Nursing requests from family/friends

its_sania
its_sania Posts: 93 Member
My friends and family have a habit of calling and asking me for advice about anything medical! From mysterious rashes, to fevers, bites or broken bones. It started during nursing school where everyone thought I suddenly became an encyclopaedia for anything health related!! Today I got a phonecall from my sister's friend asking for advice on how to deal with her brother's thumb that got slammed in a door and was all bruised and swollen under the nail. He wanted me to stab the nail to release the pressure lol. I could seriously start my own little clinic the amount of stuff I have to deal with outside of work!!

Has anyone else had any strange requests?!

Replies

  • desirae500
    desirae500 Posts: 142 Member
    Yes! My sister called (long-distance) to ask me what I thought of a bump on her daughter's arm - sent me a pic over the phone! She did that with a rash once - I did recognize fifth's disease! But I do find that in casual conversation people will ask the weirdest health questions.
  • All the time, and mostly if it's something more than the mundane N&V etc, I will say call your doctor.
  • ohhhh yes! I can so relate to that. I even get FB messages asking for a diagnosis! My most memorable one was my dear father who asked me about tummy pain he was having and I told him to follow up with a GP. Turns out he went to a quack who diagnosed him with a stomach infection when in reality it was an intussception and he ended up in Emergency surgery. Its amazing, worrying and kind of flattering how much trust people have in you when you are a nurse.
  • Mustang_Susie
    Mustang_Susie Posts: 7,045 Member
    Yep, and sometimes people even listen...:bigsmile:

    Except my parents.
    I want to ask them "remember that big chunk of change you dropped on me about 25 years ago? Why don't you get your money's worth out of me...?

    Sigh... :tongue:
  • Nikk2674
    Nikk2674 Posts: 11 Member
    Yes and then some of my friends and family don't just take the advice and leave it at that. They present alternate scenarios and ask about those too.