As a CMHMoms Ambassador, this post has been sponsored, however, all opinions and experiences are my own. Yours may differ.
When to go to the emergency room
- Is the pain tolerable?
- Is it a life threatening?
- Is there a broken bone?
- Is it something that can wait?
By asking myself these questions, I can gage if it’s a true emergency or not. Of course, the cost of an emergency room visit is always on the back of my mind too. Some situations it is worth risking the amount of money it will cost and other times, not so much. However, the safety of my kid(s) is always my number one concern.
Fevers have always been something that has freaked me out as a Mom. My own Mother is several generations older than me (I was a super caboose in my family) and so I was raised with an older mentality about fevers being dangerous, ad images of scrambling brains always enter my head. One afternoon my then toddler was sick with 103 fever. He isn’t a good medicine taker so I couldn’t get Tylenol in his system. I was freaking out and called my husband to come home immediately. We rushed him to the emergency room so as to avoid scrambled brains. It was there that a very patient and kind ER nurse explained to me that fevers below 104 will not scramble my child’s brain and that they are actually helpful. He also then told me of a suppository to help bring down fevers in the event I couldn’t get my child to take medicine. He also said to watch my child’s behavior. If a child has a fever but is acting normally you can rest assured that most likely all is well. However, if the child is acting lethargic and overall sick then something is probably wrong and more care should be given. He taught me some good life lessons that day. We now don’t visit the ER for fevers, and we haven’t yet experienced any over 104.
When to go to urgent care
- Is it urgent?
- Is it an emergency?
- Can it wait until tomorrow?
- Is my child’s life in danger?
If your child or you are dealing with something simple, urgent care is more than okay. When it’s life threatening, that is when you should consider the emergency room. Most urgent cares can be pricey, but the price is way smaller than that of an emergency room.
Remember that the Urgent Care is for matters that need to be handled quickly, but aren’t life threatening. We learned this difference once afternoon when my husband was having weird chest pains. He is a very healthy person so he was really alarmed. He decided to visit an Urgent Care to get some assistance and they immediately sent him on to an ER stating that potential heart problems are beyond their abilities. in case you are wondering, we did get a bill from both places, so know where you should go before you go.
I’m lucky enough to have a pediatrician that also has morning urgent care hours 5 days a week. When possible, I recommend finding a pediatric urgent care or emergency room so that you can get the best care for your child. Children’s Mercy has and where the doctors and nurses are specially trained in helping children.
How do you decide if you should go to the emergency room or urgent care?
ali c says
urgent care all the way. insurance doesn’t want us to go to er, rising deductible proves it.
Deborah Cochran says
This has always been a tough question especially when it comes to our kids. What we may think is an emergency situation can be taken care of in an urgent care.
Jenifer Wilson says
I am one of those moms who freaks out easily. I rely on the Children’s Mercy Nurse Advice Line (816-234-3188) to help me make reasonable decisions about where to take my daughter. They are wonderful in listening to my concerns and telling me (in a tactful way) when I’m over or under reacting.
emily bennette says
I like that you had a list of the question made up to ask yourself before decide where to go. It does seem like if your pain isn’t too bad that it would be best to go to the emergency room. I wouldn’t want to have to wait in the emergency room for a long time over something small.
Bernard Clyde says
It’s good to know that some urgent care centers can get you in a lot quicker than an emergency room. I think it’s wise to find an urgent care near you that you could go to in the event of an emergency beforehand. That way, you will be better equipped to act quickly and get you or your family member the medical help they need.
Chris Winters says
I can see why a non life threatening illness would be cause to visit an urgent care center. I have been feeling extremely sick over this past week. I definitely think that we should consider finding urgent care center that could help to evaluate my situation.
Taylor Hicken says
My daughter had a pretty bad ankle sprain the other day, so I think that it’d be best to take her to urgent care. I thought about the Emergency room, but I think that would be too much. I’m just hoping that my daughter is okay, I’m sure she will be.
LNWeaver says
I like your tip to gauge an emergency by if there’s lots of pain and/or if you think something is broken. It can be pretty expensive to go to emergency rooms after all. I think I’m going to look up local urgent cares; my son just started playing football and it’s a good idea to be prepared in case anything happens.
Barbera Peters says
It was really awesome how you explained questions to ask yourself to decide if you should go to the urgent care or emergency room. I like that you said to ask if it can wait till tomorrow and the answer to that will be the answer to the over question of where to go. If it can wait till tomorrow than it is not an emergency, and if it can’t then you need to consider the emergency room. Thank you for the awesome information about urgent care centers.
Ashley Turns says
I have always been confused about when I should be going to an urgent care center and when I should go directly to the emergency room. Now that I have a child, I really want to make sure that I take them to the proper place to take care of them without getting any extra costs I won’t need. So thanks for letting me know that I should take them to an urgent care if there is an issue that isn’t life threatening but still needs to be dealt with quickly.
Sam Gibson says
My wife and I just found out that she’s pregnant with our first child. We’re both really excited about it and want to make sure that we find a great place to take our child if they’re ever sick. I like your tip about visiting an urgent care facility if it’s urgent but not necessarily an emergency. I love the idea that an urgent care facility can get you in quickly.
Lewis Carroll says
Sometimes it’s hard to tell whether something qualifies as an emergency or not. The staff at Memorial Village ER have been pretty nice to me when I bring my kids in unnecessarily haha.
Ridley Fitzgerald says
It’s great to know more about going to urgent cares. I like how you said that something that’s life threatening is best taken care of at an emergency room. Everything else can be handled at an urgent care. My son gets hurt all of the time, so I’ll have to find an urgent care to take him to.
joel petersen says
We like Frontline, our local 24 hour ER here in Richmond, TX, because they take the guesswork away from us. With 4 kids in various sports, there always seems to be something. Urgent care can get crowded, and we have never waited at Frontline.
Mitchell Ryan says
Nice article – very much unique. I prefer going to my nearby Memorial Heights ER in Houston, TX in case of any emergency or at times when my doctor isn’t available. Freestanding ERs are a good option. Thanks for sharing!
Alex says
It doesn’t matter how much you spend to save your kids or any other House members, because humans are more important than money. I always try to educate myself more and more by reading books and articles, thanks for sharing this topic because it is really important to know what to do at such kind of situations.
Zoe Campos says
Thanks for telling me that matters that need to be treated immediately can be addressed in urgent care and we don’t need to find space in the emergency room. I’ll be living with my grandmother for two months and I was told that she sometimes experiences muscle spasms that need immediate attention but isn’t life-threatening at all. I’ll follow your advice and look for clinics that offer urgent care services where I can take her to.