Deciding where to get appropriate medical care can sometimes be hard when unexpected symptoms arise. The emergency room is the obvious place for possible life-threatening emergencies. It’s not always clear, however, whether you should go to the ER or an urgent care clinic if you are unsure what is going on.
Walk-in urgent care clinics offer several advantages over the emergency room for many of these cases. For the patient, urgent cares offer convenient and quality care for a lower cost. For the community, urgent care clinics can take care of cases that would ordinarily slow down an emergency department.
You must determine how serious your health emergency is, and how quickly you need care. This can be difficult. Here is some information to help you decide whether you should go to an urgent care clinic or the emergency room.
MANA Urgent Care clinics are equipped to provide care for most non-life-threatening medical emergencies. Click To TweetWhen should you go to the emergency room?
An emergency room is equipped to handle life-threatening medical emergencies. ER patients are seen in order of severity of condition rather than order of arrival. Emergency room visits also cost more than a visit to your primary care doctor or urgent care clinic.
Call 911 or go to the ER if any concern for death or permanent disability. A few very concerning symptoms include:
- Trouble breathing
- Persistent chest pain
- Loss of consciousness
- Sudden jaw or arm pain
- Sudden loss of muscle control
- Heavy bleeding
- Severe burns
- New or prolonged seizure
- Severe headache
- Sudden vision loss
- Altered mental status
- Severe abdominal pain
When should you go to an urgent care clinic?
MANA Urgent Care walk-in clinics offer medical care for most non-life-threatening medical emergencies such as:
- Sprains and possible fractures
- Fever
- Flu symptoms
- Sinus infections
- Sore throat or earache
- Stomach viruses
- Migraines
- Cuts and minor burns
- Rashes and skin infections
- Mild allergic reactions
- Minor eye injuries
If you believe your symptoms are non-emergent, MANA Urgent Care clinics are available every day from 7 am to 7 pm, fully staffed by MD’s offering convenient care at the lowest costs in the area. In addition to urgent care services, MANA Urgent Care provides basic immunizations, sports physicals, lab services, travel health evaluations, and occupational health services. You can visit MANA Urgent Care at two convenient locations in Fayetteville, AR.
