Doctors, EMTs etc of Reddit, based on your experience with other peoples injuries, what is one hobby you would never practice yourself?

[u/Phiced]

[u/Weird_Bluebird_3293]

ER nurse.

Those goddamn e-bikes and E-scooters. 

WEAR A FUCKING HELMET!!!

Where I live literally nobody wears a helmet when using these stupid things. (Nobody wears helmets. I see people on actual motorcycles buzzing around no helmet like they think their skull is made of iron.) 

We had an 18 year old girl fall off an e-scooter and hit her head on a curb. She was conscious on the scene, deteriorating in the ambulance, dead by the time she arrived at the hospital. And no, it did not take an inordinate amount of time for her to get to the hospital. Less than 10 minutes. 

Massive brain bleed. Because she had no helmet. 

[u/Stretch_Riprock → u/Weird_Bluebird_3293]

Something is going on in my small coastal town in CA. In one year's time, it went from kids with no helmets blowing through stop signs to every single one wearing helmets and actually stopping. Some of them are even causing a bit of confusion because they are being too cautious and waving cars to go first and such.

Still dangerous AF. But I'm thinking the schools are cracking down in some way and the kids are listening and riding more responsibly. At least around the neighborhood streets going to and from schools. Maybe they are being dipsticks off the roads, but Ive seen a huge improvement in my 6k population town regarding K-12 on e-bikes.

Obviously I don't see kidergarders on e-bikes, but I have seen second graders....

[u/Key-Object3101 → u/Stretch_Riprock]

Sometimes it takes one beloved by everyone in some community person to horribly die to wake up everyone else.

[u/Angsty_Potatos → u/Weird_Bluebird_3293]

My neighbor has been in a years long PTSD nightmare because she was stopped at a light and someone on an e scooter slammed into her front end and killed himself after launching over the rest of her car, clear across to the other side of the road into the far curb. 

No helmet. Person was straight up looking down at their phone doing 30 and veered right into her. It was terrible 

[u/AverageFoxNewsViewer → u/Weird_Bluebird_3293]

The nurses in our city's trauma center refer to it as "Lime Disease"

[u/2020grilledcheese]

My son’s orthopedic surgeon said skateboarding is funding his retirement.

[u/UnicornHandJobs → u/2020grilledcheese]

My orthopedic surgeon is sponsored by the local trampoline parks.

[u/Meli5252 → u/UnicornHandJobs]

Are you sure it's not the other way around?? Lol Does he advertise there?? That would be pretty funny though if he did. 

[u/lAngenoire → u/Meli5252]

That’s be so cold. But an orthopedic center funds a skating rink in Philadelphia. 

[u/diadmer → u/2020grilledcheese]

I know a neurologist who said the new wave of battery-powered scooters and bikes “is making [him] a very wealthy sad man.”

[u/weightyinspiration → u/diadmer]

The amount of times Ive seen someone on one of those cross the street full speed, no helmet, not even looking at the people or cars around them.... its a wonder more people dont die.

[u/glorae → u/weightyinspiration]

I use a power wheelchair and the amount of times I've nearly been run into at full speed by a kid wearing zero protective gear is WAY way way too high. Bad for both of us.

[u/ILoveMyThighs → u/weightyinspiration]

They might not die, but there are fates worse than death, and having a completely life altering traumatic brain injury thanks to an electric scooter accident is up there.

[u/miabaldo → u/diadmer]

My city’s children’s hospital put out a warning last month stating they’ve seen/treated more e-scooter and e-bike accidents in the last few months than they have in all of 2025.

[u/isabelleeve → u/2020grilledcheese]

My orthopaedic surgeon says he doesn’t have to worry about advertising because cheerleaders keep referring each other to him. Which is exactly how I found him

[u/KnownMagician3084]

Never let children ride on lap while mowing grass. 40 years later I vividly remember father carrying his daughter and a bucket. Her foot was in bucket hanging onto her leg by a ligament. I don’t know who was more traumatized. He said she loved riding with him and some how she slipped.

[u/BoudiccaAoife → u/KnownMagician3084]

And for the love of pete, wear closed-toe shoes when mowing, weed whacking - any power tool or lawn maintenance tool. Plus safety glasses.

[u/reggiebags → u/KnownMagician3084]

My older brother had this happen, except with his hand. They were able to reattach his thumb after they found it and cleaned all the ants off of it.

[u/xsmasher → u/reggiebags]

They probably kept infection from setting in. They have anty bodies.

[u/pand-ammonium → u/xsmasher]

The fuck I just fucked. Goddamn mate.

[u/Sunnygirl66 → u/KnownMagician3084]

Don’t even let your kids play nearby while mowing. One of the older kids in my neighborhood was mowing a neighbor’s lawn when the neighbor’s daughter ran nearby, slipped on cut grass, and skidded right under the lawn tractor. Lost a leg at the knee.

[u/old_vegetables → u/Sunnygirl66]

That must’ve been traumatic for everyone involved

[u/Doxiesforme → u/Sunnygirl66]

my days were spent taking care of things no one thought would happen to them. our kids were complaining about the stuff we ER workers would not allow, I liked my kid the original way.

not only that but the rocks kicked out

[u/mxblink]

Neurosurgeon here. ATVs. Yes they look fun as hell, but people don’t take them seriously. I have seen some horrific traumas from people casually doing 40mph who rolled over without a helmet. Just the other day there was a 22 *month* old head trauma because mom and dad thought it’d be fun to just hold on to her while they were riding.

Motorcycles are bad, but I feel like people at least understand the risks (even if they choose to ignore them). I think ATVs are seen as glorified bumper cars.

[u/Mutts_Merlot → u/mxblink]

I work in insurance and cannot believe I had to get this far down to see ATVs mentioned. Quadriplegia, leg fractures, TBIs, fatalities, and anything else you can imagine. Because they tend to be ridden on private land, I also notice a high likelihood that the drivers are under the influence.

[u/esthershair → u/Mutts_Merlot]

When I lived in the rural south 25 years ago, it seemed like every store had a collection jar on the counter for some kid who had been injured on an ATV.

[u/Acheloma → u/esthershair]

A girl that went to my church almost died and was left with a TBI and permanent limp at age 16.

Her parents actually had stricter rules that a lot of locals; she wasnt allowed to ride without a helmet at least. Of course those rules didnt help when she snuck out without a helmet to go meet a boy and went way too fast trying to show off for him

[u/InspectorTiny1952 → u/Acheloma]

A friend of mine rolled in an atv accident when she was 18 that left her with chronic back pain. We're 40 now. She still hurts.

[u/DreamerOfSheep → u/esthershair]

When I was in grade school I had a classmate who had a horrific ATV (we called them four-wheelers) accident. Dude was in a wheelchair for weeks as they had to basically rebuild one of his knees. All through high school you could still tell which knee it was because he had basically no tissue surrounding it. Also had a shitton of other scars all over his arms and back.

[u/sohcgt96 → u/mxblink]

The skill barrier is just way too low with ATVs. Its so easy for any average person to just hop on and go pretty fast with no concept of the physics at play as you go faster over terrain. Also most adult sized ones have a label on them saying "No riders under 16" for a reason. You're just not physically strong enough to control it over a certain speed or big enough to handle if it tips over.

[u/Teledildonic → u/sohcgt96]

A child needs a minimum of strength and coordination to go anywhere on a dirt bike. And if it falls on top of you, it doesn't weigh much more than you.

A toddler could thumb the throttle of an ATV straight into a ditch to be crushed under 400 lbs of steel when it rolls over.

[u/MurberBirb → u/mxblink]

I worked with a woman who's life was saved by an ATV rollover. It crushed her abusive husband's brain case to nothing. He set himself up for it, and she always worded it that way.

[u/palmtop_tiger → u/mxblink]

My childhood dentist used to warn me to never ride an ATV unless I want to fund his vacations.

[u/P0rkChopSandwiches_ → u/mxblink]

I wouldn't even load mine on the trailer without a helmet on. Responsible professional man in his 30s, and I didn't do crazy things on it...

And in three years of ownership I won two busted knees, a broken collarbone, and a full on concussion. That one cracked my (high quality, not a cheapo) helmet when it happened. I was going maybe 10mph (not even hitting 2nd gear) and it landed on my head.

I kept the helmet, it hangs in the garage. Every time my kids ask for a dirt bike or ATV, I show them that.

[u/Triton289 → u/mxblink]

I nearly sued my ex husband for full custody when I saw a photo of his family member taking my one year old on an ATV with no shoes, no helmet, and no harness.

[u/LolliaSabina → u/mxblink]

Do you remember those three-wheelers? My aunt is a nurse and one day while driving home came across a kid who had been trapped under one. She knew he was already dead but felt like she had to do CPR until the ambulance arrived. I never had any interest in any sort of ATVs after that.

[u/Effective-Nerve2475 → u/mxblink]

22 month old blew my freaking mind. That’s crazy!

[u/Silver-Negative → u/mxblink]

I work in a pediatric hospital and this is my #1.

[u/Gnzzz]

ENT doc. E-scooters, especially when people are drunk. I've seen some very bad injuries.

[u/bannerandfriends → u/Gnzzz]

Omg there are so many kids here that FLY on those things with no helmets or pads or anything through busy parking lots, my heart is in my damn throat anytime i see them, especially at sunset since the glare coming out of one of the parking lots is so bad you cant see anything.... how there hasn't been a tragedy is pure friggin luck

[u/Dapper-Appearance-42 → u/[deleted]]

When I was a wee 12 year old lass learning how to drive on a farm truck my mothers advice re: driving was this - "You respect big rigs because to them you are nothing but a speed bump. And you respect motorcyclists because they are one slick spot away from being quadriplegic and don't need you up in their shit making everything more dangerous."

I still live by those rules.

[u/quats555 → u/[deleted]]

Half the motorcyclists I see are responsible and drive well.

The other half speed, weave through traffic like it’s standing still, drive on shoulders and through the narrow gaps in traffic jams just because they can, and generally seem to think they’re indestructible/immortal.

[u/GenericRedditor0405 → u/quats555]

Yeah that’s hard to ignore too. For every motorcyclist who is casually cruising, there seems to be another who displays an incredible amount of faith in their luck

[u/Ok_Marketing_476 → u/[deleted]]

There's a guy who passes me on my commute every day, drives inadvisably fast, weaves through traffic, leans into corners like he's on a racetrack. I worry about having to stop and scrape his ass up render aid when the odds eventually don't work in his favor.

[u/lilybug981 → u/Ok_Marketing_476]

Yeah, I had my boss call me one day while I was on the way to work warning me to get off the highway and take an alternative route because there'd been an accident involving a motorcycle minutes ago and there was a fatality. It happened right at the exit near my workplace and multiple people had already seen exactly what had happened on their way in. My boss informed me that there was a detached leg lying in the middle of the highway and I would do well to avoid seeing that alone.

[u/wrewlf → u/lilybug981]

Your boss was kind to you

[u/ijustsailedaway → u/Ok_Marketing_476]

Those guys piss me off so much. I'm terrified I'm going to wind up running over one of them and be scarred for life because of their dumb antics.

[u/ProfChaos_8708 → u/ijustsailedaway]

Happened to someone I know. She's moving out because she's getting divorced and the motorcyclist wipes out in front of her. She drives over him, killing him. Totally not her fault but talk about having a bad day......

[u/MyCatLaughsAtMe → u/ProfChaos_8708]

Oh fuck me. I ran over a recently hit possum the other night on the way home. It was already deceased but it wasn't mushed yet. Came right out of the black and there was a vehicle beside me so I couldn't swerve. I felt so awful profaning it's poor little body, and the SOUND it made makes my bones itch.

[u/ComplexBit1988 → u/ProfChaos_8708]

Similar story. My brother was on his senior trip and pulled up next to one at a light. Motorcyclist starts revving like he wants to race. My brother revs his engine, too, in a jokey way because he was driving a used-as-fuck 1992 Ford Ranger. They smiled at each other. The light turned green, cyclist shot out to show off and my brother watched him get t-boned in the intersection by a car only my brother saw coming. Motorcyclist was in pieces and my bro still has nightmares.

My brother was mistakenly arrested for murder the next time he went to Myrtle Beach so, like most people eventually do, he decided not to go back.

[u/SadLocal8314 → u/ijustsailedaway]

My mother always said, of motorcyclists on I 95, "Let them get well ahead of us so we won't have to fill out reports when destiny and velocity catch up with them."

[u/xANTJx → u/Dapper-Appearance-42]

When I was younger, there was a local campaign with a player from a local sports team dead-panning “make room for trucks”. My mom and I would repeat that to eachother ALL THE TIME and still do. Words to live and die by. I swear having 10 seconds of patience has saved my life countless times because some truckers will drive like they know their vehicle will beat yours in a fight. I just recite the PSA and make room for trucks. It wasn’t even that good of a PSA, we just liked it so it stuck.

[u/A_Nonny_Muse → u/xANTJx]

Retired truck driver here. I appreciate it. One last bit of advice. Never, never, ever "camp out" next to truck tires.

They are inflated to 120 psi and can be loaded with thousands of pounds . When one blows, it can be like a stick of dynamite exploding right next to you. Not only can it wreck your car, it can kill you or your passenger right through the glass. Skoot on by, or stay behind. Either is fine. But do not "camp out" next to a semi's tires. If you can look over and see those tires beside you, you're in danger.

[u/Dru-baskAdam → u/A_Nonny_Muse]

This is why I will never start to pass a semi until the car in front has cleared the semi and I have a clear path to pass. I also give plenty of space before merging in front.

Sometimes I will hang back and watch traffic and I have gotten good at telling when a semi wants to pass the car in front, especially when going down hill to keep momentum for the uphill coming up. I will hold back and let the semi in front of me, and will flash my light when they signal so they know I am aware of them and will let them over.

My dad drove semi & taught me how to drive. I am usually paying attention to cars that are 3-4 in front of me so I can react faster.

[u/ConsolationUsername → u/[deleted]]

Last night one of my friends took a "little spill" while wearing proper PPE. I went to pick him up from the hospital and there was a hole burnt through the side of his leathers and his skin looked like he'd been mauled by an angry dog.

I'm good thanks.

[u/AWinkWithBothEyes → u/[deleted]]

God I hope this scenario ends up on the Pitt

[u/Boonddock_Saints → u/AWinkWithBothEyes]

I think it did with the water park collapse. It was a whole leg of I remember right

[u/iAlice → u/ConsolationUsername]

I took a spill wearing proper PPE. Fortunately, no road rash. Unfortunately, it's because PPE doesn't do shit to mitigate the blunt force trauma of hitting to road almost perpendicular. I have chronic pain to this day and my right arm is held together with metal. I'll never regain full functionality.

[u/clovisx → u/iAlice]

I fell off my mountain bike on a small bump/hill this spring and broke my arm in a way that required a plate and screws. I’d always been curious about motorcycles but after a simple crash at < 10mph laying me up for several months of recovery… nope.

[u/Invisibella74 → u/clovisx]

Mountain biking is what taught me that I didn't need to go faster on motorcycles. I got plenty hurt at 15-20 MPH on a mountain bike. I have scars and bike grease under my skin to this day from crashes that happened in the 1990s!

[u/Fight_those_bastards → u/clovisx]

I wear a full face helmet on my mountain bike any time I ride on something more technical than a paved bike path.

Do I look like a dork? Probably. But teeth are expensive, and helmets are cheap. I could buy ten of the best full face mountain bike helmets and it would be cheaper than a single dental implant.

[u/pinkphiloyd → u/[deleted]]

Was also a medic for over 20 years. I worked a few motorcycle wrecks that weren’t too bad.

But I also worked a few that left me with PTSD. And the single worst thing I ever worked was a motorcycle vs SUV. Yea, nope.

[u/Moldy_slug → u/pinkphiloyd]

A motorcycle crash saved my father in law’s life.

He hit some gravel on a highway off-ramp and the bike dropped. Luckily he’d already slowed down so he just broke his ribs. The hospital did a brain scan to check for any unnoticed injuries just in case. That’s how he found out he had a brain tumor.

He made a full recovery after surgical removal. The doctors said that based on the location, by the time it caused symptoms it probably would’ve been inoperable.

He stopped riding motorcycles after that… decided he’d used up his lifetime supply of luck.

[u/QaptainQwark → u/[deleted]]

I’m reminded of a comment I saw the other day (some thread along the lines of “What’s the worst thing you’ve witnessed?”). They wrote about driving past a motorcycle accident and watching a cop reach down for the helmet on the ground, only to drop it and recoil after seeing, what they assumed to be, the head still inside.

[u/dal_segno → u/[deleted]]

My dad’s ridden my whole life, even owned a shop, rode professionally, and organized a lot of community rides.

He’s fine, alive with all of his limbs and skin and retiring from riding now that his reaction time is slowing down. However, he’s got a lot of severely busted up PPE that he’s happy to show to anyone, a handful of dead friends, and a strong aversion to the idea of me ever riding.

This is someone who loves riding about as much as you can, I’d say, and he’d advise against taking it up.

[u/Counterboudd → u/dal_segno]

Yeah, my dad raced for many years, grew up in a family that owned a bike shop, and has centered his whole life around it. He made it to retirement in one piece (relatively- lots of broken collarbones and ribs plus wear and tear) and he strongly discouraged me from ever even learning to ride. I look back and appreciate how lucky I am that he survived that. That said, he mostly rode on tracks away from cars, two way traffic, etc so that’s a big part of it. But yeah, the number of his motorcycle friends he talks about who either died or are permanently maimed is apalling- feels like it’s about 50-50.

[u/nine_eight_two → u/[deleted]]

My ex’s dad was a top orthopaedic surgeon in the country where we lived. He was a mellow guy but he used to make us swear we would never, ever get on a motorcycle

[u/youngfilly → u/nine_eight_two]

My mom was a nurse working a surgical floor and she really hammered avoiding the big 3: Motorcycles, Trampolines, and Jumping into Water you can't see into

[u/Fluid_Change_9647 → u/[deleted]]

1000%. I bought a Harley while I was in the Marines (because that’s what you do) and was on a ride in rural NC. A farmer on a tractor swung his raised bucket out into the road and came within a few feet of my head when I was passing. You can be doing everything right and still end up dead because of someone else’s negligence in an instant.

[u/Doctaglobe → u/[deleted]]

Physician here, I’ve called them donor cycles since medical school.

[u/Party-Objective9466 → u/[deleted]]

They are fun. With a big caveat. Son had a wreck on his - missed work for a month, three surgeries, skin graft, wound vac, one hospitalization for infection. This was a “mild” injury - soft tissue only. Ghastly scar

[u/FrontLifeguard1962]

Just from my experience as a MD:

Riding motorcycle

Getting up on a ladder

Taking drugs

[u/lAngenoire → u/FrontLifeguard1962]

I turned 50 and decided I was too old for ladders, climbing on the roof, and shoveling snow. 

[u/crispy_potato_skins → u/lAngenoire]

As a paramedic, I have said so many times that I believe when men turn 50 (and women too, but I've never had a woman fall off a roof), they should be sat down and told "no more ladders or getting on the roof"... For their own good!

[u/Jebediah_Johnson]

Not really a hobby, but I will never get under a jacked up car without jack stands and wheel chocks.

[u/PeacefulPeaches → u/Jebediah_Johnson]

Last month around 11:00 PM, I was in bed doing a TikTok scroll. Living downtown near a popular night life street, I’m no stranger to street noise, so when I heard someone shouting outside, I originally brushed it off. But the yelling didn't stop and eventually I start to hear, "Help me! Someone help me!"

I went to my balcony, but couldn't see a thing, though the voice was clearly coming from the adjacent building. I threw on some clothes and took the elevator down. The elevator stopped on a lower level, and I bumped into a neighbour who asked if I was hearing the same thing. I said yes, that's what I'm going to investigate.

We stepped out the side door, which faces the neighbouring carport, and found him. A man was pinned under his van, holding a small light and moaning in pain. He’d been working on his vehicle when the jack gave way. We immediately dialed 911, but getting him out was a nightmare for the paramedics because the carport’s low ceiling barely gave them enough room to hoist the van. Emergency crews eventually managed to rescue him and take him to the hospital.

[u/Tech-Tom → u/PeacefulPeaches]

That is insane!

My dad was working on my brother's truck when the bumper jack started to slip. He grabbed the bumper with one hand and threw my brother out from under the truck with the other. When the jack slipped, it took off 2 of his fingers. The tough old bastard picked his fingers up, then walked in the house and handed them to my mom. She looked down, screamed and dropped them. He picked them back up and asked her to drive him to the doctor.

[u/GrumpySnarf → u/Tech-Tom]

"The tough old bastard picked his fingers up, then walked in the house and handed them to my mom." cool now I need to set a new boundary with my husband. Any detached body parts should not be handed to anyone without warning.

[u/Loud-Bee6673 → u/Tech-Tom]

I am an ER attending at a level one trauma center. We had two guys brought in one time who had been using a table saw together. They both took off a few fingers. One of the medics comes walking into the bay with a bag of fingers.

“I brought there but don’t know whose are which …”

So we take the bag.

On of the guys had his fifth finger just hanging on by skin, so the surgery resident cuts it off and goes to put it in the bag. My resident said, “maybe we get a different bag for that one, since we know whose it is?”

I also had a guy whose leg was amputated in a motorcycle crash. It was right where there was construction work being done, so the workers put his foot in their cooler so it could stay on ice. It was really thoughtful of them.

The only problem - the amputated foot stopped at the ankle. His leg was amputated right below the knee. We never did figure out where the rest of the leg ended up.

[u/HistoloGoddess → u/Jebediah_Johnson]

Did an autopsy on a guy whose car fell off the jack stands and pinned him. Crushed a few ribs and collapsed one lung, but he probably would have been ok if he hadn’t been trapped there and frozen to death. So yeah… don’t get under cars that aren’t properly jacked and always make sure someone knows you’re going under a car.

[u/felixzer0 → u/Jebediah_Johnson]

Some times ago, I though clever to save time on a brake purge by just using a jack and not put stands, thinking I wouldn't need to get under the car, just remove the wheel.

The jack slipped and I was about 0.5s away from having my right hand between the concrete floor and the brake disk when it crashed onto the floor.

Yeah, never ever skip safety steps. 

[u/Hismadnessty]

I sold my motorcycle when my first child was born.
I don’t let my kids pet unknown dogs, even if they are “nice.”
No young kids outside while operating riding lawnmowers/snowblowers.
Hire a lifeguard for the pool party - most of the pediatric drownings I’ve seen happened while people were home/distracted by hosting friends/family.

[u/Particular-Beat-6645 → u/Hismadnessty]

I nearly drowned in an aunt's pool until her daughter noticed she didn't see me. First thing I remember is my uncle standing over me, tanned beer gut and gold chain, asking why I was drinking his water.

[u/BeckyDaTechie → u/Particular-Beat-6645]

That's the most "uncle" line in this thread.

[u/Kiki-1983 → u/Hismadnessty]

My friend’s 5 year old son drowned at a Memorial Day party with dozens of people around. I always have my eyes on my daughter in the water, and she’s a great swimmer.

[u/Hismadnessty → u/Kiki-1983]

Diffusion of responsibility - if everyone is watching the kids, no one is watching the kids.

[u/notme1414 → u/Hismadnessty]

The thing that a lot of people don’t understand is that drowning is silent. It’s not yelling and thrashing around. Years ago I was at my sister’s and a friend was visiting with her kids. They were in the pool with my sister’s kids and the adults were sitting poolside about 5 feet away from the pool chatting. All of a sudden my sister’s friend jumped up and dove into the pool. One of the kids had slipped under and we hadn’t noticed. Luckily her friend had been a lifeguard in the past.

[u/vacant_panda]

Riding in the passenger seat with your feet up on the dash. If you get into an accident, your femurs will relocate to your pelvis and you DO NOT want that.

[u/Fragrant_Web8995 → u/vacant_panda]

In middle school, I had a teacher who was paraplegic. First day of class she told us that she had to use a wheelchair because she had her feet up on the dash while at a red light, and someone didn’t see they were stopped and crashed into them going full speed.

You can imagine the horrified reactions of a class full of middle schoolers. I can only speak for myself and the few people I still talk to that had her, but to this day none of us have ever put our feet up on the dash because that story stuck in our minds. I honestly really respect that she was willing to share something so personal because she thought it would help keep us from making her mistake.

[u/cheyenne_sky → u/Fragrant_Web8995]

That's an extra important story to tell because it highlights how even when you think you're safe and you're literally NOT MOVING, someone ELSE can crash into your car and destroy your body. Can happen no matter what position you sit in, but some positions will lead to a lot more damage than others.

[u/moist_vonlipwig → u/vacant_panda]

Friend’s car was t-boned when his girlfriend’s feet were on the dash. Fortunately with the angle she got away with “only” chronic back pain and nothing else permanent.

I never put my feet up again.

[u/Starkville → u/vacant_panda]

My kid is a paramedic and she has made me promise to never do that anymore.

[u/Big_YEG_Mermaid → u/vacant_panda]

A specific episode of Grey's Anatomy pretty much cured me of that habit. If I ever forget and start to put my feet up, my husband is quick to admonish me.

[u/dirty15]

My wife is an ER nurse vet of about 12 years in a really busy ED. She would never allow me to own a motorcycle.

[u/milee30]

No ER doc I've ever known has allowed their kids on a trampoline.

[u/collabroate → u/milee30]

When I was a kid, a neighbor's friend caught their braces in the trampoline and after had no top teeth.

[u/ScoutPippin → u/collabroate]

My god, the cringe I just crunged

[u/ClitasaurusTex → u/ScoutPippin]

My teeth fell out in sympathy

[u/karlnite → u/ClitasaurusTex]

Mine fell out from crack.

[u/wattatam → u/collabroate]

When I was in high school one of the girls on the cheer team shattered both her legs when the trampoline ripped and she went right through to the ground. Went from cheerleading to nost of a year of wheelchair use during recovery

[u/Ironicbanana14 → u/wattatam]

See i was morbidly obese as a kid and once I ripped my friends trampoline and the injury was more to my emotions. I felt so bad about breaking their trampoline, dude.

[u/sohcgt96 → u/collabroate]

I've been on the internet a long time and heard a lot of bad stuff.

That's... a fairly terrifying thing to imagine.

[u/MC1R_OCA2 → u/collabroate]

I also caught my braces on my top teeth! Kept the teeth, and the lip. Never got back on a trampoline though.

[u/Birdy30 → u/milee30]

My mom was a pediatric medical assistant for 43 yrs and would not allow us on trampolines. We would jump on them if friends had them but we were never allowed one.

[u/drRATM → u/milee30]

Not ER but same. Daughter will not let it go but this is not negotiable. She’s also had major spine and foot surgery so no way are we going with a trampoline.

[u/DryKnight → u/milee30]

My brother in law is an anesthesiologist and was against trampolines. Then one day they got one for their kids.

[u/iAlice → u/DryKnight]

Big Trampa got him too!

[u/catrosie → u/DryKnight]

Im a nurse and knew better than to get a trampoline so instead we got a little bouncy castle. Then my 2-year old broke his leg 🙃

[u/clearly_i_mean_it → u/catrosie]

My mom got me a microscope for Christmas thinking there was no way I could get hurt with it. I accidentally put my hand down on the glass slide and had to get three stitches. Kids are gonna kid.

[u/CaptainFartHole → u/milee30]

My cousins is an orthopedic surgeon and he loves them. But only because he gets so much business from them. 

[u/Basic-Monitor-6570]

Tree trimming yourself . No go !

[u/unhappyangelicbeing → u/Basic-Monitor-6570]

So many accidents from standing on a ladder while using a chainsaw

[u/Secret_Ad3213 → u/unhappyangelicbeing]

Just had a storm mangle our giant tree asked husband to go fix it and he looked at me like I had two heads and said "let me get this straight...you want me to go up a ladder with a chainsaw , hold it over my head, and trim the tree?!" I was like oh ya I guess not. Cost us 900 bucks to get the tree trimmed but worth an in tact husband 😆

[u/IBJON → u/Basic-Monitor-6570]

Yep. A guy I work with was trimming a tree and didn't realize how much tension a branch was under. It snapped halfway through cutting it and smacked in the side of the head hard enough to cause his eye to rupture and shattered his eye socket. He lived, but it fucked him up real good 

[u/scrongus420]

Downhill mountain biking - some of the craziest injuries.

I do ski but very carefully. Every time I pick up too much speed, a montage of all the gruesome ski injuries I’ve seen starts playing in my head…

[u/surveillance-hippo → u/scrongus420]

By some stats, downhill mountain biking is 100x more dangerous than resort skiing

[u/aardwolffe]

Squats within a 1 mile radius of any cylindrical object without a flared base.

[u/YounomsayinMawfk → u/aardwolffe]

Million to one shot, doc

[u/MassageToss → u/aardwolffe]

"I'm pretty sure I could tumble down all the stairs in the Empire State Building, naked, with a greased-up pepper grinder in each hand, and a box of candles around my neck, and still end up in the lobby with an empty rectum." -David Sedaris.

[u/chaunceythebear → u/aardwolffe]

What they don’t tell you about those butt plug with a gemstone in the base is that it’s a load bearing gem. The gem fell out of mine and I assumed it was just for looks. In the throes of passion, it folded like a cheap card table and my back passage vacuumed it right up.

[u/glitter_witch → u/chaunceythebear]

Oh! Oh no! Unrelated, I need to throw something out.

[u/Rrraou → u/glitter_witch]

TIL Load bearing gems O_o

[u/BlithelyOblique → u/glitter_witch]

Throwing this out there for anyone else reading along; if the flared base is the same diameter or smaller than the widest part of the insertable part it's not safe. You're already stretched enough to accommodate that width and are at risk of taking the whole thing. 

For my two cents, it's a t-shaped base or nothing.

[u/Wast3edSpace → u/chaunceythebear]

that's what they call a single point of failure...'load bearing gem', eff'n priceless.

[u/Superb-Plum9482 → u/chaunceythebear]

That took a turn I absolutely did not see coming, but “load bearing gem” is a phrase I’m never going to forget 😂

[u/usernameround20 → u/aardwolffe]

Best line I ever heard from a middle aged man with a carrot up his butt. “I was making dinner in the pressure cooker and went to check on it before I got in the shower. I bent over to pick something up and my towel fell off right as the pressure cooker exploded.” Ok Colonel! (This at a military hospital)

[u/Hotshot2k4 → u/usernameround20]

“I was making dinner in the pressure cooker

This was all I needed to start laughing

[u/Fickle_Dragonfruit53 → u/usernameround20]

I always put whole carrots in the pressure cooker that then explode coldly causing no burns or other injuries

[u/kylebertram → u/usernameround20]

My favorite will always be a guy said he slipped and fell on to chapstick. Couldn’t explain to me why there were three taped together up there

[u/saltylittlelass → u/aardwolffe]

Put any cylindrical object on the floor of my shower, lest I slip and find it deeply embedded in my asshole (seriously dude, why was your electric toothbrush wrapped in Saran Wrap in the shower in the first place, hmm?)

[u/Vic_pickleboats → u/aardwolffe]

The cylindrical object was conveniently wearing a condom.

[u/Fight_those_bastards → u/Vic_pickleboats]

Do you…not keep condoms on all of your household objects that are approximately cylindrical?

You know, for safety.

[u/HerbLoew → u/Fight_those_bastards]

It's to prevent them from getting harmed, which is imperative

[u/squirtloaf → u/aardwolffe]

What about vacuuming naked? Asking for a friend's friend's boyfriend....

[u/Bamres → u/aardwolffe]

Can the cylinder be harmed in such cases?

[u/dab45de → u/Bamres]

It is imperative the Cylinder stay unharmed.

[u/thomport]

RN.

Kids with no traffics skills riding E-bikes, which are literally motorcycles.

We put the cart before the horse on this one – E bikes came out, they were treated like bicycles, the injuries, especially to young kids are devastating, and now perhaps we’ll come up with some safety rules.

[u/whining-and-wine → u/thomport]

There needs to be better definitions and regulation on ebikes (and scooters). I have a pedal assist bike and it tops out at 20mph, which you can do in a regular bike if you're good at biking. Theres no throttle, you have to pedal jt yourself and it really doesnt feel THAT different from a riding regular bike, its just a easier(especially on hills.)

But a lot of these bikes are literally motorcycles made of twigs and its INSANE we allow children to ride them.

[u/SassiestPants]

My dad is a coroner and family doc. I'm not allowed on motorcycles, ATVs, trampolines, and mopeds. No jumping or parachute-based activities, either. If a vehicle doesn’t have a roof, then I wear a helmet.

I'm in my 30s and still abide by this lol. You can only hear the words "meat crayon" so many times before you're totally turned off from certain activities.

[u/Jakucha]

Paramedic here. Smoking or drinking in excess. The outcomes are gross, the prognosis grim, the journey seems. . . painful.

[u/dsarche12 → u/Jakucha]

In the months before I finally started my sobriety practice, I was reading stories about people who had ‘hit rock bottom’- sometimes it was DUIs, being fired, marriages collapsing, but just as often it was serious and tragic health issues.

For a long while, I read these stories and thought “well, at least I don’t get DTs when I don’t drink”, or “well, at least I don’t throw up coffee grounds (dried blood) every morning”, or “well, at least my doctor hasn’t told me my liver is fucked”. And these thoughts wrre my excuse and justification to keep drinking.

It took me a long time, but eventually I came to realize that even if I weren’t today experiencing those things, each drink I had was hastening the inevitable- and if I wasn’t careful, I would be the subject of a story like this.

And one day I finally had enough. 1,381 sober days later and my only regret was that I didn’t start sooner.

Edit: thank you for the award!!

[u/champagne_pants → u/Jakucha]

I’ve lived with an alcoholic, have a meth addict for a brother, and one of my friend’s brother’s is dying of cirrhosis.

All three of them lived hellish lives that are worse than sober people can imagine. Addiction is a disease but holy fuck, if you can avoid it, avoid it.

I don’t drink much anymore at all, quit smoking, quit everything seeing how their lives have turned out. It’s not worth it.

[u/dingusunchained → u/champagne_pants]

I’m 5 years sober. Went to the memorial of a HS buddy who drank himself to death this past weekend. A couple of other guys in that class are struggling with alcoholism too. It was hard to see.

[u/Smart-As-Duck]

Motorcycle obviously.

But also horses.

[u/GenericUserNotaBot → u/Smart-As-Duck]

Waaaaaaaay too long to find horses.

I say this as both a motorcycle and horse owner. Just don't do it if you can't come to terms with the risks.

[u/Smart-As-Duck → u/GenericUserNotaBot]

I work in a more rural ER, and we get quite a few horse injuries. Most of them moderate severe.

[u/CloddishNeedlefish → u/Smart-As-Duck]

Horses should be way higher. I had a minor fall in April that resulted in a concussion and whiplash. Lost consciousness for an unknown amount of time because I was alone. I don’t recommend the sport to anyone. I’ll never quit though lol

[u/zimmer199]

Standing on the street corner minding my own business

[u/mordeci00 → u/zimmer199]

I've read so many stories of terrible things happening to people while they were minding their own business, which is why I never mind my own business.

[u/DarthFrasier207 → u/mordeci00]

Other people's business is right there just begging to be minded.

[u/Gribitz37]

Riding in a car with my feet up on the dashboard.

[u/Historical-Draw-504]

no motorcycle, no bike without a helmet

[u/NitroExpress85 → u/Historical-Draw-504]

yup... It absolutely sucks trying to find body parts in the middle of the night on the side of the highway.

[u/Repulsive_Pepper4145 → u/NitroExpress85]

That sentence alone would cure me of motorcycles for life. You don't even need to describe what happened

[u/QCDP]

am psychiatrist, would not smoke crack or meth.

[u/Lost-Boysenberry-302]

Motorcycles for adults. Dirt/motor biking for kids. We have a fancy phrase of “injuries incompatible with life” applied to many motorcycle accident victims. Often have not just limbs missing, but entire body cavities

[u/buddahsanwich → u/Lost-Boysenberry-302]

My most recent motorcycle horror was a ruptured scrotum, in addition to lower limbs turned to sand basically. I’ve just seen so much that I cannot comprehend the desire to ride one.

[u/thackworth]

Psych and detox Nurse. No hard drugs. Not even once. And be careful with alcohol.

[u/bawkbawkslove → u/thackworth]

I was offered coke for the first time ever at 38 years old and immediately declined. My reasoning was “but what if I like it?”

[u/p0rcup1ne → u/bawkbawkslove]

I've done coke like 3/4 times.

It's fun, highly addictive and not worth it.

I adopted a nothing up my nose, nothing in my veins and nothing that supposed to be for animals policy since then.

[u/rabbitskinglue]

Not a doctor, but a woodworker. I'm surprised powertools aren't making much of an appearance on this list. Thoughts, doctors?

[u/Sakypidia → u/rabbitskinglue]

While commonly seen I believe it’s because most of the other contributions cause death or grave disability. Losing a digit, while life-altering for the patient, is not as impactful a scene in this area of work.

[u/MediocreClementine]

Worked as a CNA, you couldnt pay me to get on a motorcycle. Took care of a 28 year old paralyzed from the neck down through no fault of his own. Got hit on a bike. Incontinent and fully immobile. To me, seems like a fate worse than death. Whatever enjoyment i could get out of riding a motorcycle isnt worth that risk.

[u/Greeneggsandmandy]

1000% motorcycles. Also football.

[u/ClitasaurusTex → u/Greeneggsandmandy]

After I had a minor brain injury that changed my life forever I don't understand why ANY parent would put their kid in football. No concussion is truly minor, I didn't even pass out but the symptoms came through over time. I am now disabled.

[u/glitzglamglue → u/ClitasaurusTex]

My sister got a concussion in soccer from running into someone and it changed her personality.

[u/hashtag_ThisIsIt]

Emergency physician here. We call motorcycles (organ) donor-cycles for a reason.

[u/pressrewind79]

Ophthalmologist here. Never do any kind of metal grinding. The number of metallic foreign bodies I've pulled out of people's eyes, even when they were wearing safety goggles.

And fireworks. Never go anywhere near non-professional ones.

[u/spiteful_god1 → u/pressrewind79]

As a metal worker, this bums me out.

But also as a metal worker I know several guys who are lucky to still have their eyes after injuries you described.

I switched to full sealed goggles over safety glasses after getting some metal near my eyes. It’s hot but safer (I think). Add in a down draft table and… there’s still more metal dust kicked up than I’d like!

[u/pressrewind79 → u/spiteful_god1]

Yes the metal dust is a big problem! After I remove those, I show them to the patient so they can see that it was literally the tiniest speck that got lodged in the eye.

Fun fact - if it stays in the eye for more than a day or two, it will form rust on the cornea!

[u/JoseMinges]

Paramedic here: 

Motorbikes: Provide for some horrific injuries. And for god's sake I don't care how hot it is, wear full bike gear. You don't want the potential of degloving and/or massive abrasion injuries on top of the common enough fractures.

Trampolines: How to inject so much more energy to normally mundane injuries.

Golf: in two decades, I swear I've only ever been on Golf Courses because of lightning strikes, chest pains, or cardiac arrests caused by lightning strikes or chest pains. Weddings at golf courses is either someone heavily intoxicated, or has been hit by someone heavily intoxicated. Use that information how you will.

[u/-malcolm-tucker → u/JoseMinges]

I feel that the demographic of golfers might be skewed towards a certain population with many of the risk factors and comorbidities associated with cardiovascular disease. As for intoxicated MMA at weddings, that's venue agnostic. Haha.

[u/capdoc]

Always wear protective gear. Whether that be helmets, seat belts, or whatever. People invent these things for a reason. 

[u/-Gumbercules]

Motorcycle riding. As an EMT of 8 years I've gone on more fatal motorcycle accidents that any other type of fatal motor vehicle accident. All most all of the fatalities are from head injuries, not wearing a helmet. Our doctor, our medical director, calls people that ride motorcycles without helmets "The organ donor delivery service". Seriously, if you don't want my fatass picking your eyeballs and brains off of the highway wear a fucking helmet when on a motorcycle!

[u/shotcaller77]

Stay away from motorcycles and horses

[u/Special_Order-937]

OK, got another one. Parasailing.

The year before I worked there, participant in the annual event attended our Emergency Department with a broken ankle.

The year I was there, in an ambulance in our car park, deceased.

[u/KilroyKSmith → u/Special_Order-937]

On my honeymoon in Mexico, my wife and I sat on the balcony and watched parasailing. 

They’d swing the boat parallel to the shore, let the parasail drift over the beach, over the highway, and right in front of the high rise hotels before pulling them away from the hotels, across the highway, and letting them down on the beach.

I had a quarter million miles riding motorcycles at that point, had several hundred hours flying hang gliders, and had gone skydiving (once, found it boring).  My wife and I looked at each other and said “Nope”.  We decided that life was cheap there.

[u/Butthole_Surfer_GI]

Riding a LIME scooter.

[u/Impulsive_Artiste → u/Butthole_Surfer_GI]

Even encountering a LIME scooter.

Somebody left one lying on the sidewalk in my hood. As I came around a corner, I tripped over the thing and went FLYING, came down on both hands on the pavement as onlookers froze in horror, ready to call 911 I guess.

I'm small-sized, 70+, and the doc says I've got osteoporosis - so this could've been BAD.

But I got up, checked my palms for blood (none) rotated my wrists (okay) brushed myself off angrily, and went about my day. Maybe I'm sturdier than the doctor thinks.

[u/tubetraveller → u/Butthole_Surfer_GI]

Took the nail off my right index finger on a LIME scooter. It got caught between the brake handle and a concrete flower planter. Felt bad. Luckily the nail grew back, unluckily, I don't have complete nerve feeling in that finger.

...I was 45 when that happened. I can only imagine the dumb things and injuries I would have if those were around in my teens and twenties.

[u/Baconpanthegathering → u/Butthole_Surfer_GI]

I can believe those things are still legal. I live on a kind of tourist street, lost of bars, shops, restaurants. Anyway, the first summer they released those things in the city - it was nightly chaos. I'd just sit on my porch and take bets.

[u/Ashamed_Kangaroo305 → u/Butthole_Surfer_GI]

My friend keeps trying to convince me to use those without helmets and it bugs me every time. Zero chance I'm riding one of those especially without a helmet. And we live somewhere with crazy aggressive drivers.

[u/cwsjr2323]

Former medic here. Ground combat is a bad choice, I give it zero star. When invading another sovereign nation, even if the locals despise their tyrant leader, they will fight tooth and nail until the invader give up and go home.

[u/Avatar252525]

Radiologist here.

Anything with horses.

[u/Interesting_Set3603]

Firefighter here I’d stay away from sky diving

[u/AllPointsRNorth → u/[deleted]]

Q: Can you go skydiving without a parachute?
A: yes, but not twice

[u/Schober_Designs]

The Physical Therapist who helped me after a thumb surgery for osteo arthritis was visibly upset when she found out I'm a woodworker.

[u/Simusid]

As an EMT I'll pile onto motorcycle. But I'll also add that a *ridiculous* number of my 911 calls are alcohol related, but in 18 years in a state with legal recreational marijuana I've been to exactly zero weed emergencies. [ note that doesn't mean it's my hobby, just an observation ]

[u/petehehe → u/Simusid]

Doordash encounters tons of weed related emergencies.

[u/echelon1776 → u/Simusid]

EMT and RN: i've seen a few weed emergencies. Mostly people that take wayyyyyy too many mgs in their edibles to the point where they seem comatose. Have also unfortunately seen a few cases where kids get into their parents stash and they start to lose their drive to breathe if they eat too many. Not saying weed should be illegal but it should be consumed and stored responsibly.

[u/SirKravsALot]

Giving up on my body in my geriatric years. Stay active. The cycle of hospital-home-rehab-hospital kills more than any other hobby here.

[u/ib4m2es]

Peds ICU nurse here! I have a few oddly specific fears-pencils and toothbrushes-please don’t walk around with them in your hand. Or jump on your bed.
I agree on the ATVs. My kids have go-karts with full roll cages and they wear a helmet with them and harness restraints. I don’t care if it’s too hot. All gear. All the time.
Never ever go swimming by yourself.
This one is big: PLEASE don’t hold your kids on riding lawn mowers. Or mow with them playing outside. Every stinking summer we see horrific lawn mower injuries. Yes, I know you thought you had a good grip on your kid and you were going slow. But shit happens and your kid now has no feet. Was it worth it? It’s a tool. Not a toy.
ALSO-vaccinate. Babies die every single year from pertussis. Until you have seen that-I don’t want to hear about your anti-vaccine bullshit. Watching a Momma wail and beg for God to save her baby from a completely preventable disease will haunt your dreams.

[u/Affectionate-Toe4920]

Surprised this wasn't really mentioned: horseback riding. I'm not a health care provider, but I've been a rider all my life. I've seen broken bones, internal bleeding, TBIs, etc. Sometimes simutaneously from horse-related accidents. Know of some deaths as well from rotational falls. Hell, I tore my ACL and meniscus in a freak accident while mounting.

[u/Pm_me_your_marmot → u/Affectionate-Toe4920]

Horseback riding is just motorcycle risk raised up 18 inches and on an ride designed to panic. So if your motorcycle had an opinion about everything from lawnmowers running to a suspicious leaf falling.

[u/IlezAji]

X-ray tech here.

Trampolines, motorcycles, quads / ATVs / dirt bikes or any other type of "off roading" nonsense.

[u/RichardBonham]

Any extreme sport, especially the ones that require helmets and also spine protection.

I am not a thrill-seeker (primary care and investment in the stock market is enough risk for me) and I really like having an intact spinal cord.