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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u/MissyChevious613 EM Social Worker Feb 02 '25

I had a pt that had a handful of allergies listed. None were actual allergies but my absolute favorite was he listed oxygen as an allergy. He swore up and down his PCP listed it. She did, but it was a self-reported allergy. Long story short, he insisted we get the medical records that proved he was allergic to oxygen. We did and when we showed him the records, he got real defensive.