Darwin says, "Accepted into the Archive. I asked for medical submissions, and have greatly enjoyed these responses!"

My husband was working at a small, but very busy, pharmacy in a rural area of south central Penna. His customers at the time were hard-working, but very simple people. Early in the day, he dispensed a prescription for a teenager for nausea tablets and suppositories with what he thought were clear directions on the labels. Early that evening, he received a phone call from the youngster's mother asking when the medication for the nausea would take effect. When he asked the parent which form of the medicine she had given the child, the mother said she had tried both the tablets and the suppositories, but the patient was still experiencing severe nausea. Knowing that the medicine should have taken effect within an hour after using the suppository, my husband told the mom that maybe she needed to call the doctor back and ask for further instructions since the child was obviously sicker than originally diagnosed. Then the mother asked the key question . . . should she have unwrapped the suppository before she had the child eat it? That winner was quickly followed by her inquiry as to how far she should have inserted the tablet rectally or should it have been inserted vaginally? To this day, he includes directions for unwrapping suppositories before use as well as stating that tablets should be taken by mouth!!

Submitted on 05/08/2009

Submitted by: annierx
Reference: response to newletter request for medical stories-never published

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Bruce said:
Definitely Keep: Personal Account
I could see where this was going (no pun intended) with the suppositories but not with the tablets. What a maroon! Thanks, Annierx!

Candi said:
Definitely Toss: Other
This is funny, but since the child was the ill one and the victim of mom's ignorance, I have to vote to toss.

James said:
Definitely Keep: Personal Account
Since this is extremely funny and no one was hurt, I vote to keep it. The level of stupidity displayed here is of sufficient caliber to merit consideration (if she can't figure out to administer pills, I shudder to think what sort of trouble she'll get into with anything more complicated)! Thanks, Annie!

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