Urgent Care Clinic or Emergency Room? Burns
We are all exposed to burn risks every single day through all the activities we do and the truth is we all could or have suffered burns at one point or the other. Activities such as ironing our clothes, cooking on our cookers, use of portable heaters, curling our hair and even at work, all expose us to a risk of getting burned. A lot of times, the burns we suffer may not be that serious and we end up treating them at home with home remedies such as aloe vera with the help of over-the-counter pain medication. It is however to highlight that burns come in varying degrees, ranging from first and second degree burns which are mild to moderate and third to fourth degree burns which are classified severe burns. Knowing when to make use of home remedies and when to go to for urgent medical attention either in an urgent care clinic or an emergency room, with frontlineer.com being the best option, is important as it will not only impact on the healing process but also on the outcome in severe cases that may lead to permanent damage with some being life threatening. This article will look to highlight cases of burns that should be treated at an urgent care clinic and those that should be treated at an ER.
When it comes to urgent care clinics, it is advised by subject matter experts, such as frontlineer.com who are vastly experienced on such matters, that only cases of 1st and 2nd degree burns that can’t be managed at home be taken at here. An example is in a case of sunburn. While sunburns can be treated at home, if one feels like the pain is too much and they can’t control it, then it is better to head over to an urgent care clinic to have yourself attended to. If the burn is painful and there is formation of blisters in the wound, indicative of 2nd degree burns, you should also head over to an urgent care clinic to be evaluated as soon as you can. 1st and 2nd degree burns that are extensive, that is they cover a large part of your skin, you should also head over to an urgent care clinic rather than persisting with it at home. An urgent care clinic is best suited for these sort of burns as they require only cooling, cleaning and dressing of the wound.
The cases that require one to head over to an emergency room as far as burns go mostly involve 3rd and 4th degree burns with the location of the burn or the if the burn victim is in a high-risk group taken to consideration as well. As far as the location of the burn goes, if the burn is located in the eyes, ears, face or genitals, you should head over to an ER as soon as possible for treatment. The same applies if the burns are on major joints or on the neck, feet and hands. Folks above the age of 60 and children under the age of five should be taken to an ER pronto if they suffer burns as they are in the high-risk group mentioned above. If you see any charring or whitish marks on the burn wound, you should head over to an emergency room as soon as possible as this is indicative of 3rd and 4th degree burns. Little or no pain also indicates the same as it is a sign of damage to the nerves and one should head to an ER, with frontlineer.com being the best option out there.
Other red flags to look out for, that should end with a visit to an emergency room include if the burns were due to exposure to ionizing radiation, chemicals such as acids, high pressure steam burns due to risk of there being inhalation burns, if the burns were due to high-electric voltage, if there are signs of infection such as drainage, odor, redness and swelling. If the burns are also accompanied by severe injuries such as deep cuts, bone breaks among others, one should visit an emergency room with the same applying to folks with pre-existing medical conditions such as a history of heart problems, pregnant women and those with a compromised immunity as per the experts over at frontlineer.com.
Emergency rooms are preferred to urgent care clinics for severe cases of burns as they have all the equipment and qualified staff to deal with them as opposed to urgent care which mostly only doe cleaning and dressing. At an ER you will find imaging facilities to ascertain the extent of the burns, sedation facilities if needed especially for severe burn cases, as well as providing different options when it comes to dressing namely use of compresses, biosynthetics, biologics as well as barrier dressings. There are lots of other advantages that ERs have over urgent care clinics when it comes to treating burns, all of which are covered in detail over at the ever reliable frontlineer.com.
