Health Center horror stories

‘I had to vomit on the nurse before they stopped asking me if I was pregnant or drunk’

We’re getting to that time of year again: flu season.

What do you do when you get the flu? You head down to Health Services. Unfortunately, going to Health Services isn’t always the easy ride that going to your doctor at home is.

The Tab went around and asked some students to share their worst Health Services stories.

Katrina

“Last year I developed acid reflux. It took me a really long time to figure it out because I didn’t have the normal symptoms. For the first month or two, basically anything I ate made me nauseous.

“Eventually though, eating would make me feel like I was being stabbed, so I dragged myself down to the Health Center at about 6:30 pm one day, dizzy, shaking, starving, nauseous, and feeling like I was going to have a heart attack.

“The woman at the desk listened to my symptoms, and then told me the Health Center closed at seven, and I needed to walk to Crouse PromptCare. I honestly thought I wasn’t going to make it to Crouse, and someone would just find my unconscious body on the sidewalk.”

Rachel

“Really early on a Sunday morning, I woke up violently vomiting. As soon as the Health Center was open, I called and got an appointment.

“When I got there I was interrogated about my nightly habits. They asked if I had been drinking the night before, I said that I had been in bed at eleven, so they asked if I was drinking that morning.

“When they finally decided that I wasn’t hung over, they decided that I must be pregnant. They asked for the date of my last period, and then tried making me take a pregnancy test.

“Fortunately for me, unfortunately for them, the questioning stopped really quick when I all of the sudden vomited on the nurse who was doing the interview. Once that happened they got me set up on anti-nausea medications and an IV.”

Caela

“Last year, I got really bad strep. Having had strep at least once a year every year since elementary school, I knew what it was. When I could no longer live with my sore throat I went to health services to get it confirmed and get my prescription.

“However, as you would expect, they were convinced I had mono and had me do the finger prick test. Unfortunately, they kept screwing it up and ended up having to poke at least two of my fingers on each hand around 6-8 times before they gave up and just drew blood.

“It wasn’t until then that they actually decided to check my throat where they immediately told me what I already knew – I had strep, which doesn’t require getting blood drawn.”

Ashley

“Every year I get a sinus infection in the fall and in the spring with the change of the seasons. Last spring I got all the stereotypical symptoms of a sinus infection so I called Health Services.

“They asked me for my symptoms and I told them everything. The woman then asked me if I had a fever, as they always do, and I replied no. The thing is the only real difference between a sinus infection and the flu is the presence of a fever, so with an infection I was most likely to never get one.

“I told her this and she dismissed me and told me to call back if I ever got a fever. I then spent the next two weeks with the worst sinus infection I’ve ever had, and I never got a fever.”

The moral of these stories? Take lots of Vitamin C and stay away from people who are sick.

Sometimes our Health Center isn’t always the greatest. However, if you come early, walk in instead of calling, put up with being poked and prodded, or through up on the nurse if you’re desperate, your visit shouldn’t be too bad.

And if all else fails, Crouse PromptCare is right around the corner.

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Syracuse University