While there are some situations where you, as a parent, should take your child to the emergency room for a medical situation, these situations are few and far between. Bringing a child into the emergency room when it is not necessary will expose them to germs and infections that other patients likely have. Emergency room care is also often expensive when compared to visiting a walk-in clinic in Orange Park.
Reasons to Visit the ER
Most emergency pediatricians suggest that the first thing you do in the case of illness with your child is to call the office of their pediatrician. You can discuss symptoms and come up with the best plan for the situation. However, there are a few cases where you should go ahead and pack up for a drive to the emergency room.
- You believe your child has a broken bone, especially if there are bumps, unevenness, or swelling in the area.
- Your child has a fever exceeding 100.4 degrees and is under the age of two years old.
- Your child has a seizure.
- Your child has hit their head and lost consciousness for more than a few seconds.
- Your child has gaping cuts on the face.
- Your child is having trouble breathing, gasping for air, or cannot speak before taking a breath.
Reasons to Visit a Walk-In Clinic
It can be difficult to determine exactly what situations warrant a trip to the walk-in clinic in Orange Park. We’ll help you out by providing insight into situations where visiting this type of clinic can be preferable to heading straight to the hospital.
- Your child has drainage from the ear, is pulling on their ears, or is complaining of an earache.
- Your child has cold symptoms and a fever which you believe may be the flu.
- Your child has a sore throat with or without white patches on the tonsils.
- Your child has vomited or had diarrhea a few times but is not in pain or showing signs of dehydration.
- Your child has red, inflamed eyes with or without discharge.
At Injury Care Centers, we work with children every day and provide professional, respectful care for their medical problems. If you are looking for treatment options for a minor medical problem with your child, we’d be happy to speak with you. You can learn more about our staff and services at www.web.net.
