Urgent Care: Common Maladies

On any given day, the waiting room of an urgent care is filled with patients seeking out medical attention. Most are not emergencies as they would likely be at a hospital. Instead, there are a variety of different common maladies that need a doctor's attention, sometimes a prescription, and often an explanation. Here are a few common concerns that send people to these types of medical facilities.

Pink Eye

This is one of most obvious issues found at the urgent care. Also called conjunctivitis, signs include eyes that are red and swollen, as well as the occasional presence of clear or white drainage. Kids are often affected as it spreads quickly through contact with an infected person. Kids often struggle to keep their hands out of their faces and so if one person in a family or classroom has it, there is a good chance that others are going "catch it" too. A doctor looks over the area and can prescribe eye drops or other medication to reduce the infection.

Allergies

During certain seasons, some people struggle with severe allergies. It may be that something outside is really in bloom and it causes all sorts of symptoms including itchy eyes, runny nose, rash, and sometimes a cough or sore throat. If not handled, these allergies often turn into more serious conditions like sinus infections and other respiratory concerns. At the urgent care, a patient can receive prescription antihistamines if necessary. They can also get assistance when it comes to controlling their allergies with medication and other lifestyle adjustments.

Infections

Sometimes an infection is taking place inside the body with no visible cuts or wounds on the outside of the body. Other times, a wound has become infected and it is starting to cause problems for a person on a larger scale. Either way, a visit to urgent care can help. Fever often accompanies infection although that is not always the case. If the problem lies in or around a wound, the doctor can determine what happened and what type of remedy is necessary. If a person has a fever and feels sick, the doctor can attempt to figure out whether or not the person is experiencing an infection or just a viral sickness.

Cold or Flu

Who hasn't dealt with a cold or flu? The symptoms tend to be different for each person. Some can continue on with their regular schedule while the sickness works itself out and goes away. Others tend to be affected more severely and may be homebound for a certain amount of time. This is not a life threatening issue and so urgent care is the perfect place to go to find out what the problem is and how it should be handled. Sometimes this just means sending a patient home for rest and fluids until they feel better, but the flu in particular can become more complicated, so it's good to get checked out.