Yesterday I fell into the shower. Nobody was hurt.
Read up on your meds b4 you do anything either way.
Talk to the head nurse in that ward and explain your feelings. What you experienced is not a healing experience.
If nothing else, think of it as keeping a lawyer from getting a pay check. That's why I always report spills when I see one in a store. :-)
TMI
Actually a large hematoma can become infected. So watch for red streaking, warmth to the touch,etc. I recommend warm compresses to the area as it will help the hematoma break down. Your body will have to do the rest. And yes to the complaint letter. I have had thankfully rare cases where patients thought I was abrupt and they complained. Makes me more sensitive.
Definitely complain, if for no other reason than maybe it can prevent this happening to someone else.
Personally, I would get my doctor on the phone and quickly. Who knows what the bubble truly is... is it a whole bunch of the medication or air?! If I don’t know then you don’t know either. I would explain everything to your doctor and ask his/her advice. If everything is okay, then I would write a letter to the administrator of the hospital and the charge nurse as well. I would detail everything that occurred including the bad attitude. INHO, it sounds like this nurse didn’t know her own butt from a hole in the ground. I hope you feel better soon. Mom
Medications should not burn when being injected. It would seem to me that the IV slipped out of the vein, or it went clear through. From my experience burning is usually from when the medication leaks out under the skin.
I’m confused, you said you were having chest pains, and then said you had no pain...huh?
The hospital should have a Patient Advocate on staff. Report the incidence of your condition to them, along with a description of the discourteous treatment. Get an opinion from your General Practitioner about what caused your unusual condition. Supply that to the Patient Advocate.
1: It is NOT good practice to inflate a BP cuff while giving IV medications, especially if the medication must be given slowly. The effect is that instead of a slow, steady dose, the patient ends up receiving a bolus dose that can be harmful.
2: Yes, complain. And no, asking questions about a medication does not constitute a refusal.
3: If you have any continuing discomfort in your arm, worsening swelling or pain, you need to see a provider right away. Some medications (especially Phenergan [promethazine], a common anti-nausea medication), if allowed to leak out of a vein into surrounding tissue, can cause tissue damage and necrosis (tissue death). This is a medical emergency that must be addressed. I don't know if you received Phenergan for nausea, but from the way you are describing how much it hurt, it sounds pretty characteristic of Phenergan.
You have the right to advocate for yourself. That includes asking about the meds you received. Keep a close eye on that arm. Talk to the administrator and the ER manager about your experience.
I hope that helped.
If the ‘bump’ is still present with bruising, redness and pain you should return to the ER for follow-up ASAP! (I am assuming your regular physician is not available on an emergency basis).
Go back for treatment and not to register a complaint. Complain by letter - detailing all your experiences. Face-to-face confrontations can wait. Your health is the more important concern.
BTW - Medical personnel used to treat patients as paying customers...no longer - we are just part of the herd. Times they are a’changing.
>>2. Should I complain to the hospital administrators<<
YES
Freepmail to ya
>>2. Should I complain to the hospital administrators<<
YES, in person! Do not write a letter as was earlier suggested. That’ll be brushed off easily. Make an appointment with the administrator and go in a rip some butt. Let him/her truly think that your money hungry attorney is begging you to take this case to court. Ask if she/he is going to swallow all the bills for your uncomfortable stay.
That will produce serious changes and results for you should you ever have to be admitted to that hospital again.
The BP cuff could have been put on the arm without the IV line.
The nurse was pushing the medications too fast through the vein, which would cause the pain and discomfort you described. The drug reference books for nurses tells the speed each med should be pushed. Few nurses pay attention to that, IMO, unless they are recent nursing school graduates.
Report this in writing, for sure.
Bluebird RN
/mark
Not speaking from a medical point of view, but a common sense one, people make almost an unavoidable error of assuming they know what other people are thinking or feeling, and this often has strange results.
Introspectively, you and your spouse were likely agitated, upset, in discomfort, confused and very concerned. But this was all inside. What it might have looked like to this nurse was something very different.
Likewise, she may have been having a heck of a day, and had all sorts of preconceived notions about what you and your spouse were about.
Now this does not excuse in any way unprofessional behavior, but it is often easy to set off strangers who misinterpret where you are coming from.
It is the job of an ombudsman, or other hospital administration type, to first figure out if anything objective was done incorrectly. So when you talk to them, to speak of these things *first* really clears the air and gets them on your side, because it says that you are *not* just a hothead or complainer, that there are some medical issues at stake.
Only after you explain these should you mention her attitude or behavior. With a solid foundation of objective information, this gives these much more weight.