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When it comes to your child’s health care needs, it is important to know when and where to go when a sudden illness or injury occurs.
Pediatric Urgent Care
Examples of conditions that require treatment right away but are not immediately life-threatening:
- Ear ache or sinus pain
- Heat stroke and dehydration
- Mild fevers, cold or flu symptoms
- Mild or moderate asthma attack
- Mildly bleeding cuts
- Minor allergic reactions and rashes
- Minor burns
- Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea
- Painful urination
- Pink eye or other minor eye problems
- Sore throat
- Sprains or strains
Pediatric Emergency Room
Examples of conditions that require immediate medical treatment:
- Difficulty breathing or speaking
- Eye or head injuries
- High fevers
- Infant under 12 weeks old with fever
- Loss of consciousness or vision
- Numbness in face or limbs
- Persistent vomiting
- Severe abdominal pain
- Severe allergic reactions
- Severe asthma attack
- Severe burns
- Severe coughs, congestion and sinus problems
- Severe cut or laceration
- Suspected drug overdose or poisoning
- Traumatic injury
When in doubt, dial 911 for the fastest way to get emergency medical care.
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Authors
- Angie Lucia
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This list is helpful, but surely heat stroke is an emergency?
I am glad you mentioned that sprains should be seen at an urgent care and not the ER. I recently sprained my ankle. Thank you for the information on when you go to urgent care versus the ER.
As far as I know, my infant son is only having a mild fever right now. Thanks for mentioning that I should take him to an urgent care clinic if he just has minor allergic reactions to his diaper. If his diarrhea continues for one more day, I’ll take him to one so that a doctor can treat him as soon as possible.
Thanks for pointing out how pink eye could be a reason to visit urgent care. My son came home from his friend’s house with pink eye and he’s in a miserable condition. I’ll take my son to a medical center right away so he can get looked at by a doctor and taken care of.