People who work in emergency medicine carry a certain kind of knowledge that’s hard to shake. They’ve treated the same preventable injuries so many times, in so many variations, that the patterns become almost predictable. That changes how they live, often quietly and permanently.
Some of the things ER doctors avoid aren’t dramatic or obscure. They’re the everyday choices most people make without a second thought: how they mow the lawn, how they handle a knife, what they do at a red light. The difference is that these physicians know exactly what the consequences can look like. Here are eight things they consistently say they won’t do themselves.
1. Ride an E-Bike or E-Scooter Without a Helmet
Many ERs have seen the number of injuries caused by micromobility devices such as e-scooters and e-bikes skyrocket in recent years. According to a 2023 report by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, injuries from these devices increased by an average of 23% annually between 2017 and 2022. Children 14 and younger accounted for more than one third of those injuries, and between 2017 and 2022 there were an estimated 360,800 ER visits related to e-scooters, e-bikes, and similar devices.
Bone fracture is the most common injury, but head, neck, and limb injuries also occur frequently, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. ER doctors are clear: always wear a helmet when riding a micromobility device, and never use one under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
2. Use a Ladder Carelessly at Home
Ladder accidents are often caused by improper use, for example choosing the wrong ladder for a specific job, propping it up at an incorrect angle, or placing the legs on unsteady ground, per the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. People don’t take nearly as many safety precautions at home as professionals do, including wearing a safety harness and protective equipment, according to Dr. Eric Cioè-Peña, an emergency medicine physician at Northwell Health.
Ladder-related falls can result in injuries ranging from minor to lethal, including contusions, broken arms and legs, and injuries to the head and spinal cord. Seasonal tasks like holiday decorating and fall cleaning account for a significant spike in ladder visits to the ER each year, and ER physicians consistently say they never climb one without having another person present to stabilize it below.
3. Text While Driving
Distracted driving is a major cause of traffic crashes, injuries, and fatalities. People should not text and drive, take photos or videos, video chat, or do anything else that requires them to take their eyes and attention off the road, as this poses a danger not only to themselves and vehicle occupants, but to everyone else on the road.
According to the NHTSA and CDC, roughly 14% of all fatal car crashes involve distracted driving by use of a cellphone. Looking at a phone for five seconds while traveling at 55 miles per hour means traveling the length of a football field with eyes off the road. ER doctors call this one a straightforward refusal: no message is worth it.
4. Light Fireworks at Home
In 2024, there were an estimated 14,700 emergency room-treated injuries and 11 reported deaths from fireworks incidents, a 52% jump in injuries and a 38% increase in deaths from 2023, highlighting a worrying trend that medical professionals are urging the public to take seriously.
Burns remain the most common diagnosis, making up roughly 37% of all fireworks injuries in 2024, and many injuries require hospitalization, surgery, or result in permanent disability such as amputations or vision loss. Sparklers, often handed to young children, burn at temperatures of up to 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit, hot enough to melt metal, and in 2024 about 1,700 injuries were directly linked to sparklers alone.
5. Do Yard Work Without Proper Protective Gear
Mowing the lawn or using a chainsaw while wearing the wrong shoes, for example flip-flops instead of sneakers or steel-toed boots, can result in losing a toe or foot. Wearing protective eyewear such as a simple pair of goggles when doing yard work or woodwork is essential to avoid injuries if projectiles come toward the face.
Emergency physicians frequently treat eye injuries and deep foot lacerations that occurred in someone’s own backyard. The gear required is inexpensive and widely available. The injuries that result from skipping it often aren’t minor.
6. Take Someone Else’s Prescription Medication
ER doctors are firm on this: do not take unknown pills. Take only medications that have been prescribed for you and filled at an authorized pharmacy. Do not use medications borrowed from friends and family. The reasoning is straightforward: a medication prescribed for one person’s specific condition and dosage can be harmful or even fatal for someone else entirely.
People often borrow medication from a family member or friend, such as pain and allergy medication, stimulants, or leftover antibiotics. This habit is more common than most people realize, and ER doctors consistently list it among the most unnecessary reasons they see patients come through the door.
7. Overload on Unprescribed Supplements
Taking unprescribed supplements without talking to a doctor, especially in mega-doses, is a risk ER physicians frequently warn about. While often marketed as a “natural” alternative to medication, supplements are not intended to treat, diagnose, prevent, or cure diseases, per the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Other supplements can be toxic in high doses, cause harmful side effects and organ damage, or interact with medications. Some of the riskiest include vitamin A, St. John’s Wort, turmeric, and kava. The word “natural” on a label offers no guarantee of safety, especially when products are taken in combinations or at doses far above what’s recommended.
8. Leave Children Unsupervised Near Water
ER doctors are unanimous on this: never leave kids unattended around pools, lakes, or other bodies of water. Drowning is the number one cause of death among young children, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Every year, there are approximately 4,000 unintentional drowning deaths in the U.S., and in 2022 alone, 461 of those deaths were children between ages 1 and 4.
Drowning can happen silently and within seconds. There is no splash, no shout for help in many cases. Emergency physicians who have worked pediatric cases say this is the preventable loss that stays with them the longest, and it comes down to one rule: an adult who can swim stays within arm’s reach, always.
9. Ignore Distracted or Impaired Cooking
Rushing, multitasking, and being distracted while cooking can significantly increase the risk of knife injuries, and cleaning knives is another common culprit because people tend to be less careful during that task. Hand lacerations from kitchen knives are among the most consistent injury categories ER teams see week in and week out.
Watching the front burner of a stove when cooking is also critical, as young children can grab a pot handle and pull it over onto themselves, leading to scald burns. ER doctors say they cook with deliberate attention, keeping pot handles turned inward and never rushing through knife work.
10. Pet or Approach an Unfamiliar Animal
When in doubt, don’t touch or pet an animal you don’t know. Bacteria from an animal’s mouth can easily enter wounds, which can lead to serious infections, which is why bites and scratches are taken seriously in the ER. The risk isn’t limited to obviously aggressive animals. Even a calm-seeming dog that belongs to a neighbor can bite under the right circumstances.
Animal bites that break the skin often require antibiotics, wound irrigation, and sometimes rabies evaluation, depending on the animal and situation. ER doctors don’t skip that assessment even for scratches that look minor, and they’re very careful around animals they haven’t met before.
The Takeaway
More than 155 million Americans visit the emergency room each year, and doctors say many of those trips are preventable. The list of things ER physicians personally avoid isn’t built around fear. It’s built around pattern recognition: they’ve seen what happens at the far end of a small, careless decision.
Most of what they avoid requires no special equipment or major lifestyle overhaul. A helmet. A spotter on the ladder. Eyes on the road. These aren’t inconveniences. They’re the habits that separate a close call from a catastrophic one, and the people who treat emergencies every day know that difference better than anyone.
AI Disclaimer: This article was created with the assistance of AI tools and reviewed by a human editor.