Why do people post questions like this?

Question

"My sister is spitting up blood and she can't breath what should I do?" or "I just fell and there is a huge gushing welt on my head, should I go to the doctor?" or "I am having contractions and I am 39 weeks pregnant, could I be in labor?"

Um....what are we supposed to say to these people that post this questions?
Hmmmm....can people make any decisions without having to ask a question on yahoo answers first, even if it is a life or death situation? It makes me wonder what the world is coming to

Answer 1

I put myself in there situation.. If my sister was spitting blood and couldnt breathe.. I wouldnt be on yahoo answers... If I cut my head.. I wouldnt be on yahoo answers.. 99% of the time, they are school kids who are sitting around with there mates wanting to get the biggest response! Every answer they get they laugh at, weather its because its a stupid response, because someone believed them or just because people actually replied!

Answer 2

Well, I saw your name and just had to answer your question :)

I think it quite possible (and I certainly _hope_ it's the case) that people who ask some of those over-the-top questions are just trying to get attention. I sincerely doubt that if someone actually found their sister choking on her own blood that their first thought would be to go find an online Q&A site to find out what to do. I mean, people may not be that bright, but I think that most people know to call 911 in a true emergency. But if they post it here, they probably get lots of "I'm sorry, I hope she's OK" type of responses. Kind of like Munchausen's, minus the actually making oneself or one's child physically sick.

Also, keep in mind that people asking medical questions on this site might be waiting for test results, or have already made an appointment with their doctor, and it's weighing on their minds while they wait. I know that a couple months ago my dad got sick, and I would have asked about it on here had my Internet connection been working at the time. He went to the doctor right away, but while we were waiting for test results, I could easily have asked "what would cause a 54 year old male to see colored spots for over a day, and is it serious?" The point is that people asking questions that sound like they're looking for serious medical advice online might be going about things the right way, and just asking here while they wait to hear from their doctor.

But I'm sure there are also some people out there who really are just that dumb.

Answer 3

OK the 1st one is a little crazy, however maybe she had already called 911 or 000 and just needed a little reassurance while waiting for the ambulance.
39 weeks and contractions, maybe she is at home and not wanting to announce a false labor, I was the same, calling everyone that I knew, and asking for advice.

Maybe its better to hear an answer from here because they are perhaps on their own feel very frightened and knowing that one person in the world is thinking of them makes a difference. But to be honest I think the majority have already made medical provisions and just need a friend to talk to

Answer 4

I've never come across any questions like that. Clearly it can't be true, if somebody's sister was spitting up blood or somebody thought they were in labor Im pretty sure they'd be too freaked out to get the idea of asking an online Q&A, wouldn't you just call emergency, I mean, these are serious issues, you'd want one quick and accurate answer, as opposed to scanning through like 10 answers, in which most cases it would say "Call emergency". Not rocket science, eh?

Answer 5

I think they are jus joking around with those questions, its not human to ask what to do if someone is bleeding to death, or if a woman is having contractions, come on those happen every 3 minutes how could someone have the nerve of turning on the computer, logging to yahoo and then typing a question instead of calling 911 for example. They are joking.

Answer 6

There are people who make up stories in order to get the most attention from the viewers or they want as many people to answer their question so they can prove a point to the audience. Some of them prove to be very idiotic that they are willing to come up with any folk tale. Others are very bored at home that they need attention from their parents. Don't listen to this non-sense, eventually they will get tired and find a new website to explore.

Answer 7

> imo And that is the drawback. As others have mentioned, it used to be both deleted considering that it broke the directions come what may you are ignorant of, or considering that of a couple of no-blame factors (no solutions, no quality reply at vote casting level, or the quality reply stated). Nobody can reply this with out distinct knowledge on what the query used to be. If you let us know, you'll be able to get a bigger and extra valuable reply. As to the leisure, any person can file - however deletions as a rule do not occur until the stories come from customers with a dependable reporting historical past.

Answer 8

They are full of BS and there are people on Answers who are naive enough to take them seriously. Even 6 year olds know enough to call 911.
These people are stupid and mainly have one thing in common, They want attention and are not smart enough to ask a real question. I still can't believe anyone responds to them.

There are other jerks on here, too. Had one girl ask these questions on the same day: #1, I'm in a wheelchair and we want a baby, it hurts too much for me to move much. How can we have intercourse? *2, I met this guy in the chat room, he wrote me a love song. Shall I leave my husband for him? #3, My husband and I use to drink a lot, NOW he gets drunk and beats me? #4 I haven't had my period for 5 months, but my p*ss test is negative, what do I do?.

It's the sad truth that many members do it, just gt to think before we respond. Good thing to do is check their profiles and see the questions they have asked before. Very helpful.

Answer 9

I don't want to know what the world is coming to. Really. You are absolutely right. This is just one more forum where people either waste our time by posting rediculous questions because they think it's fun, or they really do rely on the thousands of people who are probably not doctors... but they can use the internet! I think the internet is a wonderful and evil thing and just one more symptom of the degredation of humanity most days.

Answer 10

Good question. First we are all in cyberspace - the internet. People can post whatever they want, real or imaginative. Sadly, that is not the purpose of this site.

My suggestion is that when you see a question that indicates a medical or mental emergency - report it under "other" and in the notes section type in "contact policy agency" for this user.

That should do it.