On a regular work day, doctors might do everything from performing a routine surgery to prescribing medication. But then there are the days that are far from ordinary, like when surgeons find their patients did some unusual things that caused them strange pains. If you thought these kinds of things only happen in Hollywood scripts, think again. Or better yet, keep scrolling for real accounts of healthcare workers caught entirely off guard by these odd - and sometimes ridiculous - situations.
Sir, Barbie Doll Heads Are Not for Eating
There are adults out there who love playing with dolls, which could be seen as strange in itself, but, hey, a hobby is a hobby. Things start to get a bit unusual, though, when the heads of those dolls are then swallowed for personal pleasure by the same adult playing with them. The surgeon conducting the x-ray of this specific person must have been incredibly confused as to why the patient was partaking in this pastime.
This radiology department said that they had had many famous cases of people swallowing strange things. But, this man who ate barbie doll heads stands at number one on their list.
He Didn't Even Know There Was a Nail in His Head
A neurosurgeon had a patient come in complaining of a three-day headache, and after conducting a CT scan, they had discovered that a large nail was stuck in the base of his skull, above his nose, and between his forehead. Somehow, the nail altogether avoided any large blood vessels and other important brain structures, leaving him with only a tiny cheek wound. Needless to say, this guy was extremely lucky.
When asked, the patient said he was using a nail gun earlier and that there was a moment when the nail bounced back, hitting him in the face. He didn't know it went into his skull.
Rocks Should Not Be Eaten
It's a hundred percent normal to want to taste things as a kid, but the desire to try a rock is seriously a weird one - especially if it continues into adulthood. This may have actually been an addiction as this person simply wasn't able to stop eating them, even after several trips to the doctor. Hopefully, someone was able to put a halt to this really weird habit at some point in order to prevent any serious damage.
This decision ended in a very painful bowel backup for this person, who actually continued to eat rocks until she had to undergo serious surgery to remove them.
A Spoonful of Spoon
This story is about someone who enjoyed eating spoons as a snack. Of course, this person had to go in for several surgeries just to remove them. Typically, we pick up spoons to use for eating things like soup or ice cream and don't intend on actually eating the spoon itself. It would certainly be a hard and disgusting thing to do. To be honest, we're a bit impressed.
Unfortunately, this wasn't the only household item this person enjoyed consuming. They would also eat batteries (which seems much more dangerous) and pen lids.
His Wife Took Him to the ER After He Stuck a Cucumber in His Throat
Most people won't come up with an idea that is even closely related to sticking an entire cucumber down their throats, but this guy clearly isn't like most people. Cucumbers are an essential part of every tasty salad, but swallowing the thing as a whole certainly isn't recommended. After doing so, this guy would probably agree when he found himself in an uncomfortable position. Somehow, he survived and also reached his daily vegetable intake.
This man came into the doctor's office with his wife and claimed that he put a cucumber down his throat, and it broke off, so he couldn't pull it back out.
She Had Cement in Her Face
Our skin naturally forms wrinkles as we age, but some people can't handle them and often turn to botox as a fast fix. Unfortunately, the treatment can be costly, making cheaper and less professional options in other countries more desirable. One dermatologist can certainly say that this might not be such a great idea after running into patients who have had terrible and uncomfortable side effects after doing the same thing.
This dermatologist had a couple of patients who had cement injected into their faces at a discount doctor in Mexico. They then questioned why they had lost feeling or couldn't make facial expressions.
Surgeons Both Lost and Found This Scissor
The unfortunate part of surgery is that accidentally leaving medical equipment inside of a patient isn't so uncommon. In fact, there are many stories about this situation, and this is one of them. A woman found herself having very unusual pain for months after getting a procedure done. She couldn't sit down because the discomfort was excruciating, and she knew something had to be wrong. What they discovered is shocking.
Following surgery, the lady returned back to the hospital, where they found that they had left a pair of surgical scissors inside of her for months. She then won a hefty lawsuit.
Surgeons Dislocated His Jaw to Get the Pool Ball Out
A game of pool is always fun on a night out, and placing a bet on a win or a loss is super common. One night, a group of men decided to put a more risky bet in which they wanted to see if one of them could fit an entire pool ball inside of their mouth. The attempt was indeed successful, and he ended up being fifty dollars richer, but the ball got stuck.
Winning a bet got this man into a problematic situation that ended up in a surgery room. The dental surgeon had to dislocate this guy's jaw just to get the ball out.
A Hairstylist's Forbidden Favorite Food
This might be one of the more freaky finds on both the doctors' and patients' part. Sometimes, chewing on hair can become a habit, and people have strange food addictions; this patient was undoubtedly one of those people. They became addicted to eating hair which caused a massive buildup of it in their stomach. It became so excruciatingly painful that they had to go to the doctor and be admitted into surgery.
Doctors found a giant hairball, called a bezoar, in the exact shape of a stomach and soon realized that the patient worked at a hair salon and was eating other people's hair.
He Fell on a Doorknob
This interesting situation will make you cautious as to how and where you fall so that you don't end up as this man did. He came into the hospital with a really strange injury after claiming that it happened from a fall as he was putting his shoes on. It doesn't sound too suspicious until you get to the part where a doorknob was miraculously found in the least expected of places.
The entire doorknob was ripped out, including the screws. This soon became a laughing joke in the healthcare office, and everyone would point out to be careful of the doorknob when putting on shoes.
The Side of a Picture Frame Was Stuck in Her Kidney
After a severe injury, a woman went in to get a scan done and soon discovered that the edge of a picture frame was lodged into her kidney after falling on it. At first, doctors didn't notice it until she went another time, insisting that something was seriously wrong. Her husband at home was confused as to why he was only able to find three pieces of the picture frame and thought that the fourth was missing.
Clearly, big falls can lead to external household objects potentially lodging themselves inside your body, so please, be careful. This woman had to have her entire kidney removed in the end.
Just Some Casual Pool Balls and a Set of Keys in His Stomach
Drunk nights can result in so many things, one of which is memory loss, but this one is surely the weirdest. A man found himself in the hospital with intense stomach pain, and the doctor was quick to figure out the exact cause after conducting some standard tests. The doctor did the x-ray and found two pool balls and a full set of keys sitting inside his stomach. The patient in question had no idea how those objects ended up there.
He later confessed he'd been black-out drunk the night before and probably swallowed it all on his own.
Towels Are Not For Eating
We're not sure why some people resort to household objects instead of food when hungry; it's both dangerous and strange. The human body can genuinely do incredible things, for example, tolerating a towel being shoved into a stomach. Of course, this is precisely what one patient ate, who then had to go right into surgery to get this thing removed. This item doesn't even seem to be the slightest appetizing.
The emergency room was the final destination whose towel-eating details were overheard by someone else in the hospital. It was a big cloth that got stuck in this person's intestines.
A Spider's Nest in Her Abdomen
Bugs crawling into any body part is a nightmare situation that you only hear about in movies. A woman was complaining of abdominal pain, and doctors believed that this was due to some kind of issue that was occurring in her uterus. She went admitted into surgery, and doctors found the most creepy thing inside her abdomen. We've all heard about bugs crawling into ears, but an internal organ is a new one.
The husband of a trauma nurse said that she had to help remove a spider's nest or egg sack from what they initially thought was an abscess in this patient's uterus.
The Surgeon Thought He Was Just Treating an Infected Wound
Sometimes, people go to the doctor with mysterious illnesses that have simple yet freaky explanations. Other times, they go with mystery illnesses that have simple and unbelievable explanations, like this person who showed up with an infected and swollen foot. Only it wasn't your usual infection: it was filled with maggots and flies. It was a minuscule injury that became something serious just because it wasn't taken care of or monitored by the patient... for five months!
Wounds need to be taken care of and managed in order to prevent infections, or in this case, maggots and flies.
A Hair Comb Punctured Her Bowels
Falling onto a comb likely won't cause too many injuries, other than a scratch or two that would heal in a few days, which is why this story seemed like a weird one for both doctors and nurses. They believed that something way more sinister happened to a patient who came in with an injury involving a rat tail comb. It was removed and actually punctured her bowels which sounds extremely painful.
The patient claimed she fell on top of the comb, but doctors were highly suspicious due to the angle and entry wound and believed she was actually stabbed with it.
A Serious Kind of Pain
This injury involved both a crossbow and anyone's worst nightmare. Tons of people enjoy shooting crossbows for fun or as a sport for both a bit of hunting and some practice. Safety measures need to be taken to ensure that no accidents occur while using them, which could create a painful and even potentially deadly situation. Take, for example, this man who accidentally shot himself in the leg with his crossbow and was rushed to the emergency room.
In the emergency room, the man said that he was casually walking through a local park with a loaded crossbow. He ended up tripping, and then the crossbow shot into his thigh.
The Steel Bar Went Through His Chest
A trauma patient was admitted to the hospital because of a random accident involving a steel bar. He was working as a construction worker, which comes with tons of risk as most construction sites can be highly hazardous. The injury was severe, and the bar had to be removed by a surgeon but didn't puncture his heart, esophagus, or any major organs. He was fortunate to walk away from this accident alive.
This surgeon claims that the patient fell on some rebar, which went in one side of his chest and out the other. It somehow missed all major organs, and he survived with no critical injuries.
He Had a Corn Kernel Inside His Ear for Years
Kids do tend to love putting things in both their noses and ears while thinking that whatever they just did was the most comedic thing ever. Someone's brother shoved a dry corn kernel inside of his ear when he was in kindergarten. It sat in there for quite some time, probably because the kid completely forgot about it while the parents had no idea that this had happened in the first place.
The corn kernel remained there for quite a few years before a doctor noticed and pulled it out. We wonder what his parents must have thought when they realized this had happened.
A Toilet Bowl Brush
A retail worker once had a conversation with an ambulance driver about their most awkward emergency calls. He said that they were called in to assist a man who had a toilet brush cleaner stuck up where the sun didn't shine. Since it was put with the bristle side up, the patient wasn't able to fix the damage he made. At that same moment, he realized this was a horrible mistake.
His wife was the one to find him in this position, and surely, she was just as uncomfortable as the ambulance workers, if not more.
She Had Rotting Fruit Where It Definitely Doesn't Belong
Experimenting in life is highly recommended unless it involves internal cavities and fruit. A pregnant woman came in for an appointment where doctors found rotting fruit inside an area where a baby was soon going to come out. This is surely highly concerning for any medical professional to witness. Hopefully, they had a friendly chat with the patient and recommended that they never do something like that again.
As to why that got there, we'll simply never know. This woman earned herself the nickname 'fruit salad' in the doctor's office.
This Man Didn't Take His Pills Correctly
Oral medication is obviously meant to be taken, well, orally. In this situation, an elderly man clearly didn't care about any disclaimers written on his medication bottle and confidently decided to put it somewhere else instead - and we don't mean just the pills; we mean the entire pill bottle. This situation surely made every witnessing healthcare professional consider changing their professions, and the confusion levels were certainly high.
The patient claimed that he didn't know how it even got there in the first place. Sure, sir, sure.
A Big Yankee Candle, An Even Bigger Issue
Candles often play the role of a beloved decoration that provides both good vibes and a zen environment in any room that they're lit in. This one specific person was so captivated by his candle that he decided it should be where the sun doesn't shine. This probably wasn't a good decision, and he surely should have stopped while he was ahead, but that night ended in the hospital.
It must be specified that this was, in fact, a large Yankee candle and not the super tiny one. Big, big difference.
The Doctors Kept Hearing an Unknown Buzzing Sound
Working on the roof certainly comes with its dangers, and one of them is falling. A paramedic rushed to a call of a roofer who fell and had to quickly transport the man to the hospital. There was a constant and unusual buzzing sound on the ride to the ambulance, and nobody could understand where this was coming from until the patient underwent a scan. It ended up coming from something massive.
The buzzing sound ended up being a toy that the worker somehow forgot to remove and had made its way inside. This is kind of strange, so, respectfully, we're not asking questions.
The Fish "Swam Up"
Heading out to the wilderness is always a good time, and lots of people like to do that by fishing. Normally, it's a relaxing pastime for everyone except this person, who allegedly had an entire fish swim up the last place you'd want it to. It's basically our worst nightmare, and the doctor on duty had to pull the whole fish out of their patient. One could imagine the internal horror going through the healthcare workers' heads.
How or why an entire sturgeon actually got stuck in this person is a whole other story that the doctor who removed it probably shares with practically anyone who would listen.
What They Found on This Guy Was Hilarious
Sometimes people like to show off a bit to make themselves look more attractive, especially on a night out, though this usually isn't a thought in mind when going to the hospital. A patient was rushed into the emergency room after getting hurt at a local bar. He practically begged them not to cut his clothes off, even though they needed to in order to treat the wound; little did the doctors know, he was hiding something super strange.
They ultimately found an enormous sausage that was attached with tape. Of course, the doctors were confused and very much weirded out by this sight.
A Cut-Up Wire Hanger
A scrub nurse told a story about a patient coming in with an incredibly distressing situation that shouldn't have happened in the first place. The man cut up tiny pieces of a metal coat hanger and barbed them so that they intentionally could not be removed by anyone. He then took the item and stuck it somewhere that will just never have a proper explanation.
This might be one of the most painful stories ever; seriously, it's hard to think about this situation happening without cringing in pain for the person who decided to do this.
Mayonnaise Does Not Belong Here
People do really weird and strange things sometimes, and an action like this one often makes us question all of humanity. A man decided to stick a jar of mayonnaise (you can imagine where) and, for some reason, thought that this would be a good idea. We can't really even try to imagine what was going through his mind during this decision-making process; surely, this move came with a ton of regret.
The Emergency Room technician who found himself having to treat this patient claims that the jar was filled with water and a goldfish. It's not hard to imagine the shock on the doctors' faces.
Just Don't Put a Power Line Insulator up There, Please
Some people genuinely make strange uses out of anything they can find in the immediate moment. This person had put something really strange inside his body for that, not surprisingly to anyone else, ended in disaster. Doctors found a power line insulator in this person, which ended up putting him into surgery which almost became a serious one. Thankfully, it ended optimistically with no severe damages done.
They were about to open the patient's pelvis just to get this foreign object loose, but, thankfully, they didn't have to as it finally came out on its own at some point.
Towels Aren't for Eating, Buddy
Dogs tend to do weird and mysterious things and will quite honestly eat anything they can find. Human doctors find all kinds of strange things inside of people, but veterinary surgeons do too. A dog was super sick, and his owner rushed him to see his doctor. They had known that he probably ate something unusual but were surely in for a shock when they discovered exactly what the item was.
The boxer had symptoms of vomiting and didn't want to eat. He was also bloated and had a blockage. After an x-ray, it was discovered that he ate an entire bath towel.
Parmesan Cheese Should Only Go on Food
Parmesan cheese is pretty much a delicacy and belongs on pizza always, but this person must have loved it so much that he decided it should go somewhere else. This storyteller's aunt and uncle both worked in an operating room in a hospital and had to conduct surgery on a man who did something very special with an entire shaker filled with cheese. This story still kills the doctors to this very day.
By the looks of it, it seems popular to use a grand fall as an excuse for an act that was likely just for a bit of fun.
Hair Does Not Belong Here
You might want to skip this story if you have a weak stomach, but we're going to tell it anywhere. A nine-year-old girl was having a terrible stomach ache and made her way to the hospital, where they were ready to treat her. The doctors figured out that she had some kind of intestinal blockage and, in surgery, ended up pulling out a ten-inch long strand of free-floating hair.
Nobody could figure out how this much hair got here, especially because it was so long. Though, she very well might have been eating her own when she was feeling hungry.
Let's Keep Shoe Soles on Our Feet - Not in Our Mouths
People who commit crimes often find themselves with time on their hands while sitting in jail. This is why physicians in prisons have bizarre stories, such as this one. This specific patient and prisoner found a really strange way to fill that time which involved tiny pieces of his shoe. He was constantly at the doctor, so this couldn't have been too pleasurable on his part.
The patient would constantly come in after ripping off the soles of their shoes and tearing them into small pieces before placing them into an organ where they don't belong.
Gold Chains and a Lot of Pain
A radiologist described a really weird story that he witnessed in the early 90s. A man put an entire gold chain somewhere where the shine doesn't shine for a reason that can't possibly have a good enough explanation. Surely, he didn't think that this act of intense strangeness would bring him into the hospital where a complete stranger would have to be removing it. Certainly, an embarrassing situation that shouldn't have occurred in the first place.
The chain actually knotted itself in the patient after being passed through. It's not hard to imagine the pain this tricky situation certainly caused. Hopefully, he never did it again.
Shampoo Should Stay in Showers
A nurse once showed their friend an x-ray image of an actual shampoo bottle inside a person. How or why it even got there in the first place was simply unknown, but it was there, and the nurses and doctors, unfortunately, had to deal with it by removing it themselves. This seems like it was both a really unnecessary and painful idea that only led to pure embarrassment.
This is just another tragic story of a grown adult putting an object in a place where it doesn't belong. No matter the reason, let's keep shampoo bottles in showers, please.
An Accident and an Extra Organ
A patient was rushed to the hospital after a large explosion, but for a reason you might not be expecting. Unfortunately, someone was burst into pieces, and one of their libs somehow got attached to another person that was there. Doctors and nurses had to quickly remove an arm that was attached to the guy's hip, which was certainly a disturbing scene that neither the doctor nor patient will ever forget.
Major accidents often lead to surgeons and doctors having to do some extreme surgeries or treatments in order to take care of their patients who just went through a traumatic experience.
This Is Why Kids Need Babysitters
It's recommended not to leave random objects around the house if they are in easy reach of any children that you may have. Mainly to avoid any potential choking hazards, of course. Unknowingly to the parents, this rule also applies to a glass chandelier that soon became a meal for their child, who obviously was not being supervised at the time. This is a pure example of bad taste but expensive dining.
Inside of this child's stomach were a dozen glass teardrop pendants from an antique chandelier. How this child was even able to get access to that while believing it was a tasty treat is unknown.
Swallowing Batteries Isn't Recommended
Sometimes people swallow random objects for pure fun; other times, it might be related to some kind of mental health issue, but it's hard to tell those two different situations apart. Regardless, medical professionals often run into some crazy cases when it comes to patients who have swallowed foreign substances. Surely, these become lifelong stories for all of the doctors and nurses who unfortunately have no other choice than to be involved.
In residency, a future doctor came across patients that swallowed tons of things from batteries, magnets, bags of drugs, and even a razor blade. People just can't be satisfied with food, apparently.
He Had a Cherry Pit in His Nose for 40 Years
It's normal for kids to do strange things, such as putting items where they certainly don't belong, and sticking things up of their noses is a perfect example of that. Usually, an item stuck in a nasal cavity causes a ton of discomfort, and a parent or doctor will help remove the object. Yet, this man put a cherry put up his nose when he was younger and completely forgot about it.
A doctor found a cherry pit in the sinus of a man who put it inside of his nose forty years earlier and was pleased when his lifelong sinus drainage issue was quickly resolved.
Standing in The Splash Zone
A medical student scrubbed into their first surgery, which was a removal of a lipoma. The patient was only under light sedation, but the surgery ended up being more invasive than initially predicted. As soon as they cut into the lipoma, a massive gush of bodily fluids squirted right into the air and landed on the face of the medical student. Needless to say, they were completely shocked and didn't enjoy the experience.
Anyone who works in dermatology knows that lipomas and pimples can certainly create a splash at times, which is why anyone standing in the zone normally puts on protective gear.