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According to statistics, more than 130 million people visit the emergency room in the U.S. every year. The reasons for visits differ from person to person, of course: a flu is nowhere near as urgent as a cut off finger or an ongoing heart attack. While only 14% of ER visits result in hospitalization, the most frequent reasons for going to ER include digestive symptoms, chest pain, muscoskeletal injuries, and skin cuts.
However, some folks go to the ER for much less. As a fellow hypochondriac, I feel for them: it's not hard to convince yourself that a simple headache might actually mean you might have bacterial meningitis. But the comment section online where one content creator asked, "What's the dumbest reason you went to the ER?" had heaps of entertaining stories of folks panicking and going to the ER for the dumbest thing. Scroll down to see the real power of self-persuasion.
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#1
Met my mom for brunch one day. She mentions she was watering her plants before she left and when she turned the hose on the pressure made it bounce and it bumped her in the head. She says oh but I’m fine it wasn’t very hard.
As we are finishing lunch she moves her bangs off her forehead and I notice a brown spot. I say hey there is something on your forehead. She gets out her compact and looks at it and proceeds to tell me she thinks she is starting to get a headache. I say let me drive you home and you can get your car later. She gets in my car and looks closer at the spot on her head in the vanity mirror. She starts to panic and says drive me to ER I think I have a brain bleed. I start to panic and rush to the hospital that was thankfully pretty close. It was not busy and they take us back to a room immediately.
The nurse is checking her out and pulls out a wipe. I watch her wipe the brown spot off her forehead. It was dirt. My mom went to the ER for dirt on her forehead. Love you mom
Multa Nocte (she/her/8647) 15 hours ago
"That will be $5,000.00 for the consultation and an additional $500.00 for the Kleenex."
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#2
When I was a kid I got chicken pox, I broke out in hives too so my parents took me to the ER. Turns out I'm allergic to chicken pox, how that is even possible is still a question to this day
#3
I had a baby and randomly started bleeding after the post partum lochia stopped. I was panicking, baby was only 7 weeks and I thought I was hemorrhaging.... they diagnosed me with "We think it's your first period after baby ma'am".
Mrs Irish Mom 22 hours ago
This happened to me but it was 3 weeks after baby and I thought i was dying 🙈
#4
I had extreme pain on the side of my abdomen. We called the ER and they said it could be kidney stones. They loaded me in the ambulance, I kept farting all the way. By the time I arrived in the hospital I was fine. Turned out I had flatulence.
#5
My sister left school for the ER cuz her fingers were turning blue and it turns out she was wearing new jeans and the dye rubbed off on them
Multa Nocte (she/her/8647) 15 hours ago
My mother was concerned when she noticed that her toenails were blue. One of the MDs she worked with got out a little scalpel and scraped one of her nails and the blue colouration came off. Turns out it was from the wetsuit she had used the day before when kayaking.
#6
I never went to the hospital but one time I woke up facing the wall and started screaming because I thought I went blind
Riley Quinn 19 hours ago
I don't remember any of my dreams, but I know I have them based on the number of nights I've suddenly sat up shouting AARGH. To add to this drama, I don't immediately know it's me calling out and think it's someone else close by, which scares the heck out of me. PTSD doesn't rest.
#7
I had the absolute worst flu of my life I finally called my doctor to make an appointment but dialed the wrong number by 1 digit and I called the cemetery instead. I freaked out even more and had to go to urgent care lol
#8
I caused ligament damage and bruising on my knee by moving my couch cushion with my knee..Not moving my couch, moving my couch CUSHION
#9
I sneezed while driving and dislocated my shoulder
Riley Quinn 21 hours ago
I've thrown my back out from sneezing. I'm going to assume you're in your 40s. That's when our bodies start rebelling.
#10
I stretched in a way I've done daily my entire life and my hip fell out. like full anterior dislocation. won't do that again
#11
thought i was leaking amniotic fluid at 3 mo pregnant. nope, just peeing myself.
#12
I had a slight headache and convinced myself I had bacterial meningitis- I was diagnosed with severe ocd!
Mrs Irish Mom 22 hours ago
This is my kid and it me with the headache after she lists off her fake symptoms
#13
I had a radical hysterectomy. I thought I was having fevers and was worried about infection. Hot flashes. I was having hot flashes. You know from the menopause.
Riley Quinn 21 hours ago
And your gynecologic didn't inform you that a hysterectomy kicks you right into menopause? And doctors wonder why we turn to the internet for medical advice/explanations.
#14
i went to the er because i thought i was poisoned since my arms down to my wrist were extremely purple (idk, i think of the worst). the nurse wiped my arm and it came right off. i had worn a new jacket that day and the dye transferred to my skin- it was a black jacket
#16
Bruised and dislocated my kneecap by slipping on a banana peel
Mrs Irish Mom 22 hours ago
I fell on a slippery shore crossing the road and landed on my kneecap and dislocated it, all I hear is click click click when I walk
#17
when i was 4 i put a rock in my nose. i told my dad but he didn’t believe me; later i was returned to my mom and she was tucking me in to bed and i said “but what about the rock in my nose?” and we went to the rural ER at 9pm
Daisydaisy 14 hours ago
I got a little blue bead stuck up my nose at primary school when I was ten. They called my mum to come and get me and take me to the doctor. I blew my nose into a tissue on the way to the doctor and the bead came out. Mum said we might as well just enjoy the afternoon anyway, so we went and saw a movie and had hot chips. It was one of the most joyful days of my childhood!
#18
Not me but I worked in emerg and someone came in via ambulance for chapped lips.
#19
I had a pierogi explode in my face and got second degree burns
Riley Quinn 19 hours ago
It's amazing how many different accidents occur with microwaved food. I zap my pre-made meals every day, but I treat them like they're radioactive after reading about them.
#20
I had intense pain in my abdomen. Thought it was appendicitis turns out I was just pregnant.
#21
One time I went to urgent care and they told me my appendix ruptured and I needed to go to the ER immediately.. so I go and they tell me it’s an ovarian cyst and the pain wasn’t even on the same side as my appendix
#22
My drunk friend thought it was a good idea to ride our e scooter with 5 people. Let me tell you. We all fell after 4 minutes but this one friend fell into a garbage can on the side of the street and he got stuck. I will never forget the face of the fire fighters.
#25
I went to the er, cuz I sat down wrong and somehow my knee cracked and it started swelling. On the x-ray they also found out I have bone cysts
#26
My parents thought my eyes were caving into the back of my head and I was going blind. Turns out I just have allergies.
Riley Quinn 19 hours ago
Okay, your folks overreacted, but knowing you have allergies will save your life. It's horrible to learn someone went into anaphylactic shock because they were unaware of their allergy.
#27
I ate a whole pomelo and went to bed right after..
The wait for getting checked out by a doctor at the er was so long that my stomach eventually just absorbed the gas? Idk though just my guess hahah, pain went away fully the next day. Doctor just took blood tests and examined my stomach. It was hella awkward… ”I can’t fart”
Riley Quinn 20 hours ago
You should stop eating 2-3hrs before lying down. If you insist on eating before going to sleep, prop yourself up with pillows or in a recliner.
#28
Went to the ER with severe abdomen pain, was there for a total of 11h. Had ALL the tests under the sun (lost my insurance because of this one single day), was prepped for surgery to “look for the problem”…turned out I had…gas.
Tim Douglass 23 hours ago
This seems to be a reoccurring theme. Severe gas pains can really, really hurt, so I'm not surprised. My son ended up in the emergency room because of severe constipation. Guts not working are not fun.
#29
I passed out on my mom's birthday at a restaurant so they called 911 and I ended up in the er waiting room lobby for 8 hours sleep deprived. I had the flu and my blood pressure dropped so I passed out
Dog Mom to Zoe 11 hours ago
I think you might have been dehydrated. Well, also sleep deprived can do that.
#30
I tried opening a can of chicken with a knife and my thumb…I went to the ER and had five stitches. Same thumb that I cut a year earlier trying cooking. Now I buy pre-cut veggies.
#31
I had the worst stomach pain and cramping of my life, like completely unbearable. I was almost in tears and basically passed out. Woke up still in the lobby and had a crazy powerful fart and then was totally fine.
#32
not me, but my wife was prepping for a colonoscopy when she found out she's allergic to miralax after about 8 doses in
#33
I swallowed a quarter. I was 13.
#34
My kid's plan was to slide across the frozen puddle & say "I'm slick!". Their head bounced 2ft off the ice. After, at dinner, they kept wondering who was eating their dumplings. It was them.
Riley Quinn 20 hours ago
These are supposed to be dumbest reasons to go to the ER. Not the dumbest reasons not to. Apparently, Mother Dingbat thinks a potentially serious head injury requires dumplings and not a CT scan.
#35
The health visitor rushed me to a&e and said my son was having infantile seizures. Turns out it was autism
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Mabelbabel 23 hours ago
I work in a hospital (in the labs). I went to the bathroom, I was wearing tights (pantyhose), and when I tried to pull them back up, somehow they got really twisted and tied up. I ended up tying my knees together, stumbled, and headbutted the toilet door. I ended up with an enormous bump on my head, concussion, and a black eye. I was sent to the emergency dept to get checked up (department policy for accidents at work), and the doctor on duty had been a classmate of mine, and couldn't stop laughing when I told him my underwear had tried to assassinate me.
Multa Nocte (she/her/8647) 15 hours ago
I really shouldn't laugh at this but I am rolling. I'm glad you are better now.
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Did I say that out loud? 12 hours ago
I fell backwards over the cat and split my head open pretty badly. On a positive note,the cat was fine and my blood thinners are working brilliantly.
Bilja M 7 hours ago
Once my daughter was a baby it was extremely hot summer and she wasn't moving all day, so I panicked and get her to ER, and I was crying because I was so afraid. As soon as we get her into cooled room in the ER she sit up and started behaving normally. Doctors checked her and concluded she was just hot and apparently babies tend to get really still when it's hot to not raise their temperature even higher, like protection mechanism. So she was ok, but we still got AC as soon as we could.
Mabelbabel 23 hours ago
I work in a hospital (in the labs). I went to the bathroom, I was wearing tights (pantyhose), and when I tried to pull them back up, somehow they got really twisted and tied up. I ended up tying my knees together, stumbled, and headbutted the toilet door. I ended up with an enormous bump on my head, concussion, and a black eye. I was sent to the emergency dept to get checked up (department policy for accidents at work), and the doctor on duty had been a classmate of mine, and couldn't stop laughing when I told him my underwear had tried to assassinate me.
Multa Nocte (she/her/8647) 15 hours ago
I really shouldn't laugh at this but I am rolling. I'm glad you are better now.
Load More Replies... Did I say that out loud? 12 hours ago
I fell backwards over the cat and split my head open pretty badly. On a positive note,the cat was fine and my blood thinners are working brilliantly.
Bilja M 7 hours ago
Once my daughter was a baby it was extremely hot summer and she wasn't moving all day, so I panicked and get her to ER, and I was crying because I was so afraid. As soon as we get her into cooled room in the ER she sit up and started behaving normally. Doctors checked her and concluded she was just hot and apparently babies tend to get really still when it's hot to not raise their temperature even higher, like protection mechanism. So she was ok, but we still got AC as soon as we could.
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