Not a problem
When the BLS crew turned him over onto a backboard, they noticed his left leg flopped languidly, bending at a joint that hadn't been there ten minutes ago.
When I got there he was relatively settled onto the litter, although he couldn't lay flat due to a shoulder injury. He also had crepitus in his upper chest; but for a big guy with no helmet and a high speed motorcycle crash, he appeared to be very lucky.
One thing that was strange was when he told me that he couldn't be sedated because his throat would swell shut. I asked him what kind of drugs he was allergic to, and he insisted it wasn't an allergic reaction. That puzzled me, but I moved on as it didn't appear that I would be sedating him anyway.
The helicopter crew got there, and I had him describe this throat swelling issue to them. He said, when he was sedated, his throat went closed, and they also asked him about allergies.
pt.: I don't have an allergy, but I can't be sedated because my throat closes. I forget what it's called.
me: Sir, have you ever been sedated?
pt.: No, just when I go to sleep, my throat goes closed.
me: Oh, you have sleep apnea!
pt.: Yeah, that's it!
If you have sleep apnea, please don't be worried about if a paramedic has to sedate you. If that happens, your throat will be held open by a tube. But it is good to know you're probably difficult to intubate.
With that mystery solved, we sent him off to the trauma center.
When I got there he was relatively settled onto the litter, although he couldn't lay flat due to a shoulder injury. He also had crepitus in his upper chest; but for a big guy with no helmet and a high speed motorcycle crash, he appeared to be very lucky.
One thing that was strange was when he told me that he couldn't be sedated because his throat would swell shut. I asked him what kind of drugs he was allergic to, and he insisted it wasn't an allergic reaction. That puzzled me, but I moved on as it didn't appear that I would be sedating him anyway.
The helicopter crew got there, and I had him describe this throat swelling issue to them. He said, when he was sedated, his throat went closed, and they also asked him about allergies.
pt.: I don't have an allergy, but I can't be sedated because my throat closes. I forget what it's called.
me: Sir, have you ever been sedated?
pt.: No, just when I go to sleep, my throat goes closed.
me: Oh, you have sleep apnea!
pt.: Yeah, that's it!
If you have sleep apnea, please don't be worried about if a paramedic has to sedate you. If that happens, your throat will be held open by a tube. But it is good to know you're probably difficult to intubate.
With that mystery solved, we sent him off to the trauma center.
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