It can be a difficult decision, and “a trip to the emergency room can be time-consuming and stressful,” says Kevin Wiese, director of geriatric emergency medicine at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine at Chapel Hill. But it’s better to be safe than sorry, he says. Here are some expert tips to help you take steps in some key situations.
Call 911 immediately. Depending on the problem, Beith said, it may be best to take the person to the emergency department in an ambulance as soon as possible.
“If you call an ambulance, they can begin life-saving treatment on the way to the emergency room,” he says. What’s more, the paramedic in the ambulance can contact the hospital so staff can assist when they arrive. In some cases, the paramedic can even help decide where to take the person for the best treatment.
For example, if a stroke is suspected, you’ll be taken to the nearest stroke center because it’s important to administer clot-dissolving medication within one to three hours of a stroke (though in some cases, it can take up to four and a half hours), according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Here are some examples of when you should call 911 right away:
- Chest pain.
- Shortness of breath (feeling like you’re struggling to breathe, out of breath, or in severe cases, choking).
- One side of the face droops, which means when you try to smile, you smile unevenly, Wiese says.
- I can’t use my arms on one side. When I raise both arms, the other one goes down.
- Speech disorder. Inability to speak or speech is slurred and slurred.
- Head trauma may be followed by confusion, fainting, or loss of consciousness.
- Choking or stopping breathing.
- Spinal or neck injuries.
- Severe burns.
- Seizures.
- Electric shock or lightning.
Go to an emergency hospital. A trip to the emergency room is usually the right course of action if: “Get someone to drive you home or call 911,” says Saket Saxena, co-director of geriatric emergency medicine at the Cleveland Clinic. It’s also a good idea to let your doctor know. Take action if:
- If you have respiratory symptoms (such as cough, runny nose, sore throat) plus shortness of breath, this could be a sign of a lack of oxygen or a complication such as pneumonia, says Cameron Goettel, M.D., assistant professor of emergency medicine at the Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut.
- You fell and hit your head, but you are alert and aware and think you may have broken a bone. (If you are taking blood thinners, consider going to the emergency room even for a minor fall.) He needs to be checked for concussion and internal bleeding.“If an X-ray reveals a fracture, timely treatment can help relieve pain and prevent complications such as permanent muscle damage,” says Beith.
- You have a deep cut that hasn’t stopped bleeding after 10 minutes. An urgent care clinic may be able to treat minor cuts, but cuts deep enough to require stitches are best treated at an emergency room, Goettel says.
- Sudden, severe vomiting that lasts for more than 1-2 hours. Intravenous fluids may be needed and may indicate a life-threatening condition, such as an intestinal blockage.
Please contact your doctor. For less urgent but uncomfortable situations, like a painful pulled muscle, call your family doctor first, as many primary care offices reserve hours for patients who need to be seen that day, Saxena says.
If your primary care physician or another doctor in the office isn’t available, ask to see an advanced practice physician, such as a nurse practitioner or physician assistant, says Terry Fulmer, a nurse practitioner and president of the John A. Hartford Foundation in New York, which works to improve health care for older adults. They have ready access to your medical records and may already know you well.
If your GP’s office is fully booked and they have partnered with a nearby medical centre, check the centre’s website to see if they offer it. Same-day booking Fullmer says people can also schedule appointments with other doctors in the system, or look for availability with other local doctors on Zocdoc, an online service that filters appointment slots by medical specialty, location, and insurance plan. “A lot of doctor’s offices are using this as a way to fill last-minute cancellations,” Fullmer says.
Saxena recommends calling your doctor in the evenings and on weekends. There’s usually a doctor on call who can advise you on whether you can wait until the clinic reopens or if you need to go to an urgent care clinic or emergency room.
Consider urgent care. For illnesses or injuries that are not life-threatening, urgent care clinics, which are often open in the evenings and on weekends, may be an option.
“If you think you’ve tripped and sprained your ankle, it’s wise to go to an urgent care clinic outside of regular business hours to get an x-ray and a bandage,” says Goettel. At the clinic, they can also test you for the flu and COVID-19, check your heart rate and blood pressure, listen to your lungs, and perform a urine test if you have painful urination, and prescribe antibiotics. Urinary-tract infection.
Urgent care facilities are typically run by physicians, nurse practitioners, or physician assistants. “This is different from an emergency room, which is staffed by board-certified emergency medicine physicians,” Wiese says. “As a result, there can be differences in experience and skill sets.”
If your symptoms are simple, an emergency room is your best bet: “Most urgent care centers don’t have the extensive testing necessary to identify more complicated situations,” says Beath. And if you have a serious chronic condition, like heart failure, you should probably go to the emergency room outside of your doctor’s hours.
Another option for quick medical attention for simpler issues is the pharmacy walk-in clinics at major retailers like CVS, Target, Walgreens, and Walmart. Some are open evenings and weekends. These are a good option for ailments like strep throat, ear infections, and urinary tract infections, says Fulmer. They can also treat minor sprains, cuts that don’t require stitches, and poison ivy rashes.
Copyright 2024, Consumer Reports Inc.
Consumer Reports is an independent, nonprofit organization working with consumers to create a fairer, safer, and healthier world. CR does not endorse products or services and does not accept advertising. For more information, please visit Consumer Reports.
