URGENT CARE VS EMERGENCY
More than half of visits to the emergency room are for non-emergencies. How do parents know when to bring their child to a pediatric urgent care clinic or a pediatric emergency room? This guide can help:
Urgent Care Clinic
- Abdominal pain
- Allergic reactions
- Asthma
- Cough
- Croup
- Ear pain
- Fever
- Flu
- Minor burns
- Minor injuries from falls or sports
- Pink eye
- Rashes
- Simple lacerations
- Sinus infections
- Skin infections
- Sore throat
- Sprains and strains
- Urinary tract infections
- Vomiting and diarrhea
Emergency Room/Clinic
- Bleeding that won’t stop
- Extensive or complicated cuts or lacerations
- Fainting or head injury with loss of consciousness or disorientation
- Loss or change of vision
- Major fracture that breaks the skin or is at a severe angle
- Seizures without a previous diagnosis of epilepsy
- Serious burns
- Snake bites
- Spinal injuries
- Sudden change in mental state
- Sudden shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
- Vomiting or coughing up blood
Any conditions which threaten a child’s life or limb should be treated at a pediatric emergency center, which can also provide initial stabilization for severely injured pediatric patients.