Parenting

16 Mortifying Reasons Moms Rushed Their Kids to the ER

ParentingPublished Apr 24, 2017
By Wendy Robinson
little boy with hand over his mouthiStock.com/RapidEye

It was almost midnight and something was clearly wrong with my 4-year-old. I was convinced she was going to need her appendix out, so off to the ER we went. After hours of waiting and a set of X-rays, the verdict was in: She just really ... needed ... to poop. So yeah, kids are hella embarrassing -- and I know I'm not the only one who this has happened to. 

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Although I was glad there was nothing seriously wrong, I was a bit embarrassed to have rushed to the hospital for something that was eventually cured by some apple juice and a bowlful of raisins. Was it my most proud parenting moment? No, no it was not. 

Thankfully, I know I'm not alone when it comes to having rushed to the emergency room with a kid for something embarrassing, ridiculous, or just plain unnecessary. It happens to all parents at one point or another. But hey, we can't help it; kids can't always tells us what's wrong, or they get scared themselves when they feel like they are getting sick. We're only human! Read on for some hilarious and cringeworthy stories and then double-check to make sure that the ol' health insurance card is handy -- it could be anyone next! After all, it's always better to be safe (if somewhat embarrassed) than sorry, right?

1/16
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Chew Toy
iStock.com/selimaksan

Chew Toy

"My husband would kill me for telling this story, so you can't use my name! My husband and I were getting frisky, but kind of fell asleep before we could seal the deal. 

"The next morning I was cleaning up the bedroom and looked over to see my 18-month-old chewing on something. It was a CONDOM. Apparently my husband opened it the night before but we fell asleep before we used it so he dropped it on the floor.

"My baby was chewing on a condom like it was a chew toy. I didn't end up taking him to the ER but I did call poison control because of the spermicide. That was a classy moment in my life." -- Name withheld by request

2/16
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Change Machine
iStock.com/skynesher

Change Machine

"This was so embarrassing at the time but so funny now. So, I was changing my newly crawling son's diaper and I found a dime in his poop! I freaked out. I couldn't believe we'd been so careless. I couldn't remember dropping any change but I thought for sure he'd swallowed it somehow. Of course, he was too young to talk, so I couldn't ask him if he'd swallowed more, so I took him to the hospital for x-rays or something. I didn't know what to do. 

"While we were there, my 3-year-old was chattering away and said something about playing 'piggy bank' with the baby. Long story short, we eventually figured out that the 3-year-old had put money down the back of the baby's diaper because he thought it was funny when the money fell out. Apparently one dime didn't fall out and the baby pooped on it. 

"$150 co-pay for a pooped-on dime. Thanks, kid." -- Val E., Des Moines, Iowa

3/16
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A Little Acidic
iStock.com/Sean_Warren

A Little Acidic

"I thought for sure my daughter had a UTI. She was crying every time she peed. I took her to the ER and struggled with getting her to pee in the cup (there was a lot of, um, splash out on my hands). The test showed no infection and the doctors were puzzled. Eventually we figured out that she was having pee problems because she'd had 15(!) clementines over the course of the day. She loves fruit but 15 is a lot of citrus for a tiny system. 

"So, yep, took my kid to the hospital because she binged on tiny oranges." -- Patti S., Austin, Texas

4/16
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Pea Problem
iStock.com/Fertnig

Pea Problem

"The first time you go to urgent care -- for peas shoved up the nose -- it isn't that embarrassing. The second time you go (Lego), the third time (pony bead), and the fourth time (kidney bean) with the SAME kid, well, you for sure start dreading the moment they look up the recent visit history." -- Michelle J., Hershey, Pennsylvania

5/16
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Let It Out
iStock.com/francisblack

Let It Out

"My husband has a history of kidney stones. When my son was complaining of lots of pain and holding his back, my husband was SO SURE it was a kidney stone. I told him that it was probably something else but he insisted that we take him to the ER. My son was in tears -- a combo of pain and fear, I think. We were waiting in the hospital room for x-rays when my son let out a long, slow, LOUD fart. He instantly perked up and said 'I feel better now!'

"Gas pain is no joke but I still felt like the doctor was laughing at us." -- Jene R., Springfield, Missouri

6/16
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Barbie Girl
iStock.com/MartinPrescott

Barbie Girl

"I had to take my just-turned 2-year-old to the ER because she poked herself in the eye with her sister's Barbie doll. Those legs are surprisingly sharp! She was in an eye patch for a few days. That was fun to explain in public." -- Heather F., Saint Paul, Minnesota 

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7/16
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Hair Scare
iStock.com/FamVeld

Hair Scare

"My son threw up and his vomit looked really, really weird. I called my sister, who is a nurse, and she told me to take him in to the hospital. He seemed totally fine when we were there and was kind of loving all the attention. While we were there, I noticed something -- he had a bald spot. Yep. He'd cut off some of his hair and had, I guess, tried to eat it (hiding the evidence?) and then barfed. His vomit looked weird because there was HAIR in it. So gross. We were discharged right quick after that." -- Zoe T., Iowa City, Iowa

8/16
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Babies Do That
iStock.com/sdominick

Babies Do That

"Oh, I have the dumbest reason. At five days post-delivery, I rushed my infant to the hospital because she wouldn't stop crying. In my hormone-rattled stage, I thought for sure something was terribly wrong. 

"Nope. She was just kind of an a-hole baby who liked to cry a lot. The doctor was like, 'Yeah, babies cry, that's kind of their thing. They do that.'

"I got sent home with a prescription to take a nap." -- Name withheld by request

9/16
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Colorful!
iStock.com/KentWeakley

Colorful!

"My kid pooped and it was weird and crazy colors and I freaked out. Took him to the urgent care (with a stool sample I'd fished out of the toilet -- one of the real low moments in my parenting career) and discovered that he'd been eating crayons. Wax doesn't digest that well." -- Elizabeth P., Saint Paul, Minnesota

10/16
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Hop Along
iStock.com/drday

Hop Along

"My 3-year-old jumped off her bed and landed hard on her feet. She started crying and saying her ankle really hurt. It wasn't that swollen so I wasn't worried, until she refused to walk on it or put any weight on it. I took her to the kids' ER and they x-rayed and didn't seen any break or fracture. The doctor asked her to walk on it and she hopped off the table and RAN down the hall. 

"I was so mad! What the hell, kid? The doctor asked her why she wasn't walking on it before and she said it was because 'hopping is fun' and that she liked being carried. Did I mention we had a new baby at home? 

"Her foot was fine. She just wanted attention and some babying. Expensive way to ask for that!" -- Missie T., Hudson, Wisconsin

11/16
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Red Menace
iStock.com/StephanieFrey

Red Menace

"My ex took our son to a birthday party and then dropped him off at my house afterwards. My kiddo said he had a good time but then an hour later he threw up EVERYWHERE. Like, Exorcist movie style. And it was all red. I thought for sure that he was throwing up blood. 

"Rushed him to the ER. Discovered that the party had featured red velvet cupcakes and that my son had way too many. He was fine, just over-sugared. So embarrassing." -- DeAnna D., Joplin, Missouri

12/16
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Marker Trouble
iStock.com/lokisurina

Marker Trouble

"I thought there was something seriously wrong with my 3-year-old's testicles. They were BLACK. 

"The ER doc was straight-up laughing at me when he told me that my son had colored them with a marker. I DO NOT UNDERSTAND BOYS." -- Name withheld by request

13/16
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Dad Duty
iStock.com/Michael Krinke

Dad Duty

"My son broke his arm trying to slide down the stairs on a mattress. The doctor at the ER asked my husband if he saw it happen and he had to confess that he was the one who gave the mattress a big push. Sigh. No wonder the kids like it when I'm at work and my husband is on dad duty." -- Annie E., Lawrence, Kansas

14/16
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Gold Digger
iStock.com/ia_64

Gold Digger

"Had to take my son to the ER to get his nose cauterized because he had a massive nose bleed from picking it too aggressively. Gross and embarrassing." -- Serena B., Houston, Texas

15/16
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A Long Winter
iStock.com/EvgeniiAnd

A Long Winter

"We had to take my son to the hospital because he cut off the tip of his nose with a snow shovel. He threw it up in the air and was watching it come down and it sliced the tip right off. He needed stitches. This wouldn't have been too bad except that it was only a week after we took him to the same ER because he broke his arm jumping off the porch roof into a snow bank. He was our bad-idea boy and it was a long winter." -- Grace T., Toledo, Ohio

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16/16
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Nit Picky
iStock.com/Highwaystarz-Photography

Nit Picky

"I was out of town and my husband called and said that something seemed off with our daughter. He said she was saying her head felt weird and that she seem to be having a hard time focusing on her homework. He decided he needed to take her to the urgent care. This is where she was diagnosed with that ever-so-serious disease known as lice. He thought she might have been having a migraine. Nope, just lice. So glad I was out of town for that fun." -- Rachel R., Saint Paul, Minnesota

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