Question for A&E Dr's or Ambulance drivers....

[Schmeeeee]

I've got a totally genuine and really random question that is often on my mind....

If a women happens to be on her period, is wearing a tampon and finds herself injured enough to be incapacitated or requires emergency attention so quickly she can't talk much, does anyone check down there to see if she's wearing a tampon? I'm just curious as to what the chances are that a woman could develop toxic shock syndrome due to a tampon being left in for too long or forgotten about. Is there some kind of rule that medical staff always check to see if a woman is on her period? And what happens if the woman goes into surgery or is placed in a coma? Does someone take responsibility for changing her sanitary protection?

Told you it was random!

explain please!
was she absorbing the alcohol the walls of her vagina???

It's unfortunate some may have took offence but I've learned some interesting stuff in this thread! Thanks to everyone who explained things.

I once accidentally offended a doctor which was shameful. As a child I assumed women were nurses and men were doctors so naturally said to my young dc 'follow the nurse' (to the room) and she snapped 'doctor!'... I was, possibly still am, mortified! But that's how we learn 🤷🏼‍♀️
Great question op! More of this and less 'is my husband cheating' scooby doo threads and I'll be a happy camper.

Won't let me quote but I can assure that there are ambulance staff who are not highly trained medical professionals.
My partner's son had 3 months medical training then blue light training . That's it. He can't even give paracetamol, only o2 .

Maybe it's a London thing as there is definitely a movement to only having one paramedic (sometimes none eg if it's a fall- but if needed, back up is called) per ambulance.

My DP was an ambulance man before they invented paramedics, and he still bridles if anyone refers to ambulance 'drivers', so it isn't a new thing.

Contact lenses are really obvious, they check pupils for dilation as part of initial checks. Nurses will check you over if you aren't able to communicate

Scary isn't it. My Husband ended up in hospital and in ICU. They couldn't understand the pain he was experiencing (he was unable to talk) and it wasn't until the Dr spoke to me and I asked if he'd had his numerous medications for ore existing illness and they admitted the notes hadn't been fully read and no he wasn't receiving his medication hence why he was responding so poorly! I have worries about similar scenarios ever since

Apparently so, yes.

I had a quick Google and it seems to be a thing. Unbelievably.

Actually lots of ambulances are not crewed by paramedics.

This is why it's good to have a medical alert on your phone (Health app in the iPhone) or you can get those car seat covers/wallet cards/wristbands with important medical info on.

@Seaweedandsalt my mum had an x ray when she was pregnant with my brother as they thought she may be having twins due to her size. This was before ultrasounds were available!

Yes, I've been trying to explain that too

I came here to say that!
Highly qualified paramedics who see more trauma in a working week than the rest of us see in a lifetime.

@PassThePringles if she hadn’t introduced herself with her job title then that’s a genuine mistake and is on her nothing to be embarrassed about. I used to work in a hospital where all theatre staff wore the same scrubs I would often mix up the (mostly male middle aged greying) porters and surgeons who would all push beds. You get good at asking who they are

Also, sometimes people funnel alcohol into their anus. Sad but true.

Unless they are a) not paramedics or b) not employed on clinical duties or c) working in a GP practice or d) waiting outside an emergency department or d) working in another role such as a HALO.

It’s a bit more complicated than dialling 999 and an ambulance turns up quickly with two paramedics aboard. Quite a lot of category 1 calls (the most serious, life threatening emergencies) don’t have a paramedic on the first ambulance to arrive. Lots of Cat 2 and 3 calls don’t. All the crew are in green usually, but not all are paramedics.

I'm convinced that when this was posted on MN before the wording was almost identical! Weird.

I am a London paramedic. What you have described is called an Associate Ambulance Practitioner. And what you have missed out is a further year training on the job, being taught buy paramedics and EMTs and gaining valuable experience, after which he can do further training to upgrade to an EMT and even to a paramedic.

He can give paracetamol, he just has to ok it with his mentor.

He is also exposed to the full shebang of working with the general public, plus all kinds of horrific sights.

But hey, go ahead and tell him he's just an ambulance driver.

All patients are checked head to toe for wounds, signs of infection, pressure damage etc unless a patient is conscious and has mental capacity to refuse. A tampon will be removed and a pad will be used instead as we won’t know how long it’s been in for.

Also, yes the suggestion of having a "paramedic and driver" model has been floated many times and is ALWAYS vetoed by the unions as being unsafe for both public and crew, as well as deeply unfair on both driver and medic. It won't happen.

Not being a paramedic doesn't make you an ambulance driver.

Intriguing. So what happens if you soak a tampon in alcohol before using it?

Ever heard of "decanting"? Read an article about it in my forensics journal years ago and have been unable to forget.

I hate threads like this where the op makes a mistakes and owns up to it but the rest of the thread is people castigating them for it rather than talking about what the thread was meant to be about.

I have wondered this before op. and about contacts and also people who are unconscious that have metal in their bodies.
Its reassuring to hear from some about how these things are dealt with

I’ve wondered this too OP. Thank you for asking it!

Would they throw away the contact lenses
i wear gp’s costing €450 a pair and take weeks to get on order - omg if I woke up and my contacts were gone I’d probably pass out again 😳