slothxaxmatic t1_j1vu9dg wrote on December 27, 2022 at 7:57 PM

Reply to comment by Medic1248 in Everybody talks about having a CO2 detector but never what to do if the alarm goes off. by kymilovechelle

I'll agree to that. Seems like there was a stigma when I was growing up at calling 911 at the "wrong time" and that it was serious to do so. It's definitely medically relevant here, though.

Medic1248 t1_j1vva9c wrote on December 27, 2022 at 8:04 PM

There’s nothing wrong with calling 911 if you think you have an emergency. It’s better to be safer than sorry.

I’m a paramedic on a 911 truck in a small city in the Northeast of PA. We frequently get calls for things that make no sense or things that make you wonder why someone would call 911 for that. I actually had someone call 911 because the tip of their finger was throbbing. Of course if you have an exhausting and busy shift and then finally get to relax for a minute and have it interrupted by a 40 something year old complaining of pain in his finger, you’re gonna do some screaming and cursing at the ceiling as you respond, but you’re gonna go. You always will. This time I got there and walked in the door and the guy was drenched in sweat and ghostly white. Holds up his left hand and points to the tip of his ring finger. Says this hurts so bad I can’t breathe. Guy looked like death, so I asked “does anything else hurt?” Guy was like, not really. It’s just the finger. It’s like a bad tooth, the finger tip hurts so bad it’s like a lightning bolt up my arm and into my arm pit. That then shoots across my chest and around my back. But it starts in my finger so I dunno.

Guy was having a massive heart attack and called 911 saying his finger tip hurt to touch.

slothxaxmatic t1_j1vvhia wrote on December 27, 2022 at 8:05 PM

Oh right, I get it. It's just an old habit I'm still breaking is all.

Medic1248 t1_j1vxe0q wrote on December 27, 2022 at 8:18 PM

Totally understand it, just saying not to worry. There’s plenty of people who seriously abuse the 911 system. I’m talking calling 911 because the remote to the TV fell off the bed and they can’t find it without getting up. If you’re not on a first name basis with the local 911 crews, then you’re not abusing the 911 system.

Also, as sad as it is, there is nothing that can really be done about 911 abuse. Yeah, it’s illegal and there’s well written laws that make it enforceable and punishable, but good luck finding someone who’s gonna have the balls to do it. Who’s going to arrest the crazy lady who keeps calling 911 because she overheard the ants in the wall plotting to resurrect Hitler and take over the world? The person who does that is gonna be the person who gets sued the next time that lady calls because she feels the ants crawling in her chest and it gets filtered to the police to investigate and they show up at the house and find her dead from a heart attack. As a result, they’d rather just continuously send us to investigate and send a cop along with us to check it out later.