Comment by Do_my_cat_daddy on 06/03/2018 at 23:09 UTC

7228 upvotes, 45 direct replies (showing 25)

View submission: Medical professionals of Reddit, what is the craziest DIY treatment you've seen a patient attempt?

This happened when I was still a med student doing a rotation in the ED. Patient comes in and is pretty vague about his actual complaint, something about head pain but he looks just fine sitting waiting to be seen. When I finally get to see him and ask him what actually happened, he removes the hat he was wearing and a chunk of skin about the size of my hand literally flaps off of his skull. This guy managed to basically scalp himself, and apparently it had been like that for 3 days. According to him it was caused by falling in his bathroom and hitting his head on the toilet. He had been previously duct taping it down or using the hat to hold the skin on, but it wasn't sticking well and that's when his wife convinced him to come to the hospital.

Replies

Comment by idonutcareaboutabs at 07/03/2018 at 02:00 UTC

3798 upvotes, 11 direct replies

I like my skin on my body more than I dislike hospitals.

Comment by juniegrrl at 07/03/2018 at 01:35 UTC

699 upvotes, 3 direct replies

Just reading that made me woozy. How the fuck did he walk around for 3 days like that?

Comment by Pokabrows at 07/03/2018 at 04:22 UTC

145 upvotes, 4 direct replies

I'm pretty sure there are plenty of people that would not be alive without their significant other because I hear so many stories of the wife begging her husband to see a doctor about a potentially fatal thing before he actually goes.

Comment by deviousD at 07/03/2018 at 01:50 UTC

41 upvotes, 1 direct replies

That’s crazy. Wouldn’t that have been painful?

Comment by mamabear814 at 07/03/2018 at 02:54 UTC

33 upvotes, 3 direct replies

Stoppp I almost scalped myself tonight on a Total Gym machine and it’s still scaring me

Comment by p33du at 07/03/2018 at 08:11 UTC

21 upvotes, 2 direct replies

had to be america. everywhere else people would just call the ambulance when you get scalped.

Comment by itsjustjennifer at 07/03/2018 at 05:27 UTC

15 upvotes, 2 direct replies

I think I would actually pass out if I saw that. This is why I am not in the medical field.

Comment by thewrighttrail at 07/03/2018 at 05:38 UTC

11 upvotes, 0 direct replies

This was the one. This was the one that made me gag.

Comment by ImperviousBurt at 07/03/2018 at 07:31 UTC

10 upvotes, 1 direct replies

This is the most Ron Swanson thing I’ve ever read

Comment by timrs at 07/03/2018 at 09:02 UTC

8 upvotes, 0 direct replies

reminds me of the Australian farmer recently who fell off his motorbike and broke his neck so then rode the rest of the way with one hand holding his head up by his hair

Comment by greasy_pee at 07/03/2018 at 07:46 UTC

7 upvotes, 0 direct replies

This is the second time on reddit I've read about someone falling and taking their scalp off their skull. This now scares the hell out of me..

Comment by puuying at 07/03/2018 at 07:36 UTC

5 upvotes, 1 direct replies

How was that not bleeding everywhere? I had a one inch cut on my scalp that was deep enough to eventually go and get stitches, but it felt like about a bucket of blood came out of it first.

Comment by thecupcakebandit at 07/03/2018 at 09:23 UTC

3 upvotes, 0 direct replies

Wow that guy is an idiot. I know it’s not really feasible but i keep getting mental images of his skin giving up and just his whole face sliding off lol Had a very similar case while i was deployed, however dude came in *right after it happened.* Pretty cool injury honestly, clean tear and we could lift the scalp up and see the entire top of his skull.

Comment by TimProbable at 07/03/2018 at 09:52 UTC

5 upvotes, 0 direct replies

The inverse of

'If you pick at it, it'll never heal'

'If you duct tape your scalp back on and just try not to mess with it, s'all good'

Comment by [deleted] at 07/03/2018 at 10:26 UTC

4 upvotes, 0 direct replies

Nothin you can't fix with duct tape.

Comment by miles263 at 07/03/2018 at 11:27 UTC*

4 upvotes, 0 direct replies

he then realized that he couldn't afford the procedure. he was in debt after losing his job. he came home, with his scalp still infected. unable to stand the sight of him, his wife left him. later, he realized he had fantastical and shocking abilities, including regeneration of the skin surrounding his testicles. he turned his personal tragedy into a story of heroism that day; he would become the superhero we know now as **scrotum-hat**

Comment by MarilynMonroeVWade at 07/03/2018 at 13:10 UTC

3 upvotes, 0 direct replies

I had a scalp flap once from a car accident. Got it stitched back on immediately. I couldnt imagine walking around like that for 3 days. Not to mention i would have probably died from blood loss. Scalp flaps bleed like the dickens!

Comment by Ayodep at 07/03/2018 at 14:05 UTC

3 upvotes, 0 direct replies

After he hit his head on the toilet, did he come in to the hospital with a drawing of something that looks like this?

Comment by [deleted] at 07/03/2018 at 15:42 UTC

2 upvotes, 0 direct replies

Did this take place in an American hospital?

Comment by MozartTheCat at 07/03/2018 at 04:35 UTC

1 upvotes, 1 direct replies

Just curious cause you said he looked fine sitting there waiting to be seen

Do the doctors like peep into the waiting room on the sly to see who looks like they are bullshitting or what

Comment by megs1370 at 07/03/2018 at 07:15 UTC

1 upvotes, 0 direct replies

First one in the thread that made me stop and go "wut" and that was after the frog one...