If a loved one collapses or starts suffering chest pain, it may be tempting to turn to Dr Google or phone a friend.
But it could cost a life.
Doctors have revealed the common – but potentially fatal – mistakes people make when there is a medical emergency.
Dr Darria Gillespie, who has been an ER doctor for more than a decade in Georgia, urged people to contact emergency services first rather than Google symptoms and recommended always taking a phone charger to the hospital.
She said that people often don’t want to cause a fuss but that it was better to be safe than sorry – a delay in the event of a heart attack or stroke could have life-changing consequences.
Meanwhile, Dr Jay Ladde, who has been an ER doctor in Florida for 25 years, said in today’s financial environment, more people are driving themselves or their loved ones to the hospital to keep costs down.
But this could potentially worsen your condition by delaying critical medical care and putting yourself and others at risk due to impaired driving while injured.
These were the doctors’ biggest DON’TS:
Above is Dr Darria Gillespie (left), an EM doctor in Georgia, and Dr Jay Ladde (right), who has been an EM doctor for 25 years at Orlando Health in Florida
Don’t call a friend or loved one… or use Google
Your first instinct when you aren’t sure about a symptom might be to call a friend or turn to Google, Reddit, TikTok or ChatGPT.
But both doctors urged people not to do this, saying instead they should call 911 or poison control center if they are concerned.
This ensures the person receives proper medical advice on how to handle their situation, they said, and whether they need to go to the emergency department.
Dr Gillespie said: ‘When in doubt, call 911 or poison control. Do not go to Google, Reddit, TikTok or others for your advice first.’
Dr Ladde added: ‘The first thing I would recommend to patients is not to call a friend before emergency services, just don’t wait.
‘My parents, for example, they called me once and said, “Dad is real weak and has been vomiting up some blood should we call 911?”, and I’m like, “Yes, I am an hour and a half away, I can’t help you just like that, call 911 and someone will arrive faster.”‘
Don’t drive yourself or someone else
More than three-quarters of ER patients arrive at US hospitals in their cars rather than via an ambulance, studies suggest.
But the doctors urged people not to do this, saying it could delay vital treatment that would help to manage their condition — and maybe save their life.
Dr Ladde said: ‘If you can’t feel one side of your body, then that is not the time to drive yourself — or get someone to drive you — to the hospital.
‘If you have a small cut, then it is probably fine to get a family member to drive you to the hospital, but if it’s something more serious, then call an ambulance.’
The doctors also said it was important to call an ambulance because it could lead to a patient being sent to the right hospital, and save valuable time.
Some hospitals have particular specialties, such as in strokes or heart attacks, meaning if someone contacts emergency services they may be brought to a facility better suited for their medical needs.
However, many Americans seek to avoid calling an ambulance for fear of the steep fees they could incur, with an average ride costing anywhere from $500 to $3,500.
A 2023 study suggests that 82 percent of ER patients arrive without calling an ambulance — including driving themselves in.
Don’t forget your phone or phone charger
Nearly 140 million Americans go to the emergency department every year
Both doctors urged patients and their loved ones to bring their phones and phone chargers with them to the hospital if they are able to.
They said it was important to bring two chargers, one for the patient and the other for the loved one, in case the two are separated, to ensure they can stay in contact.
Dr Gillespie said: ‘If someone is going to the ER, give them a phone and give them a charger, period. You might be separated for long periods.
‘And make sure you, as a family member, have a phone that is charged, and a charger.’
And while you make sure to bring your phone and charger, make sure to bring the right charger.
Dr Gillespie told DailyMail.com that many people were coming to the ER with just the USB cable to charge their phone but without the plug.
Many people only carry around the cable these days, expecting to be able to plug it into a USB port, and not a wall outlet.
But Dr Gillespie said hospitals were not yet ready to offer USB ports to visitors and patients saying, instead, someone should always have their wall adapter with them.
‘Make sure you have a phone and a charger with a [plug], that you can plug into the wall,’ she said.
‘There’s been many times where I’ve had to run around and be like, does anyone have a plug to fix this, when trying to help patients.’
Don’t leave someone by themselves
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Once you’ve driven someone to the ER, it may sound more appealing to go home rather than sit around a hospital for hours.
But Dr Gillespie urged people to stay with a sick person, saying they could be a valuable source of support and comfort for them and would help to ensure they were seen faster by doctors.
Dr Ladde added: ‘It can be so helpful to have someone with a patient that they trust because they help them to deal with the situation.
‘There are a lot of emotions in the ER, and sometimes patients try to leave because they are scared. Doctors can’t stop this happening, but a friend or family member can encourage someone to stay, saying they care about them.’
In some cases, relatives can also be very helpful for clearly explaining the history of symptoms to doctors in cases where the patient is very unwell.
Asked how long you should stay with a loved one in the hospital, Dr Gillespie said there was no one-size-fits-all answer.
‘It depends on the patient entirely,’ she told DailyMail.com. ‘Some patients you must stick around to help make decisions hourly because their condition is critical.
‘But sometimes you can go home for 24, 36 hours.’
She advised asking the doctor treating the patient, who would be able to say whether someone could head to the cafeteria for an hour or two for a break or head home for the evening.
Do speak up for yourself and relatives
People were also urged not to leave patients in the ER
Both doctors urged people to advocate for themselves and relatives and tell doctors clearly what their symptoms are.
They also encouraged patients to draw attention to their situation if they felt they needed care more rapidly.
However, they added, people should bear in mind that in the ER the sickest patients get seen first — which may mean a longer wait time for others with less severe issues.
This makes it important to advocate for yourself, but also be understanding.
Dr Gillespie told this website of a mother of a patient who insisted the X-ray machine be brought to their child rather than having their child transferred to the X-ray room.
Doctors obliged, but said it led to them receiving lower quality images than they otherwise would have, which could affect care.
In another situation, she told of a time when a patient handed her a list of 25 medications they said they had allergies to.
She said it was essential to write down an explanation of each allergy.
Dr Gillespie said: ‘I want to know whether you just had a small red swelling after using that medication 30 years ago or if you went into anaphylactic shock and nearly died the last time you used it.
‘This affects what medications I give you that could potentially save your life.’
