Having to go to the emergency room is one of the most stressful experiences you can have. But the circumstances behind your visit, while often painful, sometimes have a humorous silver lining to them. It’s the kind of stuff that might embarrass you, but it's great for making others chuckle and groan with sympathy.
Inspired by content creator @marield292, former patients revealed the most ridiculous, downright dumbest reasons why they ended up in the ER. Scroll down for a good laugh, and be sure to share these stories with any doctors you know.
#1
My son. Fell down a cliff and broke 3 toes…chasing a lizard.🦎 here’s the kicker, he was 19 years old at the time 🙄
Image credits: Kim Hodge
#2
I fell out of an ambulance….
Image credits: Erica Rose
#3
A stomachache that didn't stop for hours already, rushed to e.r and dr. said that I'm already going to give birth😭.... wth 😳 I'm not pregnant, I told her that my stomach is flat, my menstruation is normal and not delayed😭... but dr. said i am one of few rare cases.. we got discharge w/ healthy baby boy😭.. we got home w/ no things for the baby; clothes, ward and etc..
fun fact: 12 yrs married, we did everything for me to get pregnant but were unsuccessful.. we planned to adopt and while processing the papers our house was burned our application got rejected.. we are already at the point of accepting that maybe it's not for us, being a parent..but after 4yrs. miracle happened in unexpected time and way.
I didn't believe that kind of pregnancy existed until it happened to me.. it's a cryptic pregnancy, that's what it's called
Image credits: maliyah
Deciding whether or not to call an ambulance and head to the emergency room is a tough dilemma. On the one hand, your health and life are at stake, and they should be your priorities. On the other hand, there’s often a voice in the back of your head telling you that you might, potentially, be overreacting and that everything ‘should’ be fine, and you don’t want to waste ER doctors’ time. (And depending on where you live, healthcare might be prohibitively expensive, so there’s the financial aspect to worry about, too.)
Concordia University notes that many ER visits aren’t actual emergencies, and the issues can be addressed by a doctor, pharmacist, or at home. This way, you might be taking up time and resources that could be used for actual emergency cases. Meanwhile, showing up at the ER without good cause might lead to you getting infected by sick patients.
Here are some serious health problems that mean you should immediately seek emergency help:
- Suffering severe physical trauma after an accident
- Losing consciousness
- Severe abdominal pain, especially with a fever
- Sudden strong headaches
- Sudden chest pains
- Shortness of breath
- Sudden numbness in your arms or legs or blurred vision
- Having a rapid pulse while resting, without having exercised or been in emotional stress
#4
I broke my pinky demonstrating to my brother how I broke my other pinky the day before.
Image credits: Tallulah McGillicuddy
#5
got a weird headache that didn't go away for like a week, arms and face started going numb. went to ER, neck is broken. I didnt do anything to injure myself. it just broke. this was 3 weeks ago and I'm in a brace right now
Image credits: FlowerSnacks
#6
mom told me that she took me to the ER when I was a newborn because I was sleeping too much and even refused food bc I was that sleepy
turns out I just really like to sleep
no, it didn't go away
Meanwhile, according to Concordia University, here are some situations where you should probably not go to the ER:
- Having a cold or the flu, when symptoms (runny nose, congestion, sore throat, sneezing, fever, chills, muscle aches, headache, etc.) are mild and can be treated at home
- Getting minor burns, cuts, or scrapes
- Minor aches or pains
- Visiting to get your prescription refilled
A good rule of thumb to keep in mind is that if you are experiencing a great deal of sudden pain and your symptoms are very much out of the ordinary, you should call an ambulance. In these cases, it’s always better to be safe than sorry. In the meantime, being slightly uncomfortable is usually nothing to worry about, so instead of heading to the ER, speak to your local pharmacist or family doctor.
As HCA Virginia points out, if you can describe your sudden headache as the “worst headache ever,” go to the ER. This can be a sign of a migraine, an aneurysm, or a stroke.
In the meantime, Medline Plus advises that if you’re ever unsure of what to do, call your primary care provider, health insurance company, or nurse telephone advice hotline so that they can help you as best as they can.
#7
I dislocated both of my thumbs making my bed
Image credits: ShortT
#8
My daughter was keeled over in stomach pain. Thought appendicitis. We go to er at midnight. Waiting for tests results, she rips the biggest loudest deepest fart. I’m like do you feel better? She’s like yup. Tests came back with ✨nothing✨
Image credits: Jess G7
#9
I tore my acl at work doing an Ace Ventura impersonation
Image credits: Cari Stays Human
What are the most ridiculous reasons you’ve ever ended up in the emergency room, dear Pandas?
On the flip side, have you been to the ER before due to something incredibly serious? If you’ve ever worked at an ER, how often do you have patients come in who have actual emergencies versus those who overreact?
If you feel like sharing your experiences, feel free to do so in the comments at the bottom of this post.
#10
Took out my contact lens because it was too dry. Tore my cornea off together with the lens
Image credits: Sijing
#11
i lifted a crate of potatoes, sneezed and herniated 3 discs in my back and my bladder stopped working
Image credits: Jade
#12
Sitting on our front porch a MOTH divebombed my ear. ER 1st said they couldn’t do anything I would have to go to an ENT Monday, it was Sat night. In near tears I begged if there was anything they could do. A Dr came in with a tool he carried in his own bag & pulled the moth out. It fluttering in my ear was one of the worst things I’ve experienced.
#13
Infected elbow from knitting too much in a short period of time....Dr said I was his first knitting related case
Image credits: NukaColaBea
#14
Dislocated my jaw yawning
Image credits: caden
#15
I fell in a hole dug for a large post that was full of water while chasing a goat. fractured my wrist and found out I was pregnant
Image credits: Britney
#16
my husband rolled over on my arm while we were sleeping and it snapped
Image credits: rb
#17
My daughter tore her meniscus walking into a Dunkin Donuts. 😂 She did it a second time years later at the same Dunkin Donuts! 🤣🤣
Image credits: mamabearkim6
#18
Dropped a glass on my finger, tiny cut, no issue, ignored it for a week, finger turned blue and lost feeling. Turns out glass was actually in there moving around
Image credits: vex_11
#19
I slipped in a puddle of dog pee my poor blind dachshund left when he couldn’t find me. I was in the bathroom. Broke my left wrist & left ankle
Image credits: Solytayre
#20
I pulled a muscle in my groin...getting off the toilet....last month. 3 day hospital stay.
Image credits: A2An
#21
10 minutes into my shift at the doggy daycare, I trip over a French Bulldog and absolutely shatter my wrist. (Frenchie was fine, he sat in my lap completely unaware as I sat on the ground in pain) I needed surgery and hand therapy after and everything
Image credits: Mikaela Anderson
#22
Right after attending a silly workplace safety training where I laughed at their segment about using scissors, I promptly cut into my finger ridiculously deep with scissors so bad I had to go to ER. 15 years ago and I still have the scar
#23
i coughed too hard and fractured a rib
Image credits: Em :)
#24
I inhaled an earring that was in my asthma puffer.
Image credits: Jess
#25
Fractured my wrist pushing a piece of gum out of the foil packet.
Image credits: Di
#26
I had back pain that was not getting better so i went to the ER and found out it was ovarian cancer
Image credits: Kassy Starr
#27
Broke two toes racing my brother to the charcuterie board… we’re both adults and the wine hadn’t even been poured yet lol
#28
Got a third degree grease burn making French fried. Urgent care told me to treat it myself. The skin started falling off my leg so I went to the er. I had infection in my blood stream and almost perished.
#29
got a coffee bean stuck in my ear once. i dont want to talk about it
#30
One time I was in the er for one of my twins and my other twin decided to get his head stuck in a chair so they had to have the fire department get him unstuck
#31
slipped and fell, dislocating a toe, while running to show my husband a TikTok, on Christmas Eve
Image credits: themurphymayhem
#32
I slipped on a drink in a bar. Blew up my entire knee. Had a whole ACL replacement, meniscus and MCL repair
Image credits: Jess
#33
I tried to use my dogs as a sled dog team with a skateboard. I ended up with 9 stitches in my lip because my tooth got pushed through my lip when I pancaked into the side of a parked car. 😩 I would do it again.
#34
I once went to the ER throwing up and had diarrhoea, dr came in after seeing my test results turns out my new puppy I got gave me a stomach bug usually only contracted by animals.. dr had to explain that I had been kissing my puppy so much she gave me a dog virus 😭 I was just a tad embarrassed…
#35
I was having stroke symptoms and got a full workup and spent 17 hours in the ER to find out it was covid and I has a super weird presentation with no cold symptoms. all neurologic
#36
Thought a bug flew in my ear and was going to lay eggs. Turns out the sound I thought was fluttering wings was just a really bad ear infection
Image credits: amberdwastaken
#37
Ate too much sushi and then got dumping syndrome. (Google it) Fainted from the pain and then subsequently hit my head and knocked myself out on the floor. I was unconscious for half an hour and out of it for 3 hours. I don’t remember most of it. I still love sushi.
Image credits: Bellamy
#38
i torn my meniscus fully while shopping for shoes 😭 my husband called out to me to look at a shoe, i turned and BAMMM
Image credits: shailahud
#39
I tripped over a blind deaf dog and fell down a set of stairs dislocating my shoulder. ER didn't believe my story
#40
One time, my dad was home alone and sliced his hand open really bad on a metal clothes hanger. While trying to drive himself to the hospital for stitches, the brakes went out on his car. He’s fine tho
#41
Wound up in the er the day after my wedding. Missed our cruise… had a kidney infection…. When the vows said “in sickness and in health” they meant that… my poor husband lol. That was 8 years ago though. Still going strong!!
#42
Laughed so hard my waters broke at 35 week pregnant.
#43
tripped over the plaster cast on my leg and broke my arm.
got up from the sofa and completely detached the meniscus in my knee (needed surgery)
fell off top bunk sleep walking
Image credits: Amy
#44
my husband cut off his finger while chopping pepperoni that I asked him not to do. they put it back. it's just the audacity. I told him the pepperoni didn't need chopped
Image credits: Helixian
#45
My mother got whiplash from laughing.
Image credits: straphappy
#46
I broke my ankle while delivering an Instacart order. I fell flat on her driveway. I saved her watermelon tho
#47
dislocated my shoulder taking off a mattress cover. 🤷♀️been know as the person who got taken out by a mattress ever since
#48
my friend bent over and poked his eye on a century plant. he's had to wear glasses ever since.
