Some people are stupid - really stupid. A case in point was the job I had this morning. We got called to a male with vomiting. When we got there we were given a letter explaining that he has "Idiopathic cyclic vomiting". Which, translated into English, means he has episodes of vomiting which cannot be explained by any other means. When we got there he was doing the "dry heaves", he had a temperature of 38.1C (Normal range is 36.2C-37.2C) so he was hot, and feeling terrible for it.
So obviously his family had wrapped him up in a blanket "to keep him warm". When people get a high temperature they often feel cold. The solution for this is to cool them down, and they will soon feel much better - often the trip in an ambulance will do this nicely.
I explained all this to the patient, and his wife but they insisted on bringing the blanket with them (like we don't have enough blankets in the back of our ambo). I refused to let him wear it, and lo and behold, he began to feel better as he cooled down. I explained all the above to him and his family again - that he was now feeling better because his temperature was lowering, that the blanket is the worst thing you can do, etc, etc...
We booked him in at the hospital, and as I turned around to leave, what do I see but the bloody idiot wrapped in his big thick blanket.
Well, if you are that stupid you deserve to feel like crap, and as I wasn't going to repeat myself again I left him to suffer.
I got home to find a message on my answer machine from Occupational Health asking me to ring them as soon as I can. Unfortunately I'm home too late to ring, and because Monday is a Bank holiday, I suspect that the first time I will be able to ring them is on Tuesday.
I'm hoping that the reason for the call is to remind me to get a blood test over the weekend and nothing more serious.
But I think I'm in for three days of vague worry as various scenarios rattle through my head.
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Friday, April 30
by
Reynolds
on Fri 30 Apr 2004 06:09 PM BST
Saturday, April 24
by
Reynolds
on Sat 24 Apr 2004 01:01 PM BST
I told you that big things with flashing lights are invisible...
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Welcome to Random Acts Of Reality, a Blog based in London, England, written by an E.M.T working for the London Ambulance Service. Also, number one search result for "Womble porn". All names have be changed to protect the guilty. This Blog was previously known as "Why I Hate Humanity" but the antipsychotic medication seems to have kicked in.
All opinions on this website are mine alone, and may not reflect those of the L.A.S or other ambulance crews Find out more about me here.
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