Urgent Care or ER?
Posted on: 24 March 2021
Having kids is challenging. Sure, it's hard to raise them, but it can also be really hard to figure out how to take care of them when they are sick. There are several different places where you could take your son or daughter when they are sick, but how do you know which place is appropriate for their condition?
For example, it can be expensive and time-consuming to make unmerited trips to the emergency room, whereas sometimes the professionals at an urgent care facility may send you to the ER for certain conditions. Additionally, you could just take them to see their pediatrician if it is not an emergency.
It can be challenging to know which one to choose at the moment. Here are a few things to consider when you are deciding where to take your child when they are sick or injured.
Pediatrician's Office
If your child seems a little sick but can otherwise play and interact with you normally, they are well enough to wait to go to the pediatrician's office.
Urgent Care
Urgent care is a great place to have your child seen for non-life-threatening illnesses that are more urgent than waiting for an appointment. Things that could become a bigger problem can be seen in urgent care. For example, vomiting and diarrhea, flu-like symptoms, and early ear infections can all be seen at an urgent care facility. If your child is a little older you could go to urgent care with broken bones or strains, but most urgent care facilities struggle with treating very young patients with these conditions.
Emergency Room
If your child is running a high fever you should go to the emergency room. This is especially true with very young babies who have fevers, as a fever could be a sign of a much more serious condition. Young children that break bones or sustain head injuries should be taken to the hospital immediately. If you cannot get your child's bleeding to stop or they have gaping wounds they will need to get stitches and may even need a transfusion. If your child is having a hard time breathing you should call the ambulance.
In conclusion, if you are really scared and unsure of what to do to help your child in their emergency, go to the ER. It may be more expensive, but you will for sure get the help you need.
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