Urgent Care Clinics What Can They Offer You?

It’s incredibly important for people to have access to medical care as quickly as possible, whenever they need it. Often, we put off going to see a doctor for a number of reasons. For one thing, going to see local doctors can be tedious — even if the doctor’s office is just a few minutes away from your home, the wait time for an appointment can be long. An appointment you made ahead of time still may not happen when you want it to, simply because of the backup that tends to happen once a doctor starts seeing patients. For that matter, the same issue can happen when you visit the emergency room — but perhaps on a greater scale. The emergency room is known for having long wait times for patients who aren’t experiencing life-or-death emergencies. We also tend to avoid the doctor because we don’t want to pay a large amount to have what appears to be a minor issue looked at — however, a minor issue can quickly become a major one. This is why, rather than going to a typical medical center emergency room, may seek medical help at urgent care clinics. An urgent care center can provide not only top-notch care, but a surprising variety of services. These centers aren’t just for people experiencing emergencies. Below, we’ll look into what symptoms and conditions urgent care clinics can treat, and why they may be preferable to traditional medical center emergency rooms.

True Urgent Care: Treating Emergencies

We’ll get emergency care out of the way first, as this is typically what many associate urgent care clinics with. Obviously, if an emergency is life-threatening it is important that you go to a typical medical center emergency room that can be found inside or near a major hospital. But urgent care clinics can still treat non-life-threatening emergencies with ease and great skill. It’s believed that four out of five urgent care clinics, for example, offer fracture care. While some fractures require surgery, many do not and simply require immediate treatment and setting in a cast or splint of some kind. Obviously, a fractured finger may not require the same type of in-depth care as a fractured leg. Many also go to an urgent care center to see if they are suffering from a fracture or a sprain of some kind; a sprain can easily be treated at an urgent care clinic, though it’s usually quite painful. This condition is very common, with an estimated 25,000 Americans suffering from an ankle sprain each day, and 80% of those sprains result from the “rolling” or inversion of the ankle. Urgent care clinics can also provide simple sutures, as well as other types of wound care. Some clinics even offer burn care.

Medicinal Options: Diagnosing And Treating Illnesses

Sometimes, a fever can be high enough to warrant a visit to a doctor, but not quite high enough to equal a trip to a medical center emergency room. Or perhaps you’ve had a persistent cough that doesn’t seem serious, but also isn’t going away. In that case, it’s important that you visit an urgent care clinic for a quick diagnosis and treatment. Oftentimes, people find themselves with congestion or infections that can’t be treated at home. A trip to an urgent care clinic not only provides important medications like antibiotics that will quickly clear up the issue, but the clarity that will give patients peace of mind about their health. Of course, there are other issues that people can have with their health that are more private. Urgent care clinics offer discreet STD testing for those in need, and when possible the necessary treatment.

Physical Therapy: Keeping You In Shape

Finally, it’s important to note that some clinics offer physical therapy. This is an often neglected part of everyday health, and can make a big difference in people’s lives. As your nearby clinic if they offer such services — they could change your life!