Health

When Should You Go to an Urgent Care

When Should You Go to an Urgent Care

An urgent care center provides immediate medical care. These clinics can accommodate both appointments and walk-in patients. Urgent care centers are a great choice when you cannot see your primary care physician with an acute illness or don’t have a primary care doctor. Walk-in, urgent care clinics are best for treating injuries and diseases that are not life-threatening but cannot wait till the next day. Prime Urgent Care is a premie Walk-in Clinic in Missouri City, providing value-based care. The center is the perfect alternative to ER for non-life-threatening injuries and illnesses. Open throughout the week, it takes in patients as young as three months old. 

What Is Urgent Care

You can understand urgent care better when you know its major purpose and the way it’s unique from other types of care. A primary care physician offers general care services like routine checkups. If you have a health condition that is life-threatening, you seek emergency care or ER. Only an ER professional can help you deal with health emergencies. But urgent care is for non-life-threatening conditions and basic healthcare when you require it the most. 

For example, if you get a sprain or a minor cut, you’ll not head to an ER. Still, the issue is urgent and demands quick medical attention. You may also not want to spend time getting a doctor’s appointment, as it can take a week until its confirmation. Such minor injuries and illnesses that need prompt medical care can be treated effectively at urgent care. There’s no need to wait in a queue for long hours or make an appointment at urgent care. Simply walk into one, get the needed treatment, and walk out. Most urgent cares are open till late and provide services over the weekend. Moreover, people who need a Physical Exam (PE) or vaccination can also use urgent care centers for the same. 

When Is It Appropriate to Seek Urgent Care?

Urgent care is suitable if you experience any of the following:

Minor illnesses

Urgent care commonly sees patients for minor illnesses. Some examples of such diseases are the common cold, urinary tract infections, flu, ear infections, and allergies. You must visit a walk-in clinic if you experience the following symptoms.

  • Fever
  • Migraines
  • Irritation or redness in the eye
  • Severe sore throat
  • Heavy cough
  • Vomiting or diarrhea
  • Mild to moderate abdominal pain
  • Rashes or infections in the skin
  • Mild to moderate asthma
  • Ear pain or wax accumulation
  • A burning sensation while urinating
  • Sinus congestion 

Minor injuries

Most minor injuries are not life-threatening. You don’t need to visit emergency care to treat them. Urgent care centers are equipped with the needed facilities like an X-ray and can help treat sprains, strains, and potential breaks. The professionals of urgent care can effectively treat the following:

  • Fractures in your fingers or toes
  • Cuts that may require stitches
  • Mild burns
  • Mild to moderate backache 
  • Sprains 
  • Strains 
  • Pulled muscle
  • Lacerations 

You must visit an emergency room if your pain is unbearable or severe. This includes breaking a large bone, fractures in the skull, or a bone breakage close to your eyes. 

Diagnostic services

If you need diagnostic services, then too, urgent care can help. Most urgent care clinics perform X-rays and laboratory tests. Many of them also perform diagnostic exams for school or employment physicals. 

That includes testing for strep, the flu, and COVID-19 testing. Urgent care also screens for STDs. Early detection is critical for the successful treatment of STDs and for maintaining the sexual health of an adult. 

Prime Urgent Care provides quality, compassionate care to children and adults throughout the week. Our walk-in clinic in Missouri City is open from 8 AM to 8 PM (Monday to Friday) and from 9 AM to 5 PM (Saturday and Sunday). Check-in from your home or visit Prime Urgent Care anytime during our working hours with no appointment.

 

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