playing into hallucations.

[LucidResq]

I know, I know. Playing along with a pt's hallucinations is a big no-no. However there seems to be some flexibility to the rule.

A paramedic friend of mine told me about the only time he's played into a pt's hallucinations. They were having a really tough time getting this guy that was really hopped up on meth or something to leave the house and get into the ambulance... he just kept freaking out about the spiders and scorpions that were crawling all over the walls. Losing patience, my friend finally said "Wait a second, you're right! There ARE spiders everywhere! Let's get to the ambulance so they can't get us"

Anyways, my EMT teacher told us to call the pt whatever they say their name is. I asked, "what if they say their name is Captain America?" She told me to go along with it. Hmmm...

Anyone else have hallucination stories?

 

[firecoins]

I had a story but it may be an hallucination

Generally I don't play into them but there are no strict rules. You don't want to lie to a patient only for them to find out you were lying. It may not affect you but the medical staff at the hospital will now have an irate patinet who doesn't trust them.

 

[Aileana]

Had a psych patient who approached me and told me that she only speaks chinese (caucasian lady, no accent whatsoever, said this in perfect english)...Played along with that for a while with my limited knowledge of the language, before going back to using english. She still denied speaking english though, even when her relatives met us at the hospital and were conversing in english with her.

 

[eggshen]

Do whatever it takes to keep from fighting. If you need to tell the pt. that this is bat country in order to move them with out a fight, by all means, go for it. It should be discouraged to feed any type of delusion just for the sake of it (that's just mean) but I would rather hop over invisible snakes than wrestle with someone that is going to the hospital one way or another.

Egg

 

[Topher38]

Patient was hypoglycemic, Was telling everyone on scene that the aliens are coming to pick him up and that he wasn't going to leave unless they came to get him.

This was out in a public park, he was naked.

The paramedic told him to come in our spaceship so we can go get him checked out. The conversation was a little more in-depth but I don't feel like sitting here for ever. But it worked!