Minor Injuries: Emergency Room Near You
Injuries can happen to anyone and at any time without warning. Chances are we have all suffered some sort of injury at one point or the other. There are a lot of scenarios that can lead to you suffering an injury, be it at home when slicing vegetables in the kitchen, when participating in sports, you may be out on a run and you trip and fall, and many other scenarios. Once you suffer an injury, it may either be minor or it may be severe. However, what one person may consider to be a minor injury may not necessarily be that way to another person. There are those that will panic and decide not to take any chances by going to an emergency room for an injury while there are those who may decide to tough it out at home for the same sort of injury with home remedies. It is always recommended that you follow your gut and that if you feel like your injury requires to be attended to then you should head over to an emergency room for that. If you are in doubt, you should also go to the emergency room and don’t take any unnecessary risks. This article will look to highlight some of the common minor injuries as well as when you should go to an emergency room near you for them.
We are going to start with burns, which are some of the most common injuries out there. You may suffer a burn in the kitchen when taking food out of the oven, or when barbecuing in the backyard and many other scenarios. The severity of a burn varies and is heavily depended on where the burn wound is located as well as how deep the burn goes. In most cases, if you suffer a first-degree burn or even some second-degree burns, then you don’t need to be attended to by a medical professional and you can handle the burn at home and with the help of over-the-counter pain medication. However, if your burn appears to be deep, then you should have it evaluated by a medical professional. It is also important to know when to go to an emergency room near you or call 911 for your burn and this includes in situations where the burn is located in sensitive areas such as your hands, feet, face, on or near major joints, genitals or when it is covering an extensive area of your skin, usually an area as large as the palm of your hand.
Another example of a minor injury is a cut, scratch or scrape which can be handled, in most cases, at home. If the cut is minor or if it is a scratch, you can rinse it with water, apply an ointment if you must then wrap it with an adhesive bandage to prevent infections and that will be that. If the cut or laceration is a bit severe, you should get it checked by a professional as it may require to be closed up through stitches among other ways it can be closed, and this can be done in an urgent care clinic. If the bleeding is severe and can’t be stopped, or if it is coming out in squirts, then this is when you should go to an emergency room near you or call 911. In most cases, cuts or scratches don’t require an emergency room visit. Sprains are also another very common minor injury, with ankle sprains being particularly common. Most minor sprains can be handled at home with the R.I.C.E technique that involves resting, icing, compressing and elevating of the sprained part. If after applying this technique you don’t see an improvement and your sprain is not getting better, then you should have it evaluated. If it is a severe sprain, with severe pain, clear deformity of the injured part among other severe symptoms, then you should head over to an emergency room near you to be evaluated.
Another very common minor injury is a black eye, which is particularly common among children that play sports especially those that play baseball. In most cases, black eye is easily handled at home if the injury is only on the area around the eye and there is no direct injury to the eyeball or bleeding in there as well. Otherwise, if you notice bleeding from the eyeball, confusion after the injury, dizziness, loss of vision or blurred vision, a loss of consciousness among other severe symptoms, then you should go to an emergency room near you or call 911 as soon as you can to be evaluated for the same. Splinters are another example of a minor injury and are quite common, not to mention irritating and annoying. In most cases, they can be treated at home, making sure you keep the wound clean, use clean tools to remove it as well as cleaning your hands before trying to remove the splinter. If you notice signs of an infection such as heat, oozing of a yellowish fluid among others, you should head over to an emergency room near you. You should also do the same in cases of splinters under a fingernail or toenail as in most cases, such splinters are difficult to remove at home and are also extremely painful.
The above are some of the common minor injuries including how to handle them as well as when to go to an emergency room near you as far as they are concerned and we hope that this article will be a great resource and help for you.
