Doctors Share the Weirdest Things A Patient Wouldn’t Admit
Doctors swear an oath to “first, do no harm.” Secretive patients make this a hard duty to uphold. These doctors took the chance to vent about the not-so-little things patients refused to spill about their medical history.
When it comes to health vs. reputation, some people will stay mum…at great risk to themselves. Whisper a symptom to these shocking tales of the weirdest things that patients have ever refused to admit to their doctors.
1. Just a Little Prick
Not a doctor but a nurse. Had a patient come in with a toothpick in his penis. Refused to tell me how it got in there, insisting he was picking his teeth and it fell in.
2. The Water on this Story Broke
Not a doctor, but my husband. He had a 17-year-old girl with abdominal pains come into the ER with her Mum, turns out she’s in full-blown labor. Assures them she can’t be pregnant, she’s a virgin.
The baby is literally crowning right there in ER (no maternity ward in their hospital and she was in advanced labor when she arrived) and she still insists she’s a virgin.
3. Let It Snow
I admitted a guy for chest pain. As part of the workup, I did a urine drug screen which came back positive for cocaine. After the rest of his cardiac workup was negative, I said to him, "Good news, you didn't have a heart attack.
It's likely that your chest pain was caused by cocaine." His answer: "I didn't use cocaine. See, I was at a party and people had some lines of cocaine out on a table.
As I was walking by, an oscillating fan blew the cocaine into my face, which is why my urine was positive."
Mmmhmm. Got it.
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4. The Real Pain Would Be Keeping a Secret
Guy denied ever having chest pain, ever. Told us he was able to chop wood and work on his land without any issues. He didn’t meet any criteria for additional workup prior to surgery. During his major surgery, he had a huge heart attack.
A cardiac cath showed that he basically had one very narrow coronary artery that was the only thing getting blood to his heart.
His daughters, who were nurses, all swore up and down that he was healthy as a horse and never complained of heart issues.
Then his black sheep other daughter arrived and said he actually had told her that he terrible exertional chest pain every time he did anything, but that he didn’t want his other daughters to know because they would worry.
He died a few days later. If we had known about his symptoms, he would have likely had his cardiac disease diagnosed and treated prior to surgery.
