Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Blatant Lies Patients Have Told Medical Professionals

Doctor with arms crossed
Sasun Bughdaryan/Unsplash

Reddit user DrPloyt asked: 'Doctors and nurses of Reddit, what’s the most blatant lie a patient has told you about why they’re in the hospital?'

In order for medical professionals to properly assess and diagnose a patient, the patient has to describe their symptoms as best they can.

But not every patient gives all the accurate information, possibly because they may be embarrassed about how they got into their predicament in the first place.

Regardless, doctors and nurses have seen it all and can tell if a patient is not being forthright.


Curious to hear from medical experts online, Redditor DrPloyt asked:

"Doctors and nurses of Reddit, what’s the most blatant lie a patient has told you about why they’re in the hospital?"

Those who felt ashamed thought they could get away with lying.

The STD Source

"Had a patient convince his wife he got an STD from a dirty toilet seat in the ER when he arrived to the hospital. He was in house for about a week or two after, his wife dutifully staying with him each day until about 6. She home cooked meals for him every night and would bring them to the hospital each day while trying to file complaints to us for his STD he got from us."

"A doctor had to kindly explain to her the impossibility of him getting that particular STD from a toilet seat and it also become active / symptomatic in that time frame. She never believed us."

"After she went home each evening at 6 to cook for him for the following day, his affair partner would show up from 7-10 each evening."

– Duffarum

Running From The Law

"I’m a paramedic. I had that. They called 911 to get away from the police and a fight that had been happening.Jumped in the ambulance and started screaming at us to just drive away. We locked ourselves up front and said that’s not how this works and he ran away."

– Fianna9

Substance Abusers

"I’m a paramedic, and it’s the ones who deny doing drugs and insist we don’t know our job. I had one patient swearing up and down he doesn’t do any drugs, he was just sleeping. On the kitchen floor. While cooking."

“Do you know why your mom is crying? She just did cpr on you because you stopped breathing”

"Then admitted to doing some weed. And crack. And heroin. And meth."

"ETA- this was after he woke up to naloxone. I always ask twice if drugs are suspected before moving on to other medical issues."

– Fianna9

Attention Seeker

"I've told this story many times before, but when I worked in the emergency department there was a frequent flier who would come in complaining of migraines, seizures and stroke symptoms. She was completely full of sh*t, just wanted drugs and attention. One time the symptom she presented with was that she could only speak Spanish, but the thing was that in reality she couldn't speak Spanish*,* so you had to ask her yes or no questions or she just wouldn't respond. If the answer was yes she would say 'si' and if the answer was no she would shake her head, because she didn't know the Spanish word for 'no' is no.'"

– PigWithAWoodenLeg

The Axe Thrower

"Psych patient told me she didn’t know why they were keeping her in the facility. She claimed nothing was wrong with her, wasn’t on drugs, and didn’t do anything to be admitted… after 30 minutes of talking she admitted to throwing an axe at her neighbor, unprovoked after use of meth."

– lanakame

Quick observations revealed these patients were untruthful.

The Ex

"I lied to hospital staff once before, my ex gf stabbed me in the hand and it cut me wide open. So I get to triage and I tell them I fell and accidentally cut myself, because I didn't want to get my ex in trouble (yes I know I'm an idiot blah blah blah I've heard it a million times) when I get into a room I look around and notice an unusually high amount of domestic violence posters on the wall, I thought 'huh that's weird' the first thing the nurse says is 'we know it can be hard to talk about being abused' like damn they were on to me from the start, I still don't know how they knew, but I ended up spilling the beans, they said they wouldn't tell the police if I didn't want them to."

– dayzers

Does Not Compute

"I was in the ER for a suspected testicular torsion, and we saw a guy with a pretty clear bullet wound on his arm. The lady handling intake asked him what happened, and he said he fell off his skateboard."

– doctordoctorpuss

What's Up, Doc?

"I had a frustrating itch inside my rectum and the carrot was the only object that I could fit in there"

– LithuanianLion

What The Ex-Con Did

"Easy. A guy came in complaining of being constipated and couldn't poop for 5 days. He reported rectal blood and difficulty passing gas. A CT was done and showed a 9 inch linear object bordering or slightly puncturing through his bowel with questionable free air. With the CT results in hand we confronted the guy. 9 MONTHS AGO, yep, 9 months ago this guy got out of prison where he stuck a prison shank in his butt to hide it during a cell search. It was already in there about a year before he got out. He didn't tell anyone for fear of adding on his prison sentence. He was never able to retrieve it and thought it would just pass naturally. He was just hoping we'd give him some prescription strength laxatives and he'd have better luck. He needed surgery."

– alwaysforgettingmypw

Things got out of hand for these patients with erectile dysfunction.

Hard Situation

"Back when Viagra first dropped, every grandpa in Miami with chest pain would lie about why they had a raging erection. Or the boner would be gone, and they'd be so much more confident in their answer. No matter how much we stressed how unsafe lying would be, no matter whether we ferried the ladies out of the room."

"It was quite a way for little baby nurse me to learn how low blood pressure could get. Being in Miami at the time was like being on the front of a boomer battlefield for erectile rights."

– MissAnthropicRN

Forever Stiffie

"Oh boy."

"I'm an admin in a hospital and just the other week we had a younger guy (30s) come in because he had injected viagra into his unit...his erection had lasted for a worrying amount of hours so he came to ED."

"After having 220mls drained from his member, he regained full function."

"My colleagues and I joked that he wouldn't be touching it for at least a day or two."

– HailCrystals

The moral of the story is, it's pointless to lie to your doctor.

The truth will eventually come out, and it should, because your life could depend on it.

And the truth of the matter is, doctors and nurses don't care about your situation, no matter how embarrassed you are. They just want to make sure you are properly tended to.

Any judgement from them will most likely be because you're a bad liar, not because you shoved a foreign object up your bum.

More from Trending/best-of-reddit

Yassamin Ansari; Screenshot of Kellyanne Conway
Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images; Fox News

Dem Rep. Epically Shuts Down Kellyanne Conway's Claim Sydney Sweeney Ad Is Causing Liberal 'Panic'

Actor Sydney Sweeney recently faced backlash over her American Eagle ad campaign titled “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans.” The campaign plays on the words “jeans” and “genes,” which some critics claim alludes to eugenics—a theory widely discredited as scientifically inaccurate and ethically dangerous.

According to former presidential counselor Kellyanne Conway—who gave us the term "alternative facts"—the campaign has sparked "panic on the left."

Keep ReadingShow less
Lisa Kudrow in 'Death to 2020'
Netflix

Lisa Kudrow's Portrayal Of A MAGA Spokesperson Resurfaces—And It's Eerily Accurate

Actor Lisa Kudrow has gone viral after her performance in the Netflix mockumentary Death to 2020 as a truth-denying spokesperson for President Donald Trump went viral—prompting many to point out that her portrayal is still spot on.

The film, from the minds of Black Mirror creators Charlie Brooker and Annabel Jones, centers on a group of fictional characters reflecting on major U.S. and U.K. events of 2020, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the U.S. presidential election.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Molly Martinez
RSBN

White House Reporter Reacts After Video Glitch Sparks Conspiracy Theory That She's A 'Lizard Person'

White House reporter Molly Martinez responded after a White House livestream glitched and caused her eyes to look completely white for a split-second—prompting conspiracy theorists to go wild and claim she is a "lizard person" who is secretly controlling the government.

Martinez, a Washington-based journalist for local TV chain Gray Television, appeared on camera June 19 in the White House press room, smiling at a friend. A glitch in the original footage made her eyes look entirely white—something conspiracy theorists seized on as “evidence” she’s a lizard person.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Ben Ferguson and Abby Philip
CNN

Right-Wing Podcaster Blasted After Making Absurd Claim About Trump And Crime Rates In 2024

Conservative podcaster Ben Ferguson left hs fellow CNN panelists stunned after he made the bizarre claim that falling crime rates in 2024 were due to President Donald Trump's policies—even though Trump didn't begin his second term until January 2025.

Ferguson spoke after Trump—who presented fake crime statistics—announced his decision to federalize police in Washington, D.C., and deploy the National Guard in an effort to fight crime.

Keep ReadingShow less
A bride and a groom holding hands
man and woman holding hands focus photo

People Who Attended Multiple Weddings For The Same Person Describe The Differences

Weddings are a wonderful celebration of love and commitment.

That being said, all of us have likely been to a wedding where we have wondered "how long do you think it's going to last".

Keep ReadingShow less