Chief Complaint of the Night x 2

Let me just preface this story by saying 1.Both of the young ladies in the stories I am about to relate to you seemed relatively articulate and well dressed, like normal people you would see anywhere. 2. The wait last night was average, about 3 and a half hours.

Okay, so the first chick checks in at the height of all the craziness and looks completely fine, so I ask what she's here for and she points to this red zit on her cheek. She tells me it hurt before it popped up last night and it hadn't come to a head yet so she thought it might need to get lanced. Mmkay. Is there a triage code below a 5? Next, please.

So about an hour or two later another girl comes in for a cold sore she's had on her lip for a week. Really.

WHY? You are young women, with lives and friends I'm sure. Even if you aren't paying for your ER visit, isn't the 5-6 hours total you will surely spend here from check in to discharge worth the price of some abreva? People perplex the shit out of me.