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ER rooms are not a place most of us want to visit, and yet they are usually packed full of patients. For those who have no health insurance, or for those who have an illness or injury after normal business hours, an emergency room may sometimes be the only viable option. So, have you ever wondered the top reasons people have for visiting ER rooms? Here is a list of the top reasons across the United States.
Chest pains and shortness of breath can frighten someone enough to visit an emergency room. While these symptoms do not always indicate a life-threatening condition, it is a good idea to get checked by a physician. Particularly if you have a history of medical conditions like diabetes or heart disease, chest pains could be a sign of serious problems.- Stomachaches are not just a way to get out of going to school. Even though abdominal pain is a vague enough symptom to be a time-honored claim for truant schoolchildren, it can sometimes indicate a serious problem. People who visit emergency rooms complaining of abdominal pain may have food poisoning, kidney stones, an infection, or may be suffering from poisoning. Severe stomach pain accompanied by uncontrolled vomiting is definitely a reason to see a doctor.
- Toothaches sometimes drive people to emergency rooms. Tooth pain can get so extreme that it requires emergency attention, especially if there is an abscess, which requires draining and pain medication. However, an urgent care clinic may be a better option for an after-hours toothache, since that type of clinic is usually less expensive than an emergency room, but just as well equipped to deal with a dental emergency.
- Sprains and broken bones are extremely painful. In addition, they can sometimes become more complicated if they do not receive prompt attention. On the other hand, some injuries can wait. A broken toe is not ER worthy, while a broken rib has the potential to cause internal injury. When possible, see your primary care doctor or visit an urgent care clinic to have the injury assessed.
- Upper respiratory infections may require an emergency room visit if symptoms become serious. Frequent vomiting, fainting, chest pain, persistent diarrhea, a bloody cough, or changes in vision warrant medical attention, though an urgent care clinic may be just as helpful as an ER.
- Cuts and bruises are a major cause of ER visits. Most of these injuries are not due to violent acts, but happen due to household mishaps or automobile accidents.
- Back pain prompts many people to visit the emergency room. While most back pain comes on gradually, sometimes it can be sudden and extreme. Accidents, or even moving the wrong way, can damage the bones in the spine. Back pain also can be caused by illness, such as kidney stones or arthritis.
- Skin Infections can make the body susceptible to other problems. Because skin protects our bodies, an abscess or infection can compromise the immune system. One serious strain of bacteria, MRSA, brings an increasing number of people to the ER each year.
- Foreign objects sometimes create bizarre ER cases. These cases range from coins that are ingested to drugs that smugglers hide in body cavities, and have a variety of outcomes. Usually, small objects have a good chance of passing through the body without incident.
- Most people endure headaches from time to time, but serious headaches need medical attention. While most headaches do not require emergency attention, severe pain can be alarming, especially if it coincides with other symptoms like nausea and vomiting.
Hospital ER rooms are often the first place people think of when they have an accident or emergency. However, a freestanding emergency room may be a more convenient option. A First Choice Emergency Room is a fully equipped emergency room, with board-certified emergency medicine doctors and registered nurses, prepared to manage both major and minor emergencies. For more information, visit the First Choice website, or connect with the online community on Facebook, Twitter, and of course, Pinterest.
The flu is very common at this time of year, but if you start showing signs and symptoms of something more serious, it is important to be able to identify your illness. While people generally recover from the flu quickly, it can turn into pneumonia, which causes more deaths globally than any other infectious disease. Knowing the signs and symptoms of pneumonia can help you get the treatment you need to get well quickly.
Pneumonia is a lung infection that causes illness ranging from mild to severe. Even though it can be dangerous, it is largely preventable and treatable. You can reduce your risk of contracting pneumonia by practicing good hygiene, and getting vaccines to protect yourself from bacteria and viruses that can cause pneumonia.
The symptoms pneumonia presents with include coughing, fever, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, rapid breathing or shortness of breath, chills, and chest pain. In the United States, the most common bacterial cause of pneumonia is pneumococcus, and the most common viral causes are influenza and respiratory viruses. Data from the American Lung Association indicates that viruses are the cause of half of all cases of pneumonia. Adults over age sixty-five, children under age five, and people with underlying medical conditions like diabetes or HIV are at higher risk of pneumonia, as are people who smoke cigarettes or have asthma. People infected with the bacteria or viruses can transmit the illnesses, even if they do not have symptoms of illness.
In fact, seventy percent of us have pneumonia-causing bacteria in our throats at this moment! If you have a healthy immune system, your body will fight off the bacteria, but it your immune system is compromised, the pneumonia will reach your lungs and make you sick. Getting the flu shot is a good way to protect yourself from pneumonia, as is a healthy lifestyle. If you do get sick, make sure to get plenty of rest, stay hydrated, and seek medical attention if you do not improve within a reasonable period. In addition, there is now a vaccine that can kill the pneumonia-causing bacteria. If you have a child under twenty-three months of age, discuss this vaccine with your pediatrician.
If you are suffering from cold or flu symptoms that do not seem to be improving, you may need to seek medical treatment. When that time comes, consider First Choice as an alternative to a traditional ER. A freestanding clinic, First Choice offers adult and pediatric care from qualified doctors and nurses. Visit the website to learn more, of connect with the online community on Facebook and Twitter.
Knowing how to identify upper respiratory infection symptoms can help you to seek the proper treatment and stay healthier this winter. It is not always necessary to see a doctor for an upper respiratory infection, but knowing upper respiratory infection symptoms can help you correctly identify the condition and treat it at home. Here are some of the symptoms, and what you can do to treat respiratory infections.
First, an anatomy lesson: The upper respiratory tract is the part of the body that includes the sinuses, nasal passages, pharynx, and larynx. These are the upper airways that direct air from the outside to the trachea and then to the lungs. If you develop an upper respiratory infection, your doctor may call it by its specific area of infection. For example, you may have rhinitis, a sinus infection, a cold, pharyngitis, laryngitis, laryngotracheitis, or tracheitis. All of these fall into the broader category, upper respiratory infections, and comprise one of the most common reasons people miss work and school, and visit the doctor.
With cold and flu season upon us, it is important to know the best steps for flu recovery. With so many strains of flu, even the flu shot cannot protect you completely. Here, we offer some tips for speedy flu recovery.
First, determine if you really have the flu. The common cold, the flu, bronchitis, and pneumonia can all have similar symptoms. A headache accompanied by muscle aches, fatigue, sore throat, vomiting, and a fever are flu-like symptoms.
The common cold is at its most rampant this time of year, and it seems that almost everyone is coughing or sniffling. While we all know there is no way to cure a common cold, there are some widespread remedies that have been around forever. Here, we give you the facts on what works and what does not. First, the bad news: a cold will probably keep you down for a week or two. The good news is that several things may help to relieve your symptoms:
One of the most important things to know as a parent is how to reduce a fever. It is overwhelming to have a sick child, and a fever can be frightening, especially if it seems to be climbing. Fortunately, children are resilient, and a fever of less than 102ºF is typically not cause for alarm. Remember, a fever is your body’s way of fighting illness, so it is not always imperative to bring you or your child’s temperature down, but it is important to keep it from becoming dangerously high.
- Drink plenty of fluids.
- The most important thing to do when feverish is to stay hydrated.
- Get plenty of rest. A body at rest heals more easily.
- Dress lightly. You may have heard of “sweating out” a fever, but this is an antiquated and dangerous idea. Never wrap a feverish person in blankets, but keep them as lightly covered as possible, though you can use a light blanket if the person feels cold. Keep the room temperature between 70-74 degrees.
For parents, their baby’s safety is of the utmost importance, but changing table safety is often something most of us neglect to consider. A changing table is a very convenient item to have in the nursery, because it enables you to dress and diaper your baby at a comfortable height, with supplies in easy reach. However, particularly when the changing situation becomes stressful, accidents can happen, because parents may not remember the basic safety rules. Here is a refresher, to help you keep your little one safe.
New ER from First Choice Emergency Room will operate 24/7, 365 days a year.
Houston, TX (PRWEB) December 06, 2011 – First Choice Emergency Room, the leading operator of freestanding emergency rooms in the state of Texas, today announced the opening of its newest location in the greater Houston area.
Opening on Friday, December 16, the new 24-hour emergency room is located in Cypress, Texas, at the southeast corner of Barker Cypress and Tuckerton Road.
The location serves residents of Cypress and northwest Houston, including the neighborhoods of Copperfield and Barker Cypress.
“We’re thrilled to be opening this facility,” said Rick Covert, Chief Executive Officer of First Choice Emergency Room. “It really does reflect a further evolution in the state of the art in emergency rooms and in focus on world class customer service while providing medical care that exceeds expectations.”
First Choice Emergency Room offers a level of emergency care equal to that seen in hospital ERs, but without the wait times. Patients are seen within minutes of arrival and are examined with advanced diagnostic equipment, such as CT scanners and digital X-rays. First Choice Emergency Room’s staff is also fully trained to provide the highest level of emergency care. All of the company’s physicians are board-certified, emergency medicine physicians, and all of its nurses are trained in emergency care.
“Our goal is to take the ER out of the hospital and put it closer to your home,” Covert said. “That means you get real emergency care, quicker, when it can make the most difference in outcomes.”
The facility’s address is 9740 Barker Cypress Rd., Suite 108, Cypress, TX. For more information, visit the Barker Cypress ER page at http://www.fcer.com/locations/houston-map/barker-cypress/.
For more information, locations and hours, visit http://www.FCER.com or call toll-free 866-99-FIRST (34778).
About First Choice Emergency Room
First Choice Emergency Room is revolutionizing the delivery of emergency medical services for adult and pediatric emergencies, both major and minor. First Choice Emergency Room facilities are innovative, freestanding, fully equipped emergency rooms. All physicians are board certified, emergency physicians, and all FCER nurses are emergency trained. With seven locations in the Houston area, four in the Dallas/Fort Worth area and one in the Austin area, patients receive high-quality treatment without delay as commonly experienced in hospital ER’s.
We all want our homes to smell fresh and clean, but this can be a problem for people who struggle because of scent allergies. While many people blame itchy eyes and a runny nose on dust or pollen, recent evidence suggests that air fresheners and scented candles may be to blame for many of these symptoms. Before you give a scented candle or other fragrant holiday gift, consider these facts.
Air fresheners and candles can trigger allergies, and even worsen asthma. They contain chemicals like formaldehyde, petroleum distillates, limonene, esters, and alcohols, which can also trigger eye and respiratory tract irritation, headaches, dizziness, and even memory impairment. Though adults are impacted, these volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, are particularly bad for children, for whom the asthma risk becomes greater. The worst offenders, as far as allergies and asthma are concerned, are the plug-in air fresheners, which can contain more than twenty VOCs in a single product.
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