Saturday, January 21, 2012

Step Away From the Laptop

Late middle-aged lady comes into triage last night with chief complaint of bilateral leg numbness and inability to walk with spontaneous resolution about an hour prior to arrival. Concerned, I started asking more questions. FAST screen? Negative. Any other symptoms when this happened? No? Any medical problems? No. What were you doing when this started?
"...Well, I had been lying on the couch with the laptop on my legs for an hour or two, and when I got up, my legs felt all numb and tingly and it was hard for me to walk. So I looked up leg numbness on my laptop and it said on the internet I might be having a stroke."
Uh. I think there was a message in all this somewhere, but it is definitely not getting across.
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7 comments:

  1. AnonymousJanuary 21, 2012 at 10:55 AM

    Uh Oh Dr. Google strikes again.

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  2. Smalltown RNJanuary 21, 2012 at 11:13 AM

    As EmergiRN said in her blog, it's the "worry" that brought them to the ER. This person obviously didn't see past the worry and forgot to put their rational head on before coming to the ER.

    ReplyDelete
  3. alliecatJanuary 21, 2012 at 7:28 PM

    You cannot be serious. OMG. At least she looked it up I suppose, (how many people do ignore stroke symptoms) and didn't need to walk anywhere to do so!

    ReplyDelete
  4. NurseyNurseJanuary 22, 2012 at 1:18 AM

    on the other hand, I had a pt who was actually having a stroke and knew it, but wanted to finish his basketball game.

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  5. midwest womanJanuary 22, 2012 at 6:10 AM

    Darwin award.

    ReplyDelete
  6. WebsterJanuary 22, 2012 at 8:13 AM

    Hold on a minute. I have MS and do not walk very well, and I sit with my laptop on my lap for hours at a time. NEVER have I been unable to walk, or had increased numbness in my legs because of it. So maybe you shouldn't jump to conclusions. She may well have had a TIA. And, no, I didn't Google that; I'm just suggesting the possibility.

    ReplyDelete
  7. battynurseJanuary 22, 2012 at 8:22 AM

    Nothing like Dr. Google to strike fear in the hearts of many.

    ReplyDelete

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