Name: 12 Things I Would NEVER Do as an ER Doctor #2
Uploaded: 2026-03-19T21:32:14.000Z
Duration: 10 min 7 s
Description: Thousands of YouTube videos with English-Chinese subtitles! Now you can learn to understand native speakers, expand your vocabulary, and improve your pronunciation...

From viral social media challenges to it'll be fine college decisions.

I've seen enough in the emergency department to permanently retire certain life choices.

So today we're counting down more things I would never do as an emergency medicine physician.

Not because I'm boring, but because I've seen how the movie ends.

I would never mix energy drinks with alcohol.

I know vodka plus energy drink feels like a college rite of passage, right?

And when you mix them together, the stimulant masks how intoxicated you actually are.

In other words, your brain feels alert, but your judgment is not.

This is when people over drink, blackout, get into fights.

Medically speaking, you're stressing your cardiovascular system.

Caffeine increases heart rate and blood pressure.

Alcohol causes dehydration and impairs coordination.

And together, they increase the risk of arrhythmias, AKA abnormal heart rhythms, especially in people with underlying conditions they may not even know they have.

I've seen young, otherwise healthy patients come into the ER with palpitations, chest pain, severe dehydration, and

in rare cases, dangerous rhythm disturbances.

I would never mess around with choking games or breath holding challenges.

Every few years, this comes back as some kind of social media trend, and

What people don't realize is that the brain is incredibly sensitive to oxygen deprivation.

It relies on constant blood flow and constant oxygen delivery.

So any weird challenge that requires you cutting off oxygen to your brain is not harmless.

When oxygen levels drop, you lose consciousness within seconds.

What's worse, if no one intervenes quickly, brain cells begin dying within minutes.

In that short time frame, brain damage can be permanent.

I've seen teenagers brought in unresponsive after attempts at this, and the outcomes were not great.

We're talking intubation, ventilators, ICU admissions, and sometimes long term neurological consequences.

I would never ignore a bad head injury just because I feel fine.

For sports, whether it's skateboarding, snowboarding, football, head injuries are incredibly common, especially in young, active people who think they're invincible.

You don't have to black out or forget your name for it to be serious.

I've evaluated patients who are fully awake, answering questions and even cracking jokes.

And imaging later showed a significant brain bleed.

In the er, if someone has a significant head impact, especially High speed.

That often means neurologic exams and sometimes a CT scan to rule out bleeding.

Because some of these injuries can deteriorate over time, not just days.

You can just stretch and ice and it's an entire operating system, so please protect it.

I would never take pills that aren't prescribed to me.

First off, I'm sorry to report, but sharing prescription medication is illegal in the United States.

Second, and more importantly, counterfeit pills are everywhere right now.

Some look identical to the legitimate medications, but instead contain fentanyl or other dangerous substances.

As someone who works close to a border town, this is something I see a lot people thinking they are taking one pill, but

We're talking teeny tiny amounts causing respiratory depression where your breathing slows down or stops altogether.

When someone comes into the ER after taking an unknown pill, we're immediately focused on airway breathing and circulation.

And sometimes we have to intubate and place someone on a ventilator because they just can't breathe on their own.

I would never jump off a roof into a pool.

Jumping off a roof into a pool is one of those things that sounds fun right up until gravity reminds you it's undefeated.

In matches like these, you're not just jumping into water.

You are jumping from a height with unpredictable trajectory into a space that may not be deep enough, may not be centered correctly, or might just not be cleared.

In the er, those poolside situations come in as trauma activations.

We're talking cervical spine precautions, CT scans, head to pelvis, possible spinal fractures, burst of vertebrae, broken ankles.

A bad landing can even mean spinal cord injury, which can equate to paralysis.

And that's not dramatic exaggeration, that's physics and what keeps our hospital doors open.

I would never swim alone in the ocean at night.

Living in Southern California, I live near the coast.

I love the ocean, but I also respect the ocean.

Rip currents are real, fatigue is real, visibility is minimal.

And while sharks get all the peace, PR and headlines, the real and greater danger is usually exhaustion and drowning.

Oftentimes, there's no dramatic splashing or yelling.

It can happen quickly and without much noise at all.

When near drowning victims are lucky enough to survive and arrive in the emergency department, US Healthcare workers are first concerned about Hypoxia or low oxygen levels, which can affect the brain and other organs.

If that's the case, some patients require oxygen therapy, monitoring, even ventilatory support.

Some swim survivors can develop pneumonia from aspirated water or more serious lung complications.

I would never pop fireworks in my hand, even just for a second.

Yes, we've talked fireworks before, but specifically this time around, I'm talking about the smaller ones.

Bones, tendons, nerves, blood vessels all tightly packed together.

I've seen hands looking like the Stranger Things Demogorgon.

When a firework explodes in your hand, it's not just a burn.

It can lead to open fractures, tendon ruptures, nerve damage, even partial or full amputations.

And reconstructive surgery is intricate and not perfect.

In other words, function may never fully return to normal, which means grip strength, dexterity, all that can be permanently altered forever.

I would never vape something just because it's not smoke.

I understand vaping feels cleaner and less harsh.

But your lungs were designed for one thing and one thing only, and that's air.

In the hospitals I've worked at, we've seen real lung injuries linked to vaping.

Something called evali, which stands for e cigarette or vaping product use.