Should You Visit An Emergency Room Or Urgent Care Clinic?

Are you sick or injured and trying to decide whether your condition merits a trip to the emergency room? Are you wondering if you should simply wait to be seen by your regular doctor? Fortunately, an urgent care center may be an even better option for you. Here is a list of various conditions and whether you should visit the emergency room or one of your local walk in clinics:

Asthma attack: Severe asthma attacks can be dangerous and merit a visit to the emergency room. However, if it's only a mild attack with just slight difficulty breathing, then urgent care may be a better option. 

Burns: If you receive a minor burn while cooking or while doing another daily activity, an urgent care center will be able to treat your injury. If your burn covers a large area of your body, has black or charred-looking areas, or has extremely large blisters, a visit to the hospital is more appropriate.

Dehydration: An urgent care center will be able to treat you if you are suffering from dehydration. If you have more severe dehydration, they will be able to give you an IV with saline or other appropriate fluids in order to get you rehydrated and feeling better.

Earache or ear infection: There is no need to visit the emergency room for a simple ear infection. An urgent care location will be able to diagnose the type of infection, whether bacterial or fungal, and prescribe appropriate treatment and medicine.

Headache: If you have been diagnosed with suffering from migraines, skip the urgent care center and go to the emergency room instead. But if your headache is of the everyday variety, the doctors at an urgent care clinic are more than capable of prescribing appropriate painkillers. 

Sore throat: Have you ever gone to the hospital with just a sore throat, only to end up waiting for hours before you can see a doctor? Fortunately, the wait time at an urgent care center is often much less than it would be in an emergency room. The doctors there will be able to prescribe antibiotics that are appropriate for your needs.

Sprain: If you sprain your ankle at work or while at home, the doctors at an urgent care center will be able to provide appropriate treatment. Many walk in clinics will also X-ray the injured area in order to confirm that nothing has been broken.

Urinary infection: Painful urinary infections can make it difficult to wait to see a doctor. By visiting urgent care, you won't have to wait to be seen by your regular physician. You also won't have to wait for hours to be seen by an emergency room doctor.

For more information, contact a business such as West Ocean City Injury & Illness Center.


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