Urgent Care

An urgent care center is the place to go for a medical problem that is serious, but not life-threatening. A life-threatening emergency, such as a heart attack, should be treated at the emergency department (ED) or emergency room (ER). (Read about "Emergency Room")

On the other hand, when you have an illness or an injury that isn't life-threatening - but you really want to see a healthcare specialist now - that's the kind of situation that an urgent care center or walk-in clinic is designed for.

Urgent care is not a substitute for primary care. However, an urgent care center can give you access to healthcare when your primary care doctor isn't available. Urgent care centers can be staffed by physicians, physician assistants, nurses, nurse practitioners, and/or other medical personnel.

Medical problems that may be appropriate for an urgent care center include:

• allergies (Read about "Allergies")
• back pain (Read about "Back Pain")
• colds (Read about "The Common Cold")
• conjunctivitis (Read about "Conjunctivitis")
• earaches (Read about "Earache")
• flu (Read about "Influenza")
• gastroenteritis (Read about "Gastroenteritis")
• headaches (Read about "Headaches")
• hives (Read about "Hives")
• indigestion (Read about "Indigestion")
• insect bites (Read about "Insect Bites")
• mild diarrhea (Read about "Diarrhea")
• minor fractures (Read about "Bone Fractures")
• otitis media (Read about "Otitis Media")
• sinusitis (Read about "Sinusitis & Rhinitis")
• skin rash (Read about "Skin Rash")
• sore throat (Read about "Sore Throat & Strep Throat")
• sports injuries (Read about "Avoid Sports Injury")
• sprains (Read about "Sprains")
• strains (Read about "Strains")
• urinary tract infections (Read about "Urinary Tract Infections")

An urgent care center or walk-in clinic may also be able to help with the following:

• immunizations (Read about "Immunizations")
• lab work (Read about "Laboratory Testing")
• x-rays (Read about "X-rays")

Medical problems that should be handled in the emergency room include, but are not limited to:

• compound fracture (Read about "Bone Fractures")
• deep wounds (Read about "Wound Care")
• heart attack (Read about "Heart Attack")
• poisoning (Read about "Poison Prevention")
• severe burns (Read about "Burn Prevention")
• stroke (Read about "Stroke")

These lists are not fool-proof, but this should give you a better idea of how and where different emergencies can be treated.