Lets see, you’re a 43 year old woman and in my ER with recurrent facial abscesses. You have celulitis all over your cheek which is very puffy. Your teeth are rotted. You have snorted massive amounts of cocaine for more than 20 years and now your entire nasal septum is gone and the resulting cavernous […]

Remember the old saying, “Don’t put anything in your ear except your elbow”?  You can’t do it!  In other words, don’t stick stuff in there - technically not even Q-tips. Although if you are really careful and don’t go in very far, they are usually OK.
Anyway, I had a guy who was using a Q-tip […]

The other day I had a guy in his 40’s come in with a sore throat - pretty damn common and usually completely unexciting and non-emergent complaint. However, this was one of those cases where you take one look at the guy and listen to him answer one question, and your spidey sense tells you […]

This is a link to a pretty horrific video from somewhere in the middle east ( I am guessing Lebanon). This dude attempts to dive into the water and comes up short. The scene is awful. The part I am shocked by is the scene in the ER at the end. I have never (and […]

That is one thing I have found in Emergency Medicine. You can’t be afraid to tackle problems outside your comfort zone. Of course, you can ask for some help (either via a reference guide or via telephone with a consultant) but time and time again, I see someone with a particular problem I have […]

Things you will never hear from me:
1. “Sure Ma’am, just tell me how many Dilaudid you want for your chronic back pain.”
2. “Nurse, I actually prefer to see lower GI bleeders in the hallway.”
3. “Hey Doctor ENT, just come whenever you want for this kid with a severe post-tonsillectomy bleed”
4. “Of COURSE we have […]

OK, one shift where I was not overcome with sheer volume AND had a nice mix of patients who actually have urgencies or emergencies is rare enough, two is a row is unheard of!
Here was the mix:
a. A woman in her 60’s with fairly severe angioedema of her lips and tongue - unknown cause. […]