r/emergencymedicine • u/Asleep-Palpitation43 Nurse Practiciner • Feb 02 '25

Advice Allergy Olympics

Is it wrong that if I see a patient has more than 10 allergies I IMMEDIATELY assume she's (bc it's always a she) a psych case?

In 24 years I've never been wrong.

You'll never read this in a textbook but add it to your practice today and thank me later👍

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573

u/AppalachianEspresso Feb 02 '25 edited Feb 02 '25

Dyed hair over the age of 30? Borderline personality disorder.

Patient pulls out the cell phone charger in the room? They aren’t having an emergency.

Seizure + stuffed animal upon arrival? PNES

Non English speaking belly pain + never in the department before? Appendicitis or cancer

Contrast allergy? Liar or actually has the PE and that VQ will be equivocal.

Psychotic malingering patient that is there everyday? Will one day actually have badness someone will not believe, will die, someone gets sued

John Boy who comes in drunk every day will be dangerously hypoglycemic or have a head bleed inevitably.

If you’re ever going to have a bad outcome, it’ll be in the last hour of your shift when you’re trying to leave.

The laws of ER.

67

u/[deleted] Feb 02 '25

[deleted]

20

u/descendingdaphne RN Feb 02 '25

You’re not being a dick - functional adults don’t travel with blankies.

27

u/scotus_canadensis Feb 02 '25

Where do you live? We have multiple blankets in every vehicle, you never travel without a blanket.

20

u/deferredmomentum “how does one acquire a gallbladder?” Feb 02 '25

Emergency car blanket ≠ blankie

38

u/SolitudeWeeks RN Feb 02 '25

Blankets and blankies are not the same thing.

1

u/em2590 Feb 02 '25

I've read the words "blanket " and "blankies" too much and now they don't sound like real words

28

u/descendingdaphne RN Feb 02 '25

Yeah, bringing your blankie to the ED is different than keeping an emergency blanket in the car.