Subj : Re: Working in a (real) ER
To   : alt.tv.er
From : LaGBa
Date : Thu Oct 06 2005 02:33:06

From Newsgroup: alt.tv.er

Doc Sharon wrote in part:
>99% of what comes through the door in
>any ER, even in the inner city, is small
>stuff. Babies with runny noses and
>earaches, kids with sprains and needing
>stitches, people with chronic things that
>don't belong in the ER in the first place.

And it makes for a very long wait for the people who do need to go to
the ER. 

Just last month I had an allergic reaction to Lisinopril (a blood
pressure med). My cheek and lip swelled up &  ad  a rash on my arms. I
thought it might be an allergic reaction, because I am allergic to
penicillins, cephalosporins, macrolides and sulfas (all of these are
ntibiotics), but with all of them I got hives, not a swollen face. 

But I have also been told that an allergic reaction could go from minor
to serious to life threatening quickly, so I was concerned. But I had no
idea it was from the Lisinopril. 

And of courseIt started on a Friday night I called my Doctor's office on
Saturday. After looking at my records and seeing that I had started
Lisinopril just several weeks before & that I already had other drug
allergies, the on-call doctor told me to go to the ER. 

When I got there, there was a sign saying there would be a 5 hour wait.
This is not a big city hospital. And there is another hospital only a
couple miles away. Both are private hospitals (not funded by the
county). Nor are they teaching hospitals.

From the time I got there until the doc saw me, it was about 6 hours.
Then I had to have an IV of benedryl, prednisone and something else that
I forget the name of as well as a shot of something in my arm.

So, while I was not having a life threatening reaction _at that point_,
it was something that started when my doctor's office was closed and it
needed to be taken care of before the office opened again. If I had
waited, I might not be typing this right now. 

So, my point with all this is that the people who go to the emergency
room when they don't need to, make it worse for the people who really do
need to be there.

Love and God Bless always, Lorraine }=A1{

.