medical professionals not really doing right by you (not listening, brushing what you say off as nothing, denying something is wrong when you know there is, etc.), which is a whole nother problem on its own. I've loved learning from your entertaining videos but taking the time to answer questions is help that is unfortunately considered a luxury and I just really want to thank you for doing that. It can help people be a little more prepared in the moment instead of filled with anxiety that their in a haze and not fully comprehend what's happening, what to do/say, etc.
I agree that aiming is not that easy as a female, but I have to give urine samples regularly at work and always pee into the jar. I think only once I had to dry the outside (and rinsed and dried it at the sink later). Just dont hold it too far away and don't put to much pressure while peeing
i agree but somehow i have managed to figure it out mostly for me anyway, i start going and see where about its going lol, then pause and move the cup in place without shifting my body
I literally found out last week that we can ask for "The Hat". It sits on top of the bowl, you pee into that, and then you can pour it into the cup. Best. Thing. Ever.
Kidney infection detected in a urine sample? The results can definitely point to a kidney infection when used with other tests and physical exam. Cultures done on the urine can identify which infection causing agent is present and what drugs can be used to treat it.
Most ER’s will automatically send for culture and drug sensitivity if results meet a certain criteria. If the practitioner orders a urine culture we always set them up. From just a urinalysis we can tell you have an infection and even a possible kidney stone.
Yeah, for a differential diagnosis, you'd need a culture and to look for casts in urine, among other things. But when it's there, it's like a huge with blinking neon lights kind of obvious.
Well yes, if the urine sample has blood, white blood cells and a high protein content (as well as the casts mentioned by another commenter), then this can indicate that the kidney filtration processes can be affected due to a kidney infection. A culture just tells you what type of bacteria its is, but there are other indicators of where the blood is coming from. The urine test is a great starting point, because sending up a scope through the urethra is more invasive, painful, and may not be necessary.
I love your tips from the ER, theyre very informative. And you make it seem hilarious, but seriously its telling us how it works. Ive taken many urine samples now its easy, but I use soap and water to clean up. Great job- keep those up.
Fun story! I was in the ER once for abdominal pain and was given morphine. Apparently, the nurse didn't document it. The next day, I had a doctor interventioning me about my opioid addiction.... He didn't seem to believe that I didn't have an addiction and made some excuse of "taking into account" the morphine I was given the night before. So I got my medical records out of curiosity and yep, the morphine was never documented :)
Sounds like you had the same doc I did.😂...Went to the ER because my throat was swollen and I couldn't even drink water... So after the doc left the nurse came in with a few Vicodin... I was like how TF am I supposed to take those when I can't swallow water... and why am I being given pain pills for my issue....so the nurse took the pills back..I walk to the door in time to see the doctor munch them down..he said its not like anyone will miss em....😂
Nothing but mad RESPECT for nurses and hospital staff everywhere. I have spent too much of my life in the ER. If I have to go in I’m aware I’m waiting, I’m super respectful, I’m honest and I try to make it as painless as possible.
I was in the ER a few months back (car accident, I was mostly fine but went to be safe) and had to give a urine sample. They gave me some packs of alcohol wipes to clean up the outside of the cup after. It was nice because I didn't feel as bad for handing over something dirty afterward.
1) honestly we don’t care what recreational drugs comes back in your urine. It takes much more than that to get us at all emotionally invested. We see a ton of shit in the ED we can’t afford to spend emotional dollars on toxicology results. 2) yes, nicotine can be detected in urine. It is not part of our standard testing in the ED. So, unless there is some sort of medical emergency relating to the nicotine content of your urine we aren’t going to test for it in the ED. Long story short we aren’t testing for nicotine… like ever.
And if the question was about weed. Then normally it stays in your system for 30 days. Now that does vary depending on your about of body fat. Because that's where it stores.
I found your channel while I was down with Covid. It was pretty serious but at least I wasn’t in the hospital. I was scrolling through the little short videos and came across one of yours- and I was hooked. I looked forward to whatever you would post the next day and even went and watched your earlier stuff. You brought the human side to hospitals and illness and got me through 3 weeks of hell. If I ever do end up in another ER, I hope there’s a bad ass tech like you on staff. Keep ‘em coming Steveioe! Lots of love from sunny Cocoa Beach, Florida! 😍
Steve, I love your videos. I've also been hospitalized for an infected intestinal blockage. (seven days) Told them straight out I was seriously, not mildly stoned due to the issues. They gave me morphine the moment the tests came back. (Bless them) They told me that weed didn't matter and went on about their business. (Large amounts of antibiotics /IV, fluids, anti-inflammatories.) The first sign, days later, was the largest, loudest fart on RECORD. It sounded like two dinosaurs battling and playing on a megaphone. The nurses heard it AT THE HALL DESK and came in to congratulate me! LOL I seriously thought they were going to find parts of my body on the walls. I so appreciated them caring for me and sharing the laugh despite my embarrassment. They said it was a very good sign. I was afraid to ask what came NEXT. We know. But I walked out of there after four days like a new person. AND had my teeth repaired so I could actually CHEW efficiently. Poor dental care can lead to other issues!
My question is why are most people with fibromyalgia labeled as frequent flyers? The pain is excruciating and i feel like I'm not even cared for properly because they assume I'm there for meds i don't need. If an ibuprofen and Tylenol would stop the pain I'm in why would I come to you? My migraines get so bad at times i have to get tropophyol (SP?) Injections. I feel like they think I'm faking it when I'm not
I completely understand I came in because I had excruciating pain from my gallbladder that contained several Gaul stones so horrible I needed morphine and Percocet. The number of nurses that gave me a look😑… I was in pain so horrible postpartum not there for drugs
Every hospital system is different, but the one I work at specifically flags ANYONE who's been in an urgent care or other ER in the city in the last week, and we can also look up the basic reason for all previous visits to emerg/urgent care since computers were used and it helps us determine potential patterns (e.g. multiple visits for overdose and now here for alertered LOC, or multiple visits for gallstones, might be time to explore surgical options, etc.)
The ER’s are only looking for IMMEDIATE life or death EMERGENCIES. I’m not saying you in general are “abusing” the ER because i don’t know your story. Like Steve said, their main priority is to make sure you’re healthy, breathing and alive. I would suggest you to follow up with your PCP. If you don’t have one, you can always google some near you depending on your insurance coverage/plan. You have to remember that medicine is also science a trial and error. Just because one medicine doesn’t work another may. Also, ED’s recently have been very limited and strictly regulated by the DEA on the Narcotics they can order/prescribe. If someone is a “frequent flyer”(again not you specifically) they tend to usually stick to the Tylenol/Motrin orders with water and a turkey sandwich. Just be patient in the ER’s as i’m sure you know they can be frustrating , especially when you’re in deep pain. Some doctors and Nurses have multiple other patients they have to tend to as well as catching up on charting and completing orders. I hope you find the peace you’re looking for and the help you need. Just my 2-cents of working in a hospital for the last 4 years
@@kaileyveitch353 "Multiple visits for gallstones"? How..? What..? I had an attack in April. I was in the ER on a Friday, and in a surgery consult Monday. My gallbladder was removed by early May/within 2 weeks. I was told that I could DIE from another gallstone attack; either from gangrene or sepsis. I'm so confused. Why..How can people go on after the first severe attack?!?
Regarding the period one٫ even if we clean ourselves there's still going to be blood mixed in. It's not something we can avoid. Is there ever a situation where we can wait till the end of our period or do something so they don't think there's actually blood inside?
I can only give my input as a med tech and female myself. Like you said it’s not completely unavoidable but if you clean very well and do a midstream catch the amount of blood in the urine will be very small since the urine is coming out through the urethra so as long as you cleaning the opening well it should be ok. Now for chemistry exams like drug screens etc. We spin down the urine in a centrifuge so it doesn’t affect those tests at all. For the actual urinalysis part where we quantify RBC and WBC and any other significant structures the RBC count may be falsely high but if you let your provider know they will know that’s the cause. If the increase RBC is due to damage to the kidneys you will see other structures like cast with RBC which is not found in period blood. There are also a bunch of other chemistry tests that can be done too to definitively diagnose kidney damage and such. It’s only when the urine is sooo bloody it looks like peripheral blood do we cancel. And if they suspect uti and can’t recollect in these causes we can just perform a culture. Hope this helps.
It’s not a big deal. Clean the best you can and let the nurse know you’re on your period. If a super clean urine is needed, often it’s not, we can do a straight cath. If we suspect kidney stones, we’ll probably do a CT or ultrasound or even an XR or if you’ve had them before and this feels the exact same, then we’ll probably just treat.
About the lying thing, I went into the ER reporting serious dizziness, motor function issues (I had problems walking) aaand it was St Patrick's Day. They ask me "How much have you had to drink and have you taken anything?" And I hadn't and told them so. They give me this serious look and say 'we're going to take a blood test, it's going to be fast and everything shows up, is there anything you want to tell us." They came back really pleasantly surprised, informed me that I wasn't pregnant and worked really closely with me to figure out what was going on. It was BPPV aaand it's still a problem every now and then.
Hey Steven I Love your comedy skits, but I’m really enjoying the more serious topics, or at least in a more serious & educational manner! Love Your Talent!
I was having a seizure and they asked for a urine sample and thats how we found out i had a massive uti that couldve spread to my kidneys. Still wondering abt that seizure tho
You said that you had a massive UTI. I've had some myself. I know that they can cause somebody to have a fever. In some cases fevers can cause people to go into a seizure.
@@ohionative5237 yep in certain cases patients who are at risk of developing sepsis can have seizures, so maybe it was something like that. Infection can get out of hand quite quickly if it gets a foothold.
When my niece had a uti with a fever. When her fever was high, she started seizing. We had to stick ice packs around her still she stopped seizing. We also had to give her long cold baths. The only way she would stay in the cold bath, was if I stayed in there with her. She'd scream the entire time. To make it funny, I'd scream with her.
Were you an adult or a young child when this "seizure" activity occurred? Febrile seizures is a condition that is outgrown in childhood. Adults DO NOT have febrile seizures. kidney infections can cause high fevers accompanied by severe chills, but not seizure activity. ANY NEW seizure activity in an ADULT MUST be worked up.
I was in the ER because I was losing consciousness, couldn’t stay awake. I was on opana for pain, and they kept asking if I’d snorted it. I kept saying no, but they wouldn’t believe me & kept asking. (I don’t think it’s even possible to snort opana). They finally found out my Pdoc had me on too-high doses of gabapentin and trileptal. I reduced the dosages myself, and I stopped going into comas. I’d also had seizures from it, as well as transient paralysis of my legs, which went away.
Hi there from a retired ER nurse. My favorite UA story is the guy that came in with severe flank pain, said he was passing a kidney stone. Hints that he just wanted drugs = #1. He said he had to pee right now . Usually it's hard to get a urine sample from someone in excruciating pain. #2. His urine was pink with sediment. Usually the blood in urine from a kidney stone is microscopic. I sent the UA, started a line and gave one dose of IV morphine. Then the lab called me and asked me if I had mislabeled the sample. I described how it had looked and asked what the problem was. The lab tech said there was menstrual blood in the urine. We figured out he had brought in a used tampon and did the vampire's tea bag thing with his urine. Dr. basically threw him out of the ER. Love your stories!
I once had an ER doc who assumed I was lying about how syrup meds affect me(i can't hold it down) and brought me syrup medicine. Mom made me try it. I was there for vomiting and diarrhea. I puked before a second even passed after I swallowed. He said "you were right" and got me a pill that stayed put. He tried to discharge me before I was even rehydrated. He didn't even give a diagnosis and treated the symptoms. But my mom was mad and scared him into letting me rehydrate before he sent me home. I hate small town hospitals cuz they don't have the money it takes to even be a decent hospital. I'll drive halfway cross the state if I have to just to go to a big city hospital that has the right equipment to help me.
Omg,I just love your videos,you've got a great sense of humor,and a wonderful attitude.The content is informative and presented in funny way that still allows you to get across the point of view you're showing.You're pretty awesome sir!
I just wanted to thank you for explaining how to take a urine sample you have no idea. I was about to reschedule a whole medical test for my visa application, thank you so much.
Yes, they can usually tell if you have a kidney infection from a urine test. My husband had all the symptoms of a kidney infection - fever, kidney pain, trouble with urination - but the urine sample came back negative so they had no treatment. Turned out it was covid 19. Such a bizarre disease.
As a nurse that has had countless UTIs muself, they can tell if you have a UTI via urine test, but takes further tests to determine for sure if it's just the ureter, bladder, or has traveled all the way to your kidneys.
With the sip test comment, my mum shared a story from when she had student nurses training under her. She had a couple urine samples in her hand and one cup that was apple juice (labelled so she could see it) She was talking them through the process etc and then said “we then do a quick taste test.” Sipping at the apple juice. A student thought this was legit and threw up everywhere 🤣
My spouse works at LPCH (Stanford University's kids hospital) and when he was in school he worked as an orderly in an ER in MN, we both just discovered your channel. So damn funny, yet so damn true. Your presentation is priceless!!
Ok, so I can weigh in on the giving a urine sample while on your period part. I have personal experience with this. I went in for abdominal pain & they initially thought it was appendicitis. It turned out to be ovarian cysts & my horrific uterus. In order to have no contamination to the urine sample (b/c a lab tech already commented on that...Thanks for that, Xemira Hobyless!), the ER staff will actually wipe you off & give you a catheter to collect your sample. That will stay with you until they dont need a sample anymore or they dont need to do a full bladder procedure (in my case it was an ultrasound & yes, they put warm saline in the opposite way that it would come out & then clamped it off until the ultrasound was done.) .
I once went to the ER with neck pain. I couldn’t hold my head straight. I’ve had a sore neck before from sleeping in a bad position, but it usually goes away in a day or two, and this wasn’t going away. I just wanted to check that nothing was seriously wrong with me, and I said that to the MD. She seemed to think I was looking for drugs. Me, who barely takes a Tylenol unless I really have to! She wasn’t very nice about it, either! At least they checked my neck out and decided I just had a bad sprain. Which made me less nervous.
Thank you everyone working so hard to keep people safe and healthy. I can’t imagine how exhausted you must be mentally and physically. You are appreciated. And thank you Steven for managing to put out these funny but informative videos ❤️
I love your humor….priceless! Thank you for this video. I love how educational it is and encouraging others to share their insights. I also think you did a great job of calming peoples nerves…if you need a health professional, come to the e.r., that’s what we are here for.
My 18-yr old son went in to the ER in severe pain and the staff seemed to think he just wanted pain meds for recreational use. His appendix had ruptured.😡
Question: What is THE single most common reason people end up in the ER? I would assume cutting your finger really bad while chopping vegetables or sudden severe chest pains but I have no idea.
I think it depends on where you are. I work in a hospital that has two types of people in the area: the fabulously wealthy and the destitute. Everyone gets the same treatment. Unless a bone is protruding, you get offered Tylenol (but better drugs are coming, when you're diagnosed with a kidney stone - which is done really quickly). Turns out anyone can be seeking pain drugs. Our big complaints range from uncontrolled vomiting to suicide attempts, to sprains/strains/simple fractures, to pregnancy tests. Yes, people keep showing up in the ER for a REALLY expensive and time consuming pregnancy test that they could have just taken at home or at any women's health clinic for free. Some people have more money than sense, I guess. Around the holidays, people showed up with fake COVID symptoms to get a COVID test so that they could go to a family event maskless and get COVID. I guess scheduling COVID tests is for losers. Just like wearing masks.
@@meganm1690 where I work, they call them MVCs: motor vehicle collisions. No one wanted to speculate on the nature of said collisions, so the word "accident" was removed - in case it was intentional, I guess. We're a Level 1 trauma center, so our most popular traumas, according to the trauma pager is "fall," followed by "MVC," followed by the ever-popular "penetrating," followed by the mysterious "other." We pay attention to the systolic pressure and the Glascow coma scale numbers to give us a clue as to the severity if the ER decides to leave us in the dark (I'm in the Blood Bank).
I have been to the ER where the tech was doing her absolute best and things were freaking crazy. The poor thing completely forgot to ask for a urine sample, and I'm actually used to giving one. As she was leaving I was like, "don't you need a urine sample?" The poor thing was grabbing a cup and practically throwing it at me (to be fair, a major emergency had just come in, and things were SUPER busy, which I totally understand). I don't even remember what I was in there for, I just remember how busy it was and how hard the poor tech was working.
Regarding the question about the kidney infection, I've had one that was diagnosed in the ER with a urine test. I think it was all the blood and probably white blood cells in the urine in conjunction with back pain at the level of the kidneys that helped them figure it out. BTW, Pyelonephritis (kidney infection) hurts!
Story time! I have a really unusually high tolerance for pain. When I am in pain I tend to get really quiet and stoic about it. Went to the ER with severe flank pain. They asked me for the pain number. I said 9, and continued to sit quietly, because that's what I do. I have a BIG personality. If I'm quiet, something is wrong, but they don't know that. I think they decided that I was just there because I was an addict that wanted a shot of painkiller. I sat quietly for 6 hours. I went to the bathroom several times, and threw up because pain makes me nauseous too, but I never made a peep. When they had seen everyone else in the ER including the 16 year old cheerleader with a bruised knee from falling off the human pyramid, they finally took me back to the CT scanner, and found the TEN MILLIMETER KIDNEY STONE. At that point they fell all over themselves to get a shot into my arm, and got very apologetic about how long i had to sit and suffer. 🤣 They asked why I didn't complain more. I said "You guys were busy." They were super extra nice the rest of the time I was there
I understand being ignored for pain. 13yrs undiagnosed for multiple very painful conditions. I just had disc replacement and spinal fusion 3 weeks ago and the surgeon said the disc was completely obliterated and the hospital physio was in shock saying I must have a super high pain threshold. I just felt like I was finally proven right for being ignored for so long (I had other ppl for years telling me the pain was all in my head and need to meditate) so yeah sometimes I guess put on the theatrics if they're not listening
Omg this story was riveting. I feel terrible that you had to go through that haha
Wow. I wear my illnesses like clothing. If I'm sick, there is no hiding it. I was on the floor of my apartment throwing up into a basin, in a great deal of pain, when my husband got home and panicked and called an ambulance. I told him not to. The ambos got there and asked me if I wanted a shot of morphine, I said, 'No, I'm allergic, it will just make me throw up more.' My husband said, 'Give her the shot'... and they did. I told them, I'm just passing a gall stone. They brought me to the ER, put me on a gurney, took my temperature, drew blood and left me to pass the stone, which I did. When the doctor said they weren't admitting me and I seemed fine now and I could go home, I realised, I was alone, no phone, no purse. It would have been faster to just walk the couple of kilometres home, because my husband seemed to forget about me. I had to borrow a phone to call him and when he finally picked up, it still took him almost 2 hours to come get me. He's now my ex-husband.
@@TheAccidentalViking wow. That's horrifying. The most horrifying part is the medics injected you with a drug you told them you were allergic to. I'm glad it turned out OK for you in the end
I had my kidney stone during flu season and had to wait for the staff to get to me. I was 21 and “too young to go to the ER for the flu” because I was throwing up from the pain and shaking like I had a fever. The triage nurse was the least compassionate person and treated me like crap. When the doctor finally saw me and realized I had no fever and severe pain he took care of me. The CT showed the stone in my bladder by the time they were able to get it done.
I like how 90% of the questions are just like "CAN I BE ON DRUGS AND NOT GET JAILED???"
its some serious yahoo answers type stuff
What's a " yahoo" answer?? 'CUTE',. Like the 😭 funneling cup.
..
Because hospital's call the cops when they find out a patient took an illegal drug. Not all hospital's, but it still goes on to this day, depend on which hospital and which country you live in.
@@davidestabrook5367 Name one hospital that does this? At least in the United States I don't know of a single hospital that's going to call the cops because you have drugs in your system unless you are being belligerent or are some kind of danger to yourself or the people around you they're not calling the police
@@davidestabrook5367 that's highly unlikely [pun totally intended 🤣], unless mayhaps it wasn't first time they encountered said substance-consuming patient numerous times, &/or if patient might need to be 302'd due to self-harm or endangering others, &/or if a patient was in ER due to an accident that resulted in another person being injured, cuz that info could be necessary for an accident-related injury court case... but ER Docs wouldn't call cops on patients...if anything, cops or attorneys could prly obtain medical records afterwards, like days later ...cuz main goal of ER Staff is to Treat&Inform with a quickness patients to keep the flow going so more patients can get the help they need, STAT ! Why would they waste everyone's time by being silly like that? 🤪😅🤔
I went into the ER with abdominal pain and they detected that my liver enzymes were high. They asked me MULTIPLE times if I had been drinking, if I ever drank, if I had taken too much Tylenol, etc. none of those things were the case, it turned out I had cancer in my liver! Still have it now, gonna need a transplant down the road, but need to deal with the primary cancer in my colon first. All of this was determined in the ER, they saved my life!
Wishing you the best possible outcome.
I'm so sorry to hear this! You will be in my thoughts and prayers!
Much love and support in your fight against cancer! Good luck from this breast cancer survivor!
That must have been hard news to take. Wishing you the best possible outcome.
Update?
I went to the ER multiple times over a few weeks back in 2018 due to abdominal pain and after a few visits some of the staff thought I was an addict looking for a fix. One doctor didn’t though, and I thank God she was the attending doctor the last time I went in due to the pain. She saw my records from the previous few weeks and immediately ordered an abdominal ultrasound to investigate. I was on the table and the ultrasound tech suddenly said “What the HELL is THAT?” and ran out of the room to get the doctor. Next thing I know I’m being wheeled into another room for an abdominal CT scan. It turned out that I had two grapefruit sized cancerous ovarian cysts that were causing all the pain. I’d had them for God knows how long and they hadn’t been causing problems until they got so big they twisted my ligaments and put pressure on the other structures in my lower abdomen. I was in surgery a month later. It would have been sooner but it took awhile for my insurance to approve the referrals, get appointments and get assessed to see if I would be able to tolerate such an invasive procedure.
I know this was a long time ago but I have just seen this UTube post. I do hope that you are ok now and that they were able to remove ALL the nasty cancer masses and cells successfully from you? I pray 🙏🏻 that now you are on the road to a healthy and happy and long life. ❤
Yo, lab tech here:
In school, we had to practice lab tests on our own urine, since urine samples had to be fresh. So maybe I can give some insight to some of the questions:
What can we see in a urine sample:
A lot of things. The look and smell of the urine (is it too dark? Red? Transparent or opaque? Does it smell sweet? Ketonic? Rancid?) will give us first warning signs for infections, diabetes and other conditions.
We use a test strip to test for e.g. Red and White Blood Cells, Glucose, Hemoglobin, Proteins, Nitrite (produced by some harmful bacteria), pH (fun fact: we can tell if you're vegan/vegetarian), density, Ketones, ascorbic acid (might disturb in other tests), Creatinine from muscle damage, Urobilinogen for kidney function, Bilirubin for hepatic disease or high blood degradation and other things.
This gives us a very good overview and shows us where to look, so to say.
Microscope: we centrifuge and look at the solid containts of the urine. Many or large crystals might be indicators for stones, RBCs and WBCs are signs for bleeding or infections (kidney or UTI depending on deformation) etc.
Depending on the findings we can then make more accurate/specific tests to figure out your exact problem.
Urine samples are one of the most versatile and useful specimens in clinical settings. I probably forgot to list about half the things you can see and test for with a urine sample, lol.
Regarding periods: wiping doesn't really help, there will still be RBCs in your sample, so tell your doctor beforehand or else you will have a panicked lab tech asking you if your on your period in a full waiting room. Had to learn that the hard way.
Regarding taste: this used to be one test for Diabetes mellitus. Nowadays we just smell and make lab tests, though.
If you are one of the two people who will read this, I hope it helps.
I deal with repeat UTI's, and one of my friends shared pictures of a sample under microscope a few days ago. Super cool to actually see what you all look at on the daily! I have so many curiosities about it all. Thank you for sharing!
Thank you for explaining this so well!
@@kodschiec5614 You're welcome, I'm happy to share information about this since I find it very interesting :D
@@xemirahobbyless For sure! Next time I have to give a urine sample, I will definitely think about the fact that whoever tests it will know that I'm a vegetarian. 😂
I've always been instructed to use those castile soap wipes and then do midstream catch. Does that help with running the lab tests, or is it just to avoid other fluid mixing?
I once went to the hospital on acid. Not because I was freaking out or anything but because I broke my finger. I know the doctor knew. I could also tell he did not care.
Heh, that sounds like quite an adventure 😄
How did you break your finger? I need to hear the whole story 😩
Woah that must have been trippy as fuck
Always just went the next day if yhe bone wasn't sticking out
Considering how I know most patients in the ER you probably weren't the first that day.
Just wanted to let others know this: if you can't pee in a cup because it's physically impossible to do so, you can ask the staff for a "hat". Said "hat" is a plastic bowl with wings that can be placed in between the toilet seat and the bowl so that it can collect the urine. It also has a funnel indent so you can pour it into the cup when you're done.
Last time I used a hat, I overflowed it. They are marked to 32oz and there is space above that line. I was strangely very proud of myself.
I had to use that once and I didn't have a container to put it in. So I had to tell the nurse so she could go get it.
That is typically what they do if you are checked in. When you are checked in, after a procedure, they are often just checking to make sure that you are producing enough urine and don't send it for testing. They read the volume and put it in your chart. @@J....W....
I use them every month at my pain management appointment after I kept losing my piss when trying to pee in the cups and missed then would have to sit for hrs until I could pee again until someone said use a hat! I said why would I pee in a damned hat?? They didn’t explain what a hat was for in urine samples! The morons!
Just a note on not getting menstrual blood in the sample: I was in the ER a few months ago with abdominal pain, and it was indeed a very nasty UTI. As luck would have it, my period was also insanely out of control that weekend - I’ve got fibroids, and I take medication to control my cycle but my gyno’s office fucked up my prescription renewal and I was out that weekend, and bled worse than I ever have in my life. Tampons were useless to me and did nothing to help.
Of course, I stated all of this up front.
Every single person I saw in the ER shook the bloody urine cup at me and said “how long has this been going on?” assuming it was blood in the urine. I repeatedly said “my period is just really heavy right now.” I was asked “aside from this period, do you know if there is blood in your urine?” “I don’t know, how can I tell bloody urine apart from the massive amount of blood coming from my vagina constantly right now?”
No offense pal, everyone did a great job and got me the meds I needed and I felt way better a few days later. But it’d be great if y’all could just put something on there to indicate “this is most likely just period blood”, especially before giving the patient morphine. Perhaps a red sticker.
People who have never bled from their vagina so heavily that they couldn't get through a work day using the bathroom only every two hours for breaks without turning into a bloody mess just don't get it. There is no "just wipe yourself down" to prevent blood in the urine sample. By the time you wipe yourself down, position the cup, and finish peeing, there's more blood and it *will* be in the urine sample.
For people who use a cup or tampon or disk, leaving that in when you give a urine sample can help keep blood out of the sample.
They *can* do a cath specimen if warranted... but that does increase risk of giving you an infection if you didn't already have one.
But otherwise we can't definitively tell you that we're sure the blood is just fun your period, Especially if you have a UTI because a UTI can cause there to be blood in your urine.
The way to confirm would be see your regular doctor in 2 weeks and give them a urine specimen to check to see if the blood was no longer in your urine.
And they were basically asking you if your pee was *usually* that red anyway when you didn't have your period, or if any doctor had ever told you that there had been blood in your urine before.
I agree that leaving the tampon in can help. If it's really that bad and you don't have a tampon in, they may end up using straight catheter just to empty the bladder and gather the sample that way in attempt to prevent menstruation contamination in the urine sample. We try not to cath everyone though because we know it can increase risk for infection (urine is a one-way street and putting an outside object up through your pee-tube can introduce uninvited guests to the party if you know what I mean)
@@mnm039 she just said she had a tampon in and blood was still coming out. I had this problem as a teenager. I literally had to double up on tampons and pads because I would still bleed through it. Some people have really heavy periods and it just can't be helped.
I'll take the morphine and the red sticker😂😂😂
Once, when a doctor asked me for a urine sample, I said "Sure, I have one ready," meaning I knew she would want one and therefore hadn't visited the bathroom before my appointment. She got this "oh God, here we go again" look on her face, and asked for the sample, so I explained it was still in my bladder. She looked really relieved and told me I would not believe the kinds of containers people use to bring their urine samples from home.
That really stuck with me. This poor doctor routinely gets given random unsuitable containers filled with piss.
I've been brought fecal matter in a solo cup ;-; you guys.......
@@cassandrakayanne what gets me is that there must have been a decision process there. Somehow it must have seemed logical and sensible to them to bring you a stool sample in a solo cup.
I once had to send a urine sample from home and didn't have time to pick one up from a facility, so I used a small canning jar. I had plenty, didn't need it, and figured it was the most sterile container with a lid that I had.
@@Breathe-In-and-Out yeah, a clean canning jar with lid doesn't sound objectionable.
Lab tech here. Just because it is clean doesn’t mean it’s sterile and I’ll do a UA dip and microscopic on it but I will reject it for culture and put comments that it was submitted in a non sterile container. Certain tests especially cultures for a UTI need special preservatives or sterile containers. Clean is not sterile. We can’t tell if the bacteria is from your pee or cross contamination the container
I would mention that weed (and other drugs) can make it difficult for the anesthesiologist to put you under properly, because ODing an anesthesia can just straight up kill you. Usually that doesn't matter, but if you're going to be put under for surgery soon after arriving at the ER, you *have* to tell them if you are high or drunk or anything, because the combination of alcohol or weed and certain types of anesthesia can just kill you. Edit: They can still put you under safely, there are drugs that they can use that wont kill you. It's just that they're not the standard. Don't be afraid to go to the hospital high or drunk.
OMG yessss - be honest with your anesthesiologist - 100%.. they don't care what you've taken, but they need to know so that they can do their job properly. Chill people once they can work to the facts
Weed ?? Gtfoh
@@Swampgurl777 I'm not an anesthesiologist, but since weed works on the CNS, yes tell your anesthesiologist if you are smoking/using edibles, cos it can affect the amount they need to use. It's no big deal, they do not GAF, it's just smart to tell them what you're taking/not taking. (I smoke myself, often go under for medical procedures, and as much as people think it's 'natural', sure, it's also a substance that affects our CNS - I tend towards needing more sedation than they think at first)
Exactly, anesthesiologists are more concerned with not killing you than they are whether or not you smoked a joint.
Way to make people more afraid of going to the ER high as a kite but in true need of a doctor’s care. Way. To. Go. 😵😒🤨
As someone who suffers from a chronic pain condition as well as others, I’m pretty acquainted with the ER. Since my condition is rare I often have to explain it to the doctors and nurses as I’ve had only a few who know what it is. Unfortunately, when explaining my condition and any other tid bits of pertaining health info, I’ve found some providers look at me like I’m med seeking or a med abuser. That greatly interferes with getting care. It’s like because I know my body and what does and doesn’t work, I’m in the wrong. Like when I say I’m a hard stick for an IV and they usually have to do a pic line, EJ, or ultrasound guided line but the nurse insists on making me a pin cushion instead of listening. I’ve even gone as far as to printing out guidelines from Mayo Clinic and other informational sites to hand to those who are providing care. It’s so frustrating to feel like I’m being treated like a druggie when all I want is answers or care like everyone else. It’s gotten to where I’ve avoided going in to the ER when is could’ve caused me to lose my life. What are some things I can do to better communicate or handle ER visits?
I don't know what condition you have but one thing you could do is stay better hydrated. It's hard to get an IV started on someone who is dehydrated. That could be part of the problem with the IV starts. My other suggestion is to let them try to start the IV without saying anything. After they've thrown their best efforts at it, casually tell them...'yeah, usually it takes a picc line (etc) but I was really hoping you would be the first one to manage it!" Your responsibility is putting up with the discomfort. Unless they know you too well, they will not put a picc line in just because you say that's what they will have to do. They have protocols they have to follow. And I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that your condition is not being managed very well if you have to go into an ER frequently without your specialist calling ahead with some orders so the ER can deal with it more efficiently. If you haven't had a discussion with the doctor who manages your condition, I say it's about time to sit down with him/her and work out a plan.
@@patriciamurray5612 I'm guessing ehlers danlos..it not fucking hydration. It's having veins made of cornbread. There's no treatment for a genetic defect so it's not their fault , it's nobody's fault their joints are shit and skin is made of tissue paper. I have it and get this same patient blaming ignorant bullshit. Trust us, if I could not break my toes or arm or fingers from a simple fumble I wouldn't. If I could avoid a dislocation or joint injury I would. If I could make my veins not blow out and rip or collapse I would.
Also beyond offensive to suggest it's my job to have my veins blown out and preventable destroyed and scarred up because of your pride. I know my condition, I know a standard needle will not work. I have not yet spoken to an actual doctor or the head nurse and had them agree to put me through needless pain. Especially when the option is yeah you can run the iv if you get it in but can't promise it'll keep it's integrity... hopefully it'll be intact if there's an emergency and if not I sure hope you don't have too much trouble running another with my shitty veins.
I Carry the NIH info. on my 1:1,000,000 disease, list/dosage of current medications, and Pray.
In Oz, I think if a nurse fails to get a vein after 3 tries they have to hand over to new nurse. Otherwise, I think they can be charged with assault. Even if you are understanding and not upset.
My Dad had a bracelet a Medical bracelet (for mostly his epilepsy) I believe you can get cards for your wallet that can give certain information also depending on what your condition is could a Med bracelet or card or both help them understand and look into a bit more before making a judgement call about you as a person?
The period blood in the sample reminds me of years ago. I had a bad kidney infection and went to my GP. He asked for a urine sample and when I handed it to him, there was so much blood in it, he asked me if I was on my period. I wasn't. His eyes went very big and after the infection cleared up he sent me for x-rays of my kidneys to make sure they were okay.
Here’s the comment I was looking for! I’ve had period-levels of blood in my urine sample for all three of UTI’s I’ve had. I didn’t get any of that follow-up, though.
I came in one time with a heart rate of 160bpm and the nurses refused to believe me that I was not on cocaine. They kept berating me “we are not going to be mad, we need to know, just tell us, we know you used!” I seriously have never used cocaine I seriously never had heart issues before and this made my heart rate spike more. Found out that day I have sinus tachycardia. That pissed me off.
Has happened to me to and wound up getting adenosine (sp?) Where the restart your heart with meds. NOT fun but yeah and there was nothing in my system and wound up on meds to control the sinus tachycardia. So irritating
I wonder what different treatment they'd provide according to if they believe you're actually on cocaine or not. Might as well take a test for cocaine instead of asking.
Yeah liers make things worse for people who don't do drugs, or who even just tell the truth. Like if I'm coming in all loopy for some kind of medication related crisis, I'm going to act drunk, high, maybe like I'm on meth. Depends on what the situation is. I might be suffering from a vitial deficiency of methylphenidate, depending on what the problem is. There have also been times when the stress of acute injury made me act loopy as well. Please just believe me when I say I know which drugs are in my system and which drugs should be.
Same with pregnancy and saying "I'm not having sex" or "I'm not having sex that can result in pregnancy"
Sinus tachycardia literally only means a high heart rate. I hope the cause of your situation was discerned & treated ❤
@@ssjess2504 I'm sorry that happened to you. Must have been scary as hell. Adenosine is used to treat episodes of supraventricular tachycardia if unable to be converted by basic/uninvasive measures.
Have you ever given a patient a hug? I remember having a very bad flair of a chronic condition that landed me in the ER and the PA felt so bad for me she gave me a hug and it made all the difference...
This is the sweetest gesture I've heard in a long time. 💞
As someone who has drawn patient labs I have given and gotten hugs and it makes our day brighter also 🤗. Just make sure you ask first.
I had a resident console me better in 10 minutes than about 1 year of therapy with 5 different counselors. First time I had ever met her. She was going into family medicine. I told her I thought she may have chosen the wrong field 😆.
Then I had a b**** of a lab tech laugh hysterically at me because of the scars on my arms while drawing my blood. I was so upset & angry that when I went to my car I cried for 10 minutes before I could compose myself.
Some people are made for this profession. Others should just find another profession!
@@Jenna.Im.Just.Saying I’m sorry that your feelings were hurt, but the lab tech is obviously the one with the issues, not you. Imagine what a complete imbecile they are, and they have to live with their empty selves 24/7. I’d rather have scars than no soul.
@@lynnwilhoite6194 ‘I’d rather have scars than no soul’ I wish I could put a thousand thumbs up
When I was newly clean and sober I actually went to the social worker at a clinic to get urine drug screen. I wanted to make sure that my body had caught up with my mind in the sobriety. I was clean and I got a job. Thanks
Hoping this still finds you well, clean, sober and HEALTHY. Sincere regards from an Internet rando👍
Coming from someone in recovery, we often lie because we're afraid of being judged. I have had some reallyyyy bad experiences with medical staff treating me differently. I've also had amazing medical staff..it all depends.
In the past, I’ve had so many “gotcha!” interactions with police/first responders, and have even witnessed patient abuse by shitty doctors in the hospital. Steven is slowly restoring my faith in humanity by saying that (good) medical staff just wants you alive & healthy. Nothing less.
A gotcha moment is when you catch someone out in a lie … ?
@@ThePetJen yes but more specifically when you make someone contradict themselves
Yeah, i once went to the e.r. because my lungs filled with fluid. Breathing was excruciating and i was constantly so light headed i was regularly falling. I finally went to the e.r. when breathing was impossible and i thought i was dying. They asked if i had drugs in my system, i said heroin, and they immediately went from kindly to cold and stern. I practically had to beg for a chest x ray. They acted like i was being over dramatic over nothing. every breath felt like my chest was burning. After they saw my lungs were full of fluid, i asked for pain meds and a doctor told me that he knew i was in pain because my lungs were full of fluid and if i were anyone else, (ie not a junkie,)i would get pain meds, but with my history, he didn't feel comfortable giving me pain meds.
Mind you, he wasn't talking about giving me a prescription for pain meds to leave the hospital with. He was refusing pain management IN the hospital ONLY. It was a treatment "anyone else" would have gotten.
I wish that was the only horror story i had, it's far from the only one.
@@Skag_Sisyphus The reason they will not administer drugs to someone who is actively using is because it could kill them. And administering the drugs to someone in recovery could cause a relapse.
@@Skag_Sisyphus
Wow, you should have known that they can't give you anything stronger than heroin which is already in your system. If they did, someone would constantly be by your side, to make sure that you are not overdosing. I know, it's a fucked up situation - especially when you were there because of your wind pipe, and heroin is slowing down your breathing anyway. I didn't write this up because I wanted to be rude, but because I had very similar situation. But they explained that to me. I hope you ok, take care.
As a former lab tech...please for the love of god, screw on the lid to the jar correctly (ie: straight). No one involved in that situation wants to have to "recollect" a sample.
Steveioe love your vids!~
Yes! screw it shut, wash/wipe the outside of the jar, wrap it in paper towel, and ready it to be deposited in a secure bag for going to the lab. Nobody needs to deal with your urine, even if it's the lesser of all evils in an ER !
Yeah, a leaking biohazard bag full of urine in the pneumatic tube is just the wrong way to begin a relationship with a patient.
Our lab only wants the purple pods to give us cups because those cups don’t have needles. All other ER departments have cups with needles so they can easily transfer them into urinalysis kit tubes WITHOUT having to open the cups. These urinalysis tubes rarely ever “open” in the pneumatic tubing systems but half the times the cups do open causing a recollection. Yet the ER still send us cups and get upset we can’t do a culture on a biohazard bag filled with urine. We don’t want cups lol just give us the kits instead pleaseeee
@@Nina7x1887 The thought of just bringing the cups to the lab is absolutely hilarious to me.
OMG!!! I’m a lab tech and a ‘vampire,’ YES!!! I don’t know how many times we receive sample through the tube systems that the nurse’s collected but they didn’t screw the lids on right. So by the time it gets to us it’s all spilled out. Some of these samples are from babies and little kids too. Imagine having to recollect that. It literally takes three seconds to screw the lid on right!!
In Tennessee (USA), if the police bring you to the ED on suspicion of DUI, you either sign a special consent form for blood evidence collection, or your license is automatically suspended. The patient/suspect signature is witnessed by a second nurse. The evidence blood draw is a specific procedure different from the usual procedure (one part is clean draw site with a non-alcohol cleaning swab and let dry completely) using a specific blood evidence collection kit, and the blood is sent out to a state criminal lab for testing.
Thanks to videos like this and others done by medical professionals it has made it alot easier for me whenever I'm forced to go into the ER. I'm someone who's in their mid 30's but due to an undiagnosed medical condition I've been been very unwell for several years now with no real answers. I won't go to the ER unless I have to but now it's only because I don't want to waste my time. Where I live in Alberta, Canada we have a phone number you can call and they have a fully registered nurse available to speak to literally 24/7 who will ask you questions and tell you whether or not you firstly should be calling 911 or if not then will ask you several health related questions and determine based on those answers whether or not a hospital visit is required immediately or if it can wait for your doctor appointment. It's a wonderful service actually and saves alot of time if you think about it. Why be uncomfortable in a place full of sick people when you can stay in the comfort of your own home and find the place to go whether it be the ER,Urgent care, doctors office etc. Another point I want to say is thanks to videos like this it makes me feel alot more comfortable about myself,yes there are things I don't want others to see but guess what, your likely the only one who will even notice that you got a funny birth mark on your butt. If your not there for that funny birth mark then I'm pretty sure no one is gonna notice and if they do they are professionals and will not care about that spot unless it's medical. These are just my opinions but yes videos like this make me know I'm just like everyone else. Thanks
The fact that he can admit to not knowing everything as an ER tech just makes me smile. It's alright to not know everything. That's why there are books to read and colleagues to consult. I feel like everyone expect hospital staff to know everything. Been watching Steve for months now and he earned my wholehearted admiration today lol
And Internet to consult!
I asked my then Primary Care Physician about skin irritation from vegetable-tanned leather versus chrome-tanned and he didn't even hesitate to tell me, "I don't know". My respect for him went up by two orders of magnitude with those three words.
All the drug questions and that patients lie reminded me of the following situation:
I was at a party and got really heavy nose bleeding.
In the beginning I just let it run out and tried the normal things to stop it. But when it didn’t stop after 30 minutes I requested the mother of a friend who came to pick her up to drive me to the ER. So we went there and she and her daughter came in with me. I still had really strong nose bleeding going on and started feeling dissy. The first thing they asked in the ER was what drugs we consumed. I said I haven’t taken drugs and not even drank alcohol but neighter the ER stuff or the mother of the friend believed me. So I had to do crazy test like stand on one leg and touch your nose and they were asking again and again for what drugs I had taken. They wasted like 30 more minutes to it so I was having nose bleeding for over an hour and also had alot if it going in my stomach. I passed out then. Turned out the next day I had an issue with my liver and very low thrombocytes that day and that was why it wouldn’t stop bleeding. So telling the truth and nobody believes you is really hard sometimes.
The mother of the friend still believes to this day that we have taken drugs and just were to scared to tell😂
Speaking from a lab point of view that was dumb to make you do all those tests and everything. All they had to do was draw your blood and we would have know what, if any drugs you were on. Sorry they were being crazy for no reason!
Reading the other reply here (from the person who’s worked in a lab) they really should’ve just taken blood and tested that
Urine sample story time!
I used to take meds that require bi-weekly blood samples to ensure that I was okay. One day the hospital calls me and asks if I'm okay. The guy on the phone seems very worried about me because my blood shows that I have a very bad infection. He is even more worries because I claim to be fine. I go see a doctor right away and she does all the test she can possible think of and is about to send me to the hospital to get MRIs and other fancy scans. Last thing before I leave she asks for a urine sample.
Turns out I had an extreme case of UTI. Some of the other meds I took masked the symptoms. Turns out that it's very useful to give urine samples
Wanted to echo what a few others have said: I too am a minimizer. I was brought to the ER and parked in a corner. I don’t remember much cuz I kept passing out, but I do remember they kept drug testing me. They were confused since everything kept coming back negative. I was told that they were waiting on a bed for me in rehab. Rehab very quickly kicked me out when they found out that I really wasn’t on anything. It took falling down the stairs a few years later and being put on medication to realise that I had been in pain for years. Now it’s a struggle to find a physician to continue pain management. I’m back to passing out again and haven’t been able to walk for awhile. I have EDS, and want to work on strength but I haven’t been able to
I find it helps to be honest, patient and most importantly courteous. I used to go to the ER quite a lot here in Toronto General for my gout. Figured out that their objective is to get as many patients out per hour. Given I was low risk (as gout isn’t life threatening, albeit super painful), I knew that I’d have to wait quite a while. BUT! Because I was always courteous to the nurses and gout is an easy treatment (prescription for Indomethacin) they’d typically quickly put me on a bed in the hallway and have a doctor take a look at it real quick and prescribe me the meds. In-and-out in 10-30 mins. Much like manufacturing, their performance is based on how many patients they process per hour. Give the ER nurses a reason to prioritize you by being genuinely courteous and honest.
The "be courteous and be prepared" concept works with most jobs where people interact with the public, even those where the employees/organization aren't super into metrics. DMV employees, airline gate agents, and more... If you are courteous and show some sympathy or effort to be prepared, most will do what they can to help move you along and will often overlook minor things.
If you're extremely rude, however, don't be surprised if you get hit with every possible charge/fee while you are made to wait, as they take as long as they need to.
This guy isn't even honest about his occupation. He's not even employed
Many ERs will resort to triage type service when slammed. Your right that being polite goes a long way.
I always appreciate a courteous patient but the idea of performance being based on how many patients we see per hour is very much false lol. The only time timing matters is for certain conditions like stroke or heart attack because every second counts as cells die rapidly. Our only goal in ER is to quickly assess and treat life threatening emergencies as fast as possible. If you’re there for something that can be taken care of by a GP or urgent care you will be sitting for a very long time. You never want to be seen first in an emergency room because that means you are literally dying. Gout is very painful but is a chronic condition that should be managed by a family doctor and lifestyle changes and routine medication with an as needed prescription for indomethacin. Colchicine is a routine med that can prevent flairs on top of limiting foods that increase risk of flairs. I’m not sure how it work in Canada but in the US urgent care centers can easily treat gout and don’t clog up the emergency medical system.
@@frankied.roosevelt6232 ?? We all know that he quit because TH-cam and tiktok took off. He *worked* in the ER as an ER tech. I think that's enough qualification to make funny videos on social media.
LND nurse(retired) here. We had a patient who stayed home with a worsening UTI while waiting the three days to clear her meth. She almost died. Seriously, I had to send her to the ICU for a week. Don’t do that. Come in fully loaded. PleAse.
If it made it to her blood, she definitely waited more then 3 days
Steve this is my absolute favorite video you’ve ever made. So informative and non judgmental. Thank you and please keep them coming. I wasn’t even aware we could ask you questions. Much else that you would answer them. Good to know.Thanks again.
I can't help but notice the doors behind you. I love them!
When I went with my friend's gf to her cardiologist appointment & she started lying (saying she didn't smoke), I corrected her & said "She smokes cigarettes, she vapes, and she smokes marijuana". She was angry, but I told her she needed to be honest with the doctors bc they needed to know. She has a very hard time answering questions and I have to help her fill out forms. She's really really dumb.
People who lie to doctors piss me off. It makes those of us who are honest have a harder time.
If I even think I got something on the outside of the canister I wash the outside (with the lid securely on) and dry it and keep a paper towel around it just in case.
I had a situation in the ER where I told the truth & some of the staff believed I was lying but one nurse believed me & apologized to me for how I was being treated (and by treated, I mean how they were condescending, rude & dismissive-- they never even examined me or provided any medical treatment- I ended up leaving after 4-1/2" hours & having a doctor tell me that I needed to admit that I wasn't really having chest pains or they'd kick me out).
I've had blood get into a urine sample when I had to give one during a heavy period. I wiped myself down & even used tp to plug myself up a bit but it still came out. I told them I was having a heavy period at the time (this wasn't for an ER visit though).
My friend's gf was getting UTIs & vaginal infections bc no one ever taught her to wipe front to back-- and she's in her 20s and had a baby by that point. I had to explain it to her.
I went to ER with extremely bad stomach pains the nurse called me a drug addict and insisted I was there to get drugs I left still in pain a couple days go by and the pain gets worse so I went to another er at first they didn’t believe me until a blood test came back and decided to keep me over night next thing I know I’m going into surgery and then emergency surgery because my appendix burst. I get some people go to the er to get drugs but some of us are actually in pain I never got into weed let alone drugs I don’t even drink
Assholes are everywhere, including in the ER.
Its no fun when your pain is not taken seriously. I get a lot of pain. Have chronic pain problems so have had to learn to tolerate what would send a lot of prople to the ER.
I’ve done many urine samples and once I had to pee while on my period. No one told me I had to keep the blood separate from the pee so I just handed it in with the blood. It’s not like we can control the blood that comes out of our body. We can’t make sure only pee comes out🤦🏼♀️
From what I understand, normal periods don't bleed heavily enough to be a problem for the short time you are giving the urine sample. Wiping thouroughly is enough.
If yours are heavy enough to interfere with that, its not a normal period. Something I had to learn..
@@ashenivy3014 It depends on the person and what day of the period it is. Some people naturally have heavier flow and day 2 and 3 are going to be the heaviest days. Wiping thoroughly is NOT enough for millions of women with perfectly healthy periods.
1) urine exits the body via a different opening than menstrual fluid. (It’s surprising how many people do not know this)
2) every time I have had to give a urine sample… there has been instructions posted about thoroughly cleaning the labia before beginning to pee
Yeah, it’s pain-
And that’s why you do your very darned hardest to keep that blood away from it- I’m saying this having done this. Period, got annoyed and wanted to make sure I wasn’t bleeding from my urethra or anything like that, went ham on the cleaning of the blood and finally realised it was red because I was on my period, not internal bleeding. Hopefully there wasn’t internal bleeding- I also noticed I needed more water.
Just simple tests for the everyday person. It’s easy to tell that bloody urine is not normal (unless you’re on your period then it’s harder). More opaque urine means more hydration is needed.
I've had the same. It was for a UTI which I also have blood in my pee when I get those. So prob didn't matter much. Good to know this info and try the best we can. Maybe some different angling on the toilet, lol!
I really appreciate this video, it helped me to understand one of my more unpleasant experiences at the ER. I was having a migraine and they asked me if I was pregnant, and I said no, and then they took a urine sample and gave me a pregnancy test anyway, without telling me why. Since I've had issues with doctors in the past (sexual harassment, being not believed, not receiving appropriate care), this small thing felt really upsetting and like a loss of bodily autonomy at the time. Understanding that they probably did it in anticipation of a doctor asking for one later, rather than from a place of just assuming I was lying, really helps me to contextualize what happened there.
Probably at least half of women who are early in pregnancy will have NO idea they are pregnant, and they have to know if you are pregnant BEFORE treating you because so many things they might want to do to treat you (lots of medications) could cause birth defects if given to a pregnant person. So their lawyers tell them they have to test all women of child-bearing age before treatment, they can't just take your word for it. Consequently, I assumed that I was going to get a pregnancy test with every urine sample, right up until I was in full menopause (done bleeding for a whole year or more). It has nothing to do with them not believing you, it is just standard practice for all women and teenage girls.
I love your sense of humor. I wish the nurses who do the prep for the ER visits and the outpatient procedures had it too! Some do. Having worked as an OB-GYN volunteer in military regional hospitals we did everything a med-rech does, except injections. We would normally see hundreds of patients in a single day. I think humor can and often does play a role in a positive medical visit. If I can't laugh with my doctor it's not a good sign. Not long ago I had a medical consult with a vascular surgeon regarding the existence of a fairly rare genetic mutation or not. As a writer, I usually do a lot of research on unfamiliar stuff.
So he asked me the purpose of my visit and I launched. He got a funny look on his face but didn't interrupt. I just explained what I had learned and that now I needed his expertise. He grinned a big grin and said, "when you want something, you really get after it, don't you?" and we both laughed. About a month later, tests confirmed the gene mutation and another rare condition that is considered a birth defect.
So, we have the best communication anyone could ask for, and I get to laugh it up with his entire staff.
The Beachboys had a song called Good Vibrations! Yeah, they were visionaries before their time, cause that's what it's all about, good vibrations with your doc and his people! Thanks for another super post!
I was in the ER one night with my mother (uncontrolled nose bleed caused her a major spike in her blood pressure). She was a recently retired sheriff's deputy at the time. There was a drunk and disorderly patient in another room and he was really loud and somewhat entertaining. The ER staff was so patient with him. She told me funny stories of having to deal with drunks during her career and we had some laughs that night. I also came away with mad respect for the people who work in the ER!
Stevioe: It's the ER- We're fuckin' cheap!
My ER bill: 2 acetaminophen - $2000
I think he meant "cheap" as in "we don't want to spend money" rather than "you won't have to spend money"
Me breaks my arm it let’s go and get it fixed since it is free
WOW I guess my TWO regular Tylenol was a bargain at $799.
To be fair that's the fault of hospital administration and not the ER itself. They're underpay their stsff snf overcharge their patients
Took my kid to the ER … No medicine, no stitches , not even a bandaid …. Price $1800
It's refreshing to hear your take on the ER situation . Kindness is Vital to sick people .
I had that period pee issue. I was in a car accident and they took a urine sample and there was blood in it because I had just gotten my period like that second in the ER. So then they thought I had internal bleedeing and catheterized me to get a clean sample right from my bladder which I did not enjoy. And of course they cut my favorite Amherst sweatshirt off of me. I broke my jaw in 3 places and snashed up my teeth. Good memories.
Lab tech here - yes we can usually tell someone has a kidney/urinary infection based on the chemistry and microscope results. We can also see crystals which sometimes correlate with stones.
Also please dry the outside of the cup and make sure the lid is actually tight and not cross threaded so it doesn't leak and either make a mess of the transport system or leak all of it on the bag and potentially contaminate it with the wrong bacteria so the culture would be inaccurate, or there's nothing left and you have to recollect.
A friend took her son (underage) to the ER one night because he had come home with a bizarre change in behavior. He was wailing out loud and pounding his head against the floor, saying bizarre things. She told the staff what he had admitted to her, that he had tried dabs for the first time. The staff kept him there until they were sure nothing else was going on and sent them home once he had calmed down. No police.
Maybe don’t share other people’s personal stories…
Whatever that kid had definitely wasn’t dabs. Wouldn’t be surprised if he was drinking cough syrup (lean) or something
Definitely wasn't dabs xD bro was probably on some acid or something but knew that would be worse lol
if youre a minor will the er tell your parents you smoke weed
@@Scotty-vs4lf nope. Unless you’re doing something that’ll put you/someone else in danger, a doctor legally cannot share anything you say to them unless they have a document of your written consent. Don’t worry👍🏼
Lab tech here! To answer your question - yes, there are often signs in the urine when the UTI is in the kidneys! They won't always demonstrate, but when the signs are there, we know. Something called white cell casts are a key indicator.
More info - Blood contamination from periods can be a problem, but is sometimes unavoidable. At a lot of sites, if the lab and the doctor know that blood contamination is possible we'll interpret accordingly. Doctor may ask for a new sample in a couple of days if required.
We need a minimum of 10 mL of urine if you want accurate urinalysis. 10-40 mL is ideal, depending on what tests the doctor wants.
Dude! I just wanna say I have a LOT of anxiety when I go to the ER. You videos have helped me get over that and approach everything with a sense of humor. Thank you!
Edit to add an important message: don’t lie to the doctor about what you are on, things move much faster! Yes they can tell you you have a kidney infection from urine. And always put a paper towel around your sample no one wants to touch your pee.
After kidney issues, infertility treatment, 7 pregnancies (only two live births), now a chronic pain patient I’ve given so many urine and blood samples I’m like a pro. I think health class in school should teach what a clean catch is. So when you hear it the first time it’s not a shock.
What’s a clean catch?
@@eggchomp mid-stream urine caught in the cup
Women in particular are not given instruction and support nearly enough. I can’t imagine how much excess antibiotic is prescribed from contaminated urine samples. Urine cups aren’t aren’t any cheaper than something engineered better. Just a lazy patriarchal system.
Cool, I'ma go on ahead and throw that in my lesson plans for next week
@@hawleyrigsby3123 it's not hard to pee in a cup c'mon
For the "just aim" comment its really not that easy for women to just aim. A funnel or a wider neck on the cup would really help.
YASSS finally someone says it. Like bro you have a hot dog ofc 'just aiming' is easy for you.. not so mucn your non-hot dog having
viewers. I always have to ask for the boat you put in the toilet set because I aiming is difficult.
i wish more women would understand this.
I am soooo grateful that you admit that there are times when honest people come in and that you are simply human ❤.
When I had a massive kidney infection, it was a combination of urine and lightly tapping on the kidney area of my back that told the doctors that I had a very, very bad kidney infection.
I just went to the ER for kidney stones - and your series helped me a lot.
Urine sample, sure. Gotta wait an hour or two, yessir. Tell the truth? No problemo
From one kidney stone sufferer to another, may you never have another one again.
I have had multiple kidney stones. The last time I went in with one I told them exactly what was wrong and they still needed a urine sample. No problem. The problem came when they lost the sample I had originally given and they asked for another one. Those that have had kidney stones can tell you, it is almost impossible to pee, so that second sample was like torture. Thankfully, I had my husband’s grandmother there who was advocating for me. I highly recommend having an advocate with you if at all possible in an er situation, outside of covid circumstances.
Im glad i know that pain. And without a sample, would not have known i had an infected stone
At a particular hospital visit, I asked them to give me 20mins for a urine sample. They decided I needed a catheter. 🤬 I would rather die than go back to that hospital. 🤬
I make them often. I've laid there in pain for hours because they forgot to do a pregnancy test so I can't have a CT until they know.
Guys, just ask. Or check my chart. I've had a tubal and an ablation. There is nothing implanting in this uterus. Ever.
One time I went to the ER after drinking a little (turned out I did have a UTI) but I was kind of drunk. When the person asked how many drinks I had I said “15” and the doctor looked at me like 🤨 no you didn’t. You’d be dead/unconscious.
2. I had 2 drinks. Thanks to my friend for confirming. But I insisted it was 15 drinks 😶
Hahaha
You had enough! 😂
I love that you are answering all of these questions this way I recently retired from the medical field people just don't get it we're not the enemy we're not the ones that are there judge and jury thank you for doing such a fine job explaining things
But there are HCWs who DO play judge, jury, and executioner.... including deciding not to provide care to people with chronic health conditions.
As an old nurse. I love this. You are teaching. Laughing. Great stuff.
Steeeeeeve!!!!!!
I have been working in a So-Cal hospital/trauma center/locked psych unit for the past 4 years on the non-clinical side, specifically the support team who has to go in there with you guys, wrestle the dope heads, and restrain the weirdo’s. I fucking love your videos bro because they’re the god damn truth. You don’t bull shit any of your answers and you’re supper informative to the people who don’t know how ED’s are ran behind the scenes. I have nothing but love for you and what you do. Keep up the great work and I hope you keep succeeding. I’m currently going through a terrible traumatic episode and keep finding my way to your videos for comfort and laughter because I can relate to your experiences so much. I can honestly say you may have been a part of saving my life when I was deeply down these past few weeks, ever since the incident occurred. I’m doing a lot better now, again, partially thanks to you. looking forward to the next video. Keep’em coming!!!
Much love and respect to you! Keep those B-52’s on standby 😂
Love ya man! 👊🏻
You work with psych patients & refer to them as dope heads & weirdos?? JFC Heaven help your patients. Maybe time for some self reflection or a career change if that's how you refer to human beings with mental illness & substance dependency.🤦🏽
@@1970Mom Do you currently or have you ever worked in a hospital? Do you see what we see? Do you cope well with trauma, are you the one who gets bodily fluids thrown at you because a drug addicts is pissed a concerned citizens called 911 for them due to an O.D resulting in a narcan wake up? We cope, uplift and support each other in a joking way. If you’re so sensitized by my comment then I don’t think this channel is for you. Learn to laugh and stop dwelling in your thoughts because clearly snd honestly I don’t give a shit what you think or say. Until you walk in our healthcare boots then you’ll be relevant. But until then you can keep sitting in that sad little corner you’re in.
@@Concertspectator😂😂 Ohhhh sweeetheart. 😂You are soooo out of your league right now. Yes. Yes. & YES sweet cheeks. 30+YEARS as a RN. ER. ICU. L/D. Peds. Psych. I've had patients from premies-100+ yrs old & every diagnosis imaginable. Been cursed at. Bitten. Knocked to the ground chunk of hair pulled out & grapefruit size BLACK bruise on my stomach from a direct kick. Spit at. Peed on. Puked on. Ass grabbed. Breast grabbed. Verbal threats that escalated to outside of employment. Witnessed/broken up physical assaults between patients & family members. Harassed & badgered by persons in withdrawl. Anything else???? Yes. Yes. & YES. & ALL patients ARE STILL deserving of RESPECT. They ARE NOT "dope heads", they have substance addictions/dependencies. They ARE NOT weirdos. They have MENTAL ILLNESSES. Granted many people are just fricken AHoles. That has NOTHING to do with their illnesses. If a hcw thinks of their patients as "weirdos" & "dope heads", it's time to GTF OUT of healthcare. ALL PERSONS deserve competence & compassion from those they are seeking care from. Judgment needs to be checked when a hcw accepts responsibility for a person's care & well-being. The original comment showed a TOTAL disrespect for patients as persons with ILLNESSES
@@1970Mom Thank you. As one of those "weirdos", dealing with someone who sees and treats me that way in a healthcare setting is my worse nightmare.
@@lunacouer Absolutely. I don't think that kid even holds a license or is a legitimate Mental Health Tech. Professionals understand mental illness & dependency issues. A dose of reality & accountability seems to have put him in his place. Please don't let comments like that keep you from seeking out mental health care, ESPECIALLY when in a crisis. Even with our most difficult & trying patients, have I EVER seen or heard of a mental health worker like that loser❤
One of my favorite stories is when my friend who broke her leg told the E.R. she only had 2 beers because we were underage and I flat out told her "Stop lying, they don't care." and told the nurses she went shot for shot with someone and probably had closer to 20.
I was an ER tech for like 4 years and your videos bring back the good ole days and make me laugh because they are soooooooooo true! Thank you Steveioe!
I think the period blood in the urine sample is quite valid. I'd much rather be cathed now than told hours from now that my sample was contaminated and I have to start over.
Re: smoking cigarettes and urine sampling, the person asking the question ought to know that although the ER doesn’t test for nicotine, insurance companies might. If you’re applying for insurance and undergoing a medical for it, your urine will be tested for nicotine. If there is nicotine in your urine, you’ll pay smoker rates that are significantly higher than non-smoker rates. Yet another good reason to quit! 😀
I remember I went to the hospital for an allergic reaction the day after I got back from EDC Las Vegas. The doctors were so funny because when the question, “have you drank any alcohol or done any drugs the past week” came up I stone face was like
“Look. I just got back from Vegas. The answer you’re looking for is definitely”
And they sauntered out of the room, I know they were stifling laughs.
FYI....Feel comforted and confident trusting the workers at the hospital each and every time you are BEING HONEST AND TRUTHFUL with them 😁 ...even if they are suspicious that you're lying to them, tests will prove you haven't been false and then their pre-judgement of you won't matter whatsoever anymore.
A good rule of thumb is to ALWAYS be forthcoming and disclose all information as it pertains to your health, anytime you are dealing with a medical professional.
I'm also a lab tech. For police to get a copy of drug test, they MUST have a court order.
Most of the time, drug test is to help with treatment and keep from drug interactions.
And yes, smoking cigarettes can be detected in the urine for about 72 hour to a week depending on how much you smoke.
As for blood in the urine, there's often a small amount of blood cells in the urine even when not on menstrual cycle. Usually unless there are other values that are elevated, it's usually nothing to worry too much about.
Kidney infection answer: personal experience- I came into the er with back pain that was unbearable that morning, it was an ongoing issue for 4 weeks, but that morning I had numbness and just felt awful. Went to the er, told them everything including I like my wine.. urine and blood tests, ct scan, X-ray.. they said I had a uti and gave me antibiotics, they helped a little but after two weeks the pain was bad again, but they had given me a follow up Dr to call, went in for more blood work.. I had a bilateral kidney infection (both kidneys) and they gave me a super antibiotic and after a week all better.. use that follow up number if you are still in pain!!
For kidney infections we can sometimes tell. One of the things the lab will look for are things called casts, casts are just a build-up of protein that when it releases catches anything else that was in the nephrons with it. Casts can be normal but if we find white blood cells in the casts we then know that what otherwise looks like a normal UTI is actually a kidney infection.
I've had that happen to me, the ER nurse told me they couldn't tell whether the infection had travelled to the kidneys and they just gave me antibiotics, the pain went and I haven't had any since. But I still never found out what it really was.
I actually really like this video. The shorts are definitely entertaining, but these videos are actually quite interesting and educational as well. Would be nice to see longer videos like these!
Mad, mad, MAD RESPECT Sir. I love that you're doing this IRL and Online. Much respect.
Speaking as a veterinary nurse: Of all the bodily fluids I have had splashed all over me, urine is by *far* the least objectionable.
I love that you're doing this! Minus the part where you tell people vulvas to aim when peeing as if it's a super easy thing to dooo... But wanting to help people better understand and be more comfortable with processes that happen in the ER is wonderful and much needed. Especially, if you have an history of medical professionals not really doing right by you (not listening, brushing what you say off as nothing, denying something is wrong when you know there is, etc.), which is a whole nother problem on its own. I've loved learning from your entertaining videos but taking the time to answer questions is help that is unfortunately considered a luxury and I just really want to thank you for doing that. It can help people be a little more prepared in the moment instead of filled with anxiety that their in a haze and not fully comprehend what's happening, what to do/say, etc.
I agree that aiming is not that easy as a female, but I have to give urine samples regularly at work and always pee into the jar. I think only once I had to dry the outside (and rinsed and dried it at the sink later). Just dont hold it too far away and don't put to much pressure while peeing
Yes, same for me. It's still not the easiest thing and I'm sure there are many others that have a much more difficult time.
i agree but somehow i have managed to figure it out mostly for me anyway, i start going and see where about its going lol, then pause and move the cup in place without shifting my body
I literally found out last week that we can ask for "The Hat". It sits on top of the bowl, you pee into that, and then you can pour it into the cup.
Best. Thing. Ever.
@@SaheeliRai Practice, practice, practice. 😃
Kidney infection detected in a urine sample? The results can definitely point to a kidney infection when used with other tests and physical exam. Cultures done on the urine can identify which infection causing agent is present and what drugs can be used to treat it.
UTI --> pyelonephritis
@@kaileyveitch353 usually when medical staff refer to pyelonephritis, they're talking about a kidney infection. But it includes utis also
Most ER’s will automatically send for culture and drug sensitivity if results meet a certain criteria. If the practitioner orders a urine culture we always set them up. From just a urinalysis we can tell you have an infection and even a possible kidney stone.
Yeah, for a differential diagnosis, you'd need a culture and to look for casts in urine, among other things. But when it's there, it's like a huge with blinking neon lights kind of obvious.
Well yes, if the urine sample has blood, white blood cells and a high protein content (as well as the casts mentioned by another commenter), then this can indicate that the kidney filtration processes can be affected due to a kidney infection. A culture just tells you what type of bacteria its is, but there are other indicators of where the blood is coming from. The urine test is a great starting point, because sending up a scope through the urethra is more invasive, painful, and may not be necessary.
I love your tips from the ER, theyre very informative. And you make it seem hilarious, but seriously its telling us how it works.
Ive taken many urine samples now its easy, but I use soap and water to clean up. Great job- keep those up.
Fun story! I was in the ER once for abdominal pain and was given morphine. Apparently, the nurse didn't document it. The next day, I had a doctor interventioning me about my opioid addiction.... He didn't seem to believe that I didn't have an addiction and made some excuse of "taking into account" the morphine I was given the night before. So I got my medical records out of curiosity and yep, the morphine was never documented :)
I had a friend who ate poppy seed everything. She was asked about her opioid use a few times.
Sounds like you had the same doc I did.😂...Went to the ER because my throat was swollen and I couldn't even drink water... So after the doc left the nurse came in with a few Vicodin... I was like how TF am I supposed to take those when I can't swallow water... and why am I being given pain pills for my issue....so the nurse took the pills back..I walk to the door in time to see the doctor munch them down..he said its not like anyone will miss em....😂
Nothing but mad RESPECT for nurses and hospital staff everywhere. I have spent too much of my life in the ER. If I have to go in I’m aware I’m waiting, I’m super respectful, I’m honest and I try to make it as painless as possible.
I just want to say THANK YOU to ALL ER/EMS people. I have no idea how you do what you do, I'm just grateful you do it. 🙂
Seeing Steven enjoying his own skit, is just wholesome ❤
I was in the ER a few months back (car accident, I was mostly fine but went to be safe) and had to give a urine sample. They gave me some packs of alcohol wipes to clean up the outside of the cup after. It was nice because I didn't feel as bad for handing over something dirty afterward.
1) honestly we don’t care what recreational drugs comes back in your urine. It takes much more than that to get us at all emotionally invested. We see a ton of shit in the ED we can’t afford to spend emotional dollars on toxicology results.
2) yes, nicotine can be detected in urine. It is not part of our standard testing in the ED. So, unless there is some sort of medical emergency relating to the nicotine content of your urine we aren’t going to test for it in the ED. Long story short we aren’t testing for nicotine… like ever.
And if the question was about weed. Then normally it stays in your system for 30 days. Now that does vary depending on your about of body fat. Because that's where it stores.
I found your channel while I was down with Covid. It was pretty serious but at least I wasn’t in the hospital. I was scrolling through the little short videos and came across one of yours- and I was hooked. I looked forward to whatever you would post the next day and even went and watched your earlier stuff. You brought the human side to hospitals and illness and got me through 3 weeks of hell. If I ever do end up in another ER, I hope there’s a bad ass tech like you on staff. Keep ‘em coming Steveioe! Lots of love from sunny Cocoa Beach, Florida! 😍
I like how all the people are just scared about being on drugs or drunk when they go to the hospital😂
It can cause a lot of accidents. If no one used drugs or drank, the ER would probably be half as busy lol
Steve, I love your videos. I've also been hospitalized for an infected intestinal blockage. (seven days) Told them straight out I was seriously, not mildly stoned due to the issues. They gave me morphine the moment the tests came back. (Bless them) They told me that weed didn't matter and went on about their business. (Large amounts of antibiotics /IV, fluids, anti-inflammatories.) The first sign, days later, was the largest, loudest fart on RECORD. It sounded like two dinosaurs battling and playing on a megaphone. The nurses heard it AT THE HALL DESK and came in to congratulate me! LOL I seriously thought they were going to find parts of my body on the walls. I so appreciated them caring for me and sharing the laugh despite my embarrassment. They said it was a very good sign. I was afraid to ask what came NEXT. We know. But I walked out of there after four days like a new person. AND had my teeth repaired so I could actually CHEW efficiently. Poor dental care can lead to other issues!
My question is why are most people with fibromyalgia labeled as frequent flyers? The pain is excruciating and i feel like I'm not even cared for properly because they assume I'm there for meds i don't need. If an ibuprofen and Tylenol would stop the pain I'm in why would I come to you? My migraines get so bad at times i have to get tropophyol (SP?) Injections. I feel like they think I'm faking it when I'm not
I completely understand I came in because I had excruciating pain from my gallbladder that contained several Gaul stones so horrible I needed morphine and Percocet. The number of nurses that gave me a look😑… I was in pain so horrible postpartum not there for drugs
Every hospital system is different, but the one I work at specifically flags ANYONE who's been in an urgent care or other ER in the city in the last week, and we can also look up the basic reason for all previous visits to emerg/urgent care since computers were used and it helps us determine potential patterns (e.g. multiple visits for overdose and now here for alertered LOC, or multiple visits for gallstones, might be time to explore surgical options, etc.)
The ER’s are only looking for IMMEDIATE life or death EMERGENCIES. I’m not saying you in general are “abusing” the ER because i don’t know your story. Like Steve said, their main priority is to make sure you’re healthy, breathing and alive. I would suggest you to follow up with your PCP. If you don’t have one, you can always google some near you depending on your insurance coverage/plan. You have to remember that medicine is also science a trial and error. Just because one medicine doesn’t work another may. Also, ED’s recently have been very limited and strictly regulated by the DEA on the Narcotics they can order/prescribe. If someone is a “frequent flyer”(again not you specifically) they tend to usually stick to the Tylenol/Motrin orders with water and a turkey sandwich. Just be patient in the ER’s as i’m sure you know they can be frustrating , especially when you’re in deep pain. Some doctors and Nurses have multiple other patients they have to tend to as well as catching up on charting and completing orders. I hope you find the peace you’re looking for and the help you need.
Just my 2-cents of working in a hospital for the last 4 years
@@kaileyveitch353
"Multiple visits for gallstones"? How..? What..? I had an attack in April. I was in the ER on a Friday, and in a surgery consult Monday. My gallbladder was removed by early May/within 2 weeks. I was told that I could DIE from another gallstone attack; either from gangrene or sepsis. I'm so confused. Why..How can people go on after the first severe attack?!?
Get a rheumatologist
Regarding the period one٫ even if we clean ourselves there's still going to be blood mixed in. It's not something we can avoid. Is there ever a situation where we can wait till the end of our period or do something so they don't think there's actually blood inside?
I can only give my input as a med tech and female myself. Like you said it’s not completely unavoidable but if you clean very well and do a midstream catch the amount of blood in the urine will be very small since the urine is coming out through the urethra so as long as you cleaning the opening well it should be ok. Now for chemistry exams like drug screens etc. We spin down the urine in a centrifuge so it doesn’t affect those tests at all. For the actual urinalysis part where we quantify RBC and WBC and any other significant structures the RBC count may be falsely high but if you let your provider know they will know that’s the cause. If the increase RBC is due to damage to the kidneys you will see other structures like cast with RBC which is not found in period blood. There are also a bunch of other chemistry tests that can be done too to definitively diagnose kidney damage and such. It’s only when the urine is sooo bloody it looks like peripheral blood do we cancel. And if they suspect uti and can’t recollect in these causes we can just perform a culture. Hope this helps.
Diva cups are a game changer.
They will catheterize you.(Insert a tube into your bladder. It's more expensive because you have to pay for the tray.)
It's important to know if the blood is from your period or perhaps from a kidney stone.
It’s not a big deal. Clean the best you can and let the nurse know you’re on your period. If a super clean urine is needed, often it’s not, we can do a straight cath. If we suspect kidney stones, we’ll probably do a CT or ultrasound or even an XR or if you’ve had them before and this feels the exact same, then we’ll probably just treat.
About the lying thing, I went into the ER reporting serious dizziness, motor function issues (I had problems walking) aaand it was St Patrick's Day. They ask me "How much have you had to drink and have you taken anything?" And I hadn't and told them so. They give me this serious look and say 'we're going to take a blood test, it's going to be fast and everything shows up, is there anything you want to tell us." They came back really pleasantly surprised, informed me that I wasn't pregnant and worked really closely with me to figure out what was going on. It was BPPV aaand it's still a problem every now and then.
Hey Steven I Love your comedy skits, but I’m really enjoying the more serious topics, or at least in a more serious & educational manner! Love Your Talent!
I was having a seizure and they asked for a urine sample and thats how we found out i had a massive uti that couldve spread to my kidneys. Still wondering abt that seizure tho
You said that you had a massive UTI. I've had some myself. I know that they can cause somebody to have a fever. In some cases fevers can cause people to go into a seizure.
@@ohionative5237 yep in certain cases patients who are at risk of developing sepsis can have seizures, so maybe it was something like that. Infection can get out of hand quite quickly if it gets a foothold.
It might have been a febrile seizure. More common than people think. I'm glad you're doing better!
When my niece had a uti with a fever. When her fever was high, she started seizing. We had to stick ice packs around her still she stopped seizing. We also had to give her long cold baths. The only way she would stay in the cold bath, was if I stayed in there with her. She'd scream the entire time. To make it funny, I'd scream with her.
Were you an adult or a young child when this "seizure" activity occurred? Febrile seizures is a condition that is outgrown in childhood. Adults DO NOT have febrile seizures. kidney infections can cause high fevers accompanied by severe chills, but not seizure activity. ANY NEW seizure activity in an ADULT MUST be worked up.
*Him smiling at his own video* ... makes me smile too, effortlessly!
I was in the ER because I was losing consciousness, couldn’t stay awake. I was on opana for pain, and they kept asking if I’d snorted it. I kept saying no, but they wouldn’t believe me & kept asking. (I don’t think it’s even possible to snort opana).
They finally found out my Pdoc had me on too-high doses of gabapentin and trileptal. I reduced the dosages myself, and I stopped going into comas.
I’d also had seizures from it, as well as transient paralysis of my legs, which went away.
Thank you for your explanations sir, your terrific humor and your down-to-earth
manner!--So very informative and enjoyable! Please keep it up sir!
Hi there from a retired ER nurse. My favorite UA story is the guy that came in with severe flank pain, said he was passing a kidney stone. Hints that he just wanted drugs = #1. He said he had to pee right now . Usually it's hard to get a urine sample from someone in excruciating pain. #2. His urine was pink with sediment. Usually the blood in urine from a kidney stone is microscopic. I sent the UA, started a line and gave one dose of IV morphine. Then the lab called me and asked me if I had mislabeled the sample. I described how it had looked and asked what the problem was. The lab tech said there was menstrual blood in the urine. We figured out he had brought in a used tampon and did the vampire's tea bag thing with his urine. Dr. basically threw him out of the ER. Love your stories!
Hope you didn't give any druggies new (to them) ideas. But at least you told of the consequences of faking it.
I once had an ER doc who assumed I was lying about how syrup meds affect me(i can't hold it down) and brought me syrup medicine. Mom made me try it. I was there for vomiting and diarrhea. I puked before a second even passed after I swallowed. He said "you were right" and got me a pill that stayed put. He tried to discharge me before I was even rehydrated. He didn't even give a diagnosis and treated the symptoms. But my mom was mad and scared him into letting me rehydrate before he sent me home. I hate small town hospitals cuz they don't have the money it takes to even be a decent hospital. I'll drive halfway cross the state if I have to just to go to a big city hospital that has the right equipment to help me.
Omg,I just love your videos,you've got a great sense of humor,and a wonderful attitude.The content is informative and presented in funny way that still allows you to get across the point of view you're showing.You're pretty awesome sir!
I just wanted to thank you for explaining how to take a urine sample you have no idea. I was about to reschedule a whole medical test for my visa application, thank you so much.
Yes, they can usually tell if you have a kidney infection from a urine test. My husband had all the symptoms of a kidney infection - fever, kidney pain, trouble with urination - but the urine sample came back negative so they had no treatment. Turned out it was covid 19. Such a bizarre disease.
As a nurse that has had countless UTIs muself, they can tell if you have a UTI via urine test, but takes further tests to determine for sure if it's just the ureter, bladder, or has traveled all the way to your kidneys.
With the sip test comment, my mum shared a story from when she had student nurses training under her.
She had a couple urine samples in her hand and one cup that was apple juice (labelled so she could see it) She was talking them through the process etc and then said “we then do a quick taste test.” Sipping at the apple juice. A student thought this was legit and threw up everywhere 🤣
My spouse works at LPCH (Stanford University's kids hospital) and when he was in school he worked as an orderly in an ER in MN, we both just discovered your channel. So damn funny, yet so damn true. Your presentation is priceless!!
Ok, so I can weigh in on the giving a urine sample while on your period part. I have personal experience with this. I went in for abdominal pain & they initially thought it was appendicitis. It turned out to be ovarian cysts & my horrific uterus. In order to have no contamination to the urine sample (b/c a lab tech already commented on that...Thanks for that, Xemira Hobyless!), the ER staff will actually wipe you off & give you a catheter to collect your sample. That will stay with you until they dont need a sample anymore or they dont need to do a full bladder procedure (in my case it was an ultrasound & yes, they put warm saline in the opposite way that it would come out & then clamped it off until the ultrasound was done.) .
I once went to the ER with neck pain. I couldn’t hold my head straight. I’ve had a sore neck before from sleeping in a bad position, but it usually goes away in a day or two, and this wasn’t going away. I just wanted to check that nothing was seriously wrong with me, and I said that to the MD. She seemed to think I was looking for drugs. Me, who barely takes a Tylenol unless I really have to! She wasn’t very nice about it, either! At least they checked my neck out and decided I just had a bad sprain. Which made me less nervous.
Thank you everyone working so hard to keep people safe and healthy. I can’t imagine how exhausted you must be mentally and physically. You are appreciated. And thank you Steven for managing to put out these funny but informative videos ❤️
I love your humor….priceless! Thank you for this video. I love how educational it is and encouraging others to share their insights. I also think you did a great job of calming peoples nerves…if you need a health professional, come to the e.r., that’s what we are here for.
RE: kidney infection.
60 years ago it was used for detection, along with x-rays while you urinated. (personal experience).
I hope u having an amazing day! Amazing merch dude. Love your stories from the ER. Actually want to become a doctor/nurse my self one day 😊
I Hope you become what you want! ❤️
My 18-yr old son went in to the ER in severe pain and the staff seemed to think he just wanted pain meds for recreational use. His appendix had ruptured.😡
I love how he laughs at his own delivery on his video. I also find myself saying MF so much more than I used to .
This video explains why the nurse was so surprised when he asked how much I weighed and I actually weighted that much.
Question: What is THE single most common reason people end up in the ER? I would assume cutting your finger really bad while chopping vegetables or sudden severe chest pains but I have no idea.
I would imagine trauma, then chest pain and breathlessness, then sepsis maybe?
I think it depends on where you are. I work in a hospital that has two types of people in the area: the fabulously wealthy and the destitute. Everyone gets the same treatment. Unless a bone is protruding, you get offered Tylenol (but better drugs are coming, when you're diagnosed with a kidney stone - which is done really quickly). Turns out anyone can be seeking pain drugs. Our big complaints range from uncontrolled vomiting to suicide attempts, to sprains/strains/simple fractures, to pregnancy tests. Yes, people keep showing up in the ER for a REALLY expensive and time consuming pregnancy test that they could have just taken at home or at any women's health clinic for free. Some people have more money than sense, I guess. Around the holidays, people showed up with fake COVID symptoms to get a COVID test so that they could go to a family event maskless and get COVID. I guess scheduling COVID tests is for losers. Just like wearing masks.
At my hospital shortness of breath and motor vehicle accidents aka MVA
@@meganm1690 where I work, they call them MVCs: motor vehicle collisions. No one wanted to speculate on the nature of said collisions, so the word "accident" was removed - in case it was intentional, I guess. We're a Level 1 trauma center, so our most popular traumas, according to the trauma pager is "fall," followed by "MVC," followed by the ever-popular "penetrating," followed by the mysterious "other." We pay attention to the systolic pressure and the Glascow coma scale numbers to give us a clue as to the severity if the ER decides to leave us in the dark (I'm in the Blood Bank).
Abdominal pain, it's ALWAYS abdominal pain all day every day in the ER
I want to spend a day with this dude.
Id definitely hang out or even go on a date with him for sure :D
I have been to the ER where the tech was doing her absolute best and things were freaking crazy. The poor thing completely forgot to ask for a urine sample, and I'm actually used to giving one. As she was leaving I was like, "don't you need a urine sample?" The poor thing was grabbing a cup and practically throwing it at me (to be fair, a major emergency had just come in, and things were SUPER busy, which I totally understand). I don't even remember what I was in there for, I just remember how busy it was and how hard the poor tech was working.
Regarding the question about the kidney infection, I've had one that was diagnosed in the ER with a urine test. I think it was all the blood and probably white blood cells in the urine in conjunction with back pain at the level of the kidneys that helped them figure it out. BTW, Pyelonephritis (kidney infection) hurts!