7/2017
One might think that the Emergency Department is for emergencies. It may be, but one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. So to speak.
At homeless shelters, it is typical that they are on lockdown at night. There is a lot of alcoholism and drug use among the clients and after the evening meal, they typically will not let anyone in. The residents can leave but they cannot come back in until the next day, often not until late in the afternoon. So if you missed supper, want a snack or something to drink or whatever, you are out of luck. Almost.
So my patient this particular night was staying at the YWCA. Whatever she had eaten for the evening meal apparently was quite salty. She came in by ambulance complaining that she had salt poisoning. She said that whenever she ingested large amounts of salt, her throat closed up and she couldn’t swallow. She was sitting on a stretcher, kind of hunched over and drooling copiously on herself.
This isn’t a common encounter for Docs these days because for the last 30 years there has been a huge amount of public attention on salt intake and how bad it is for everyone. I was a tad bit skeptical. But, it didn’t make any difference because I’d already been scammed by now anyway.
I told her that I would order a blood test of the salt content in her blood. She said that in the past that ice had helped her throat swelling and wanted some while waiting for the test results. I didn’t see any harm so I had one of the ED techs bring her a cup of ice. She promptly filled it with water and gulped it down. She said thanks and walked out.
See, the only way to get back in the shelter after lockdown is if you left to go to the hospital.
Sometimes the ingenuity of people amazes me. All she wanted was a drink of ice water (which she couldn’t get at the shelter) and still be able to sleep in the shelter and off the street.
From your grumpy Uncle/Brother Dave.
Weary