It tends to be confusing about whether one to go for an emergency room or urgent care in case of an accident. One would need to know the difference between an emergency room and urgent care and also know how to be safe in case of urgency. An emergency room tends to be the best option when one does not know whether what he or she is suffering is a serious condition or not. In the case of an accident where one may have been confused and may not know whether he or she has been hit or not, the best option is an emergency room. On the other hand, in a case where one has been injured by a knife in the kitchen and knows what exactly happened, the best option is urgent care.
In a case where you have troubling symptoms that you are not sure of the cause, it would be essential to consider seeking an emergency room. You may, for example, be suffering from abdominal pain, headache, chest pain at the same time and hence unable to tell the larger condition. In such a case, the best option is an emergency room. Among the medical emergencies that need to be taken to an emergency room include loss of vision, severe heart palpitations, broken bones, head, and eye injuries, fevers with rash, vaginal bleeding while pregnant, severe burns, severe abdominal pain, persistent vomiting among other severe pain-causing ailments. You may need to call emergency services in a case where you experience sudden weakness, shortness of breath, slurred speech, numbness, pain in the left arm, chest pain, limb-threatening injury, and severe headache. Click here to find out more about urgent care services.
Urgent care tends to be best for individuals who need to treat non-life threatening medical conditions that cannot wait. In a case where you have a urinary tract infection, a low fever, need sutures or have lacerations, you would need to consider going for urgent care. A condition such as heart attack does not need urgent care. You may consider going for urgent care if you are suffering a condition such as a fever, diarrhea, vomiting, pain with urination, minor traumas, pain when urinating as well as minor fractures of hands and feet.
It is also essential to note that there are instances when one may not be sure whether he or she needs urgent care or an emergency room. In such a case, one would need to go to a facility with both emergency room services and urgent care services. For more information, click on this link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walk-in_centres.