Okay, nobody expects youth be able to set your own broken bones or organize your own chemo doses. But, like… By the time you’re 30, you should understand how your own genitals work.
This piece is based on an AskReddit thread. Link on the last page.
1. I had a patient come in for an STD check. She was very upset and continued to tell me that she only had one partner. Progressing through my assessment she further divulged that even if he was sleeping with other people it shouldnt matter “because he uses a condom every time and he makes sure to wash it thoroughly after every use.”
I asked what she meant when she said he washes it after every use. She explained that he washed the condom with hot water and soap before he used said condom again.
Laxrules56
2. Our doctor had to have a chat with my sister because she thought you could get pregnant from oral sex. She was 21.
blairbitch
3. Got placed doing a rotation in the orthopedic floor of a big hospital in a rural area of Southern California. I was doing my rounds and saw a patient out of bed and walking around the floor following a knee replacement. She had a cane in her hand that she was carrying like as a solider would carry a rifle.
I asked what she was doing and what she thought the cane was for. She replied she thought the cane was for pushing people out of her way since she’s now “handicapped” rather than to help her walk post surgery.
s_dot_p
4. I had severe asthma as a kid. I was intubated for a severe attack a few times. My parents were instructed to take better precautions in our home: more dusting, washing bedsheets, and the big one – NO SMOKING inside the house. So my parents agree to all of this.
But a few weeks later I’m back in the hospital. (continued)
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A doctor who recognized me came over to talk to me then bent over and smelled my head (I’ll never forget that. I thought it was so weird). He told a nurse to sit there and not let me leave with my parents. When my parents showed up he asked point blank:
“Did you not understand what I told you last time? Do you understand these attacks could be fatal?”
“But we open windows and have stopped smoking in her room when we put her to bed.”
—annon—
5. There was a nursing student I had once who laughed loudly during a lecture and exclaimed, “How can you possibly get an STD in your mouth?” Ahh the innocence of youth.
subtropicalyland
6. I actually had to explain that having sex gets you pregnant. It was a 20+ year old woman who couldn’t grasp the idea that sex leads to pregnancy. She thought that in order for a man and a woman to have children, they needed to be married first and then have a baby. That sex was just an act unrelated to it.
yosol
7. My human sexuality professor in grad school had some interesting stories. He worked a lot in very conservative Christian communities where a lot of people got married with no sex education. He had one couple who couldn’t get pregnant.
Turns out they thought sleeping together literally meant sleeping in the same bed. Another couple was in therapy because neither one of them enjoyed sex or ever had an orgasm. After having them talk through step by step what they did in bed, he learned the guy was just sticking it in and nothing else.
He told the guy to move back and forth next time and see what happened. They couple came back one more time to say “THANK YOU!!!!!” and didn’t need any more sessions.
blake41185
8. I had a woman who seriously came to the ER to get a pregnancy test done. (continued…)
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I mean, you can do that if you want. But its very, very expensive. Apparently she didn’t know you could buy one at the Rite-Aid down the block. Seriously, don’t come to the ER for a pregnancy test, cause the test results won’t be the only surprise you’ll be getting.
Also, I constantly have to explain that if you have diabetes, you need to take your medication. No, ‘getting fatter’ isn’t the worst that can happen. The worst that can happen is that you’ll die. That’s why you’re in the ER with diabetic ketoacidosis and suffering organ damage. It’s why you’re gonna lose your toes. Take your meds.
ffxivfunk
9. My friend is a student doctor and is on placement at a small town doctor’s office. She had a 70-ish year old woman come in with complaints of a small but painless growth that was visible at the back of her throat.
Turns out it took her 70 years to notice her uvula.
mysteryguest
10. A mother came in with her son to discuss treating his acne. Son was about 15 years old and didn’t really care about the acne, but his mom did. After going over treatment options, she asked if he just needed to “do it” to get rid of the acne.
A grown woman with a child thought that by him having sex his acne would magically go away.
It seems that many people think that being a teenager = acne, thus having sex makes you a man and you would no longer have acne. Odd thought process.
kaiten408
11. Patient comes in at 2am for insomnia, clearly tweaking her brains out, heart rate over 200. Can’t sit still, bouncing off the walls. I suggest maybe easing up on the cocaine. “But doctor, I LOVE cocaine.” Okay, I dont think youre getting it.
tuki
12. The number of American 20-somethings that don’t know if they’re circumcised or not is surprisingly high. (continued…)
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13. When one with urinary tract infection symptoms needs to give a specimen for testing, I ask, “Are you circumcised?” If not, I have to tell them to pull back the foreskin before peeing in the cup. The number of guys who have asked, “What’s that?” is way too many.
markko79
14. I had to explain to a patient that the 30+ cups of coffee he was drinking every day could possibly be the cause of his anxiety and insomnia. He said he was not willing to give this up or try decaf.
Dr_J_ND
15. Lady had a broken jaw. She comes in after 2 weeks with an open mandible fracture. Referred her to the hospital for immediate surgery. She never went because it “doesn’t bother her and she’ll see if it gets better on its own.” Whew.
oreosinmymouth
16. As a veterinarian, I had a 10 minute conversation with an owner explaining which side was the dog’s left side.
shylil
17. I saw a patient for a follow up after three ER visits in as many days for asthma. He was from another country, so this was the first time I ever met him. His lungs sound absolutely terrible, but he swears he is taking the inhaler every 2-4 hours with no relief.
This raises suspicion to me, as the same meds are working in the ER. I ask him to show me how he is using it. He holds it about a foot away from his mouth and does two puffs and swallows. I felt really bad, he had never received any education about his illness or medications.
NassemSauce
18. Patient made an appointment and literally brought in his poop in a box. (continued…)
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He was concerned about the size of his turds, and if they were normal. All he got from the visit was, “Normal turd. Yes, it’s pretty wide.”
Turd box was set out with biohazard waste. Waste guy thought it was a misplaced package and put it on the front desk. Secretary got quite the surprise the next morning.
sevjac
19. My dad had to tell a patient that they were not pregnant. The patient was male.
Jrsplays
20. Had to explain that taking some weird plant they bought from a “pharmacy” online isn’t 14.324 times better than chemo and doesn’t only attack cancer cells because it likes the acid environment of carcinoma cells.
alexouxou
21. You can’t swallow a tapeworm to lose weight. I mean you can. But tapeworms can cause horrible diseases like neurocysticercosis. It was amazing to me that someone thought this was a good idea.
brighteyesandpotatos
22. My mother helps the Amish get dental care. One Amish woman complained that she needed new dentures. When asked why she thought so, she replied, “Well, I’ve lost weight, and you know that when you lose weight, you lose it in your gums first.”
DeskRef
23. My mom was the head nurse at a clinic here in Houston in the 80’s. One afternoon they had a patient come in who was running a fever and was complaining of pain in her pelvic area. Mom thought that the woman may have contracted an STD and asked her to undress and wait for the doctor to examine her. The doctor arrives and closes the door.
The doctor questioned the patient about her sex life: was it protected, non-protected, etc.According to mom, the patient told him “No doc, we always use a rubber.” That’s when the door realized what the problem was. (continued…)
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The doctor looked down and noticed that there was a small rubber band extending from the woman’s vagina. The doctor reached in with his gloved hand and pulled it out. What came next can only be described as a magician pulling the magic cloth out of someone’s mouth… one rubber band after another came out over the course of the next 10 minutes.
Finally once they were all removed, the Doctor had “the talk” with the woman about sex education and that rubber bands were not a successful contraceptive and not what they meant by “wearing a rubber.”
mjt1105
24. A 32-year-old grown man asked me if the hot spells he was experiencing at night meant he was going through menopause.
newrabelizaba
25. I’m a dental hygienist and once was telling a patient after a cleaning that she had gingivitis. She replies with “I must have caught it from my boyfriend”. Had to explain to her that it’s because she doesn’t brush/floss enough. She was 36.
Sweepingpines
26. I had to explain to a grown man I still work with that tampons don’t break down in a woman’s urine after they were finished using them. He’s been married 12 years. It was not his best day.
drpeppertastegood
27. My wife had to explain to a 40-year-old patient that brown sugar did, in fact, contain sugar and that is most likely the reason why he now has diabetes. The same man also adamantly insisted his wine consumption was not an issue because he “only drank the dry stuff like chianti so it doesn’t have any sugar.”
smallof2pieces