Urgent Care VS. Emergency Care

ER visits are necessary when a patient is suffering from a life- or limb-threatening medical condition, or if their condition involves severe wounds or amputations. If symptoms arise suddenly and you believe that a life is in jeopardy, call 9-1-1.

Symptoms that are best evaluated in an emergency room include:

-Persistent chest pain, especially if it radiates to your arm or jaw or is accompanied by sweating, vomiting or shortness of breath
-Difficulty breathing
-Any severe pain, particularly in the abdomen or starting halfway down the back
-Sudden clumsiness, loss of balance or fainting
-Sudden difficulty speaking, or trouble understanding speech
-Altered mental status or confusion, including suicidal thoughts
-Sudden weakness or paralysis, especially on one side of the face or body
-Severe heart palpitations
-Sudden, severe headache
-Sudden testicular pain and swelling
-Newborn baby with a fever (a baby less than three months old with a temperature of 100.4 degrees or higher needs to be seen right away)
-Falls that cause injury or occur while taking blood thinning medications
-Sudden vision changes, including blurred or double vision and full or partial vision loss
-Broken bones or dislocated joints
-Deep cuts that require stitches — especially on the face — or a large open wound that won’t stop bleeding
-Head or eye injuries
-Severe flu or cold symptoms
-High fevers or fevers with rash
-Vaginal bleeding during pregnancy
-Severe and persistent vomiting or diarrhea
-Serious burns
-Seizures without a previous diagnosis of epilepsy

Urgent care centers are same-day clinics that can handle a variety of medical problems that need to be treated right away, but are not considered true emergencies. 

                                           Symptoms that can be evaluated and treated at an urgent care clinic include:

-Fever without rash
-Ear pain
-Painful urination
-Persistent diarrhea
-Sore throat
-Vomiting
-Minor trauma such as a common sprain or shallow cut