Urgent Care Clinic or Emergency Room? Concussion
Given how many of them lead to injury deaths, traumatic brain injuries are some of the most dangerous injuries out there. The fact that they involve the brain also go to show just how serious they can and should be treated. Of all these traumatic brain injuries, concussion is the most common and least serious. However, that doesn’t mean that concussions shouldn’t be taken seriously as the other traumatic brain injuries. Concussions are usually due to a blow to the head either when one is taking part in sports activities, high falls, when fighting, car accidents among other causes, meaning that folks are exposed to concussion risks every day. As is explained in detail over at frontlineer.com, a blow to the head leads to injury, damage or bruising of nerves or blood cells in the brain, which causes the symptoms we associate with concussions, especially since such damage works to prevent the brain from working as normal. This means that a concussion should be taken seriously by either visiting an urgent care clinic or emergency room. Knowing which cases require which of the two is the tricky part. Luckily this article will look to clear all that up by highlighting when to visit an urgent care clinic and when to visit an ER for concussion.
First and foremost, we are going to highlight cases of concussion that can be comfortably treated at an urgent care clinic. The folks over at frontlineer.com, who are experts when it comes to this sort of thing, advise that if one suffers a blow to the head and thinks they have suffered a concussion, and they haven’t suffered a loss in consciousness, they should visit an urgent care clinic for assessment. This will allow for the assessment of the injury through X-rays which will help ascertain the extent of the injury by revealing if there is swelling around the brain, a fracture among other eventualities. It is also recommended that you head to an urgent care clinic if you suffer a blow to the head leading to suspected concussion accompanied by minor concussion symptoms such as nausea or vomiting that don’t last for more than 15 minutes. This is usually a sign of a grade one concussion which can be comfortably handled at an urgent care clinic as the physicians there are well placed to give medical advice on how you should proceed to ensure the concussion clears as well as prescribing pain medication when necessary.
Experts however, including those at frontlineer.com who are the best around, always advise traumatic brain injuries including concussions be treated at an ER given the seriousness. Some of the symptoms that come with a concussion that should lead to you visiting an emergency room immediately include if you suffer a loss of consciousness after receiving the blow to the head, regardless if it was only momentary. Loss of consciousness is always indicative of a grade 3 concussion and should be taken seriously. Other red flag to look out for as far as concussions go include if one starts to feel confused ad disoriented after the injury, if they are experiencing a severe persistent headache as well as nausea and vomiting after the blow to the head leading to the concussion. All these should end with one heading over to an emergency room as soon as possible for evaluation. Discharge of clear fluid or even blood from the nose or ears is also another serious symptom that should lead to one visiting an emergency room as soon as possible for concussion, with numbness, seizures, exhibiting of unusual behavior, slurred speech, general body weakness, among others being other symptoms that should lead to a visit to an ER for concussion.
The emergency room is preferred to the urgent care clinic when it comes to dealing with concussions since it is where one can be able to have the extent of the injury fully assessed. This is because while an urgent care clinic may have an X-ray machine, an ER will have the same as well as a CT scan which allows physicians at the ER to be able to check for skull fractures as well as swelling around the brain, as is covered in detail over at frontlineer.com. This means only minor concussions can be handled at an urgent care clinic. There are also cases of concussions, the severe ones, that may need one to stay overnight for monitoring. Given the emergency room has facilities for admission, it is well placed to cater to these cases as opposed to an urgent care clinic which doesn’t have such facilities. That is why in most cases if you head over to an urgent care clinic for concussion, you will be referred to an ER. This is something you want to avoid as it is expensive as you will end up with two bills, one for each. It is therefore recommended that one heads over to an ER for concussion.
As shown from the discussion above, it is important to note that 9 times out of 10 you are well placed to visit an emergency room for concussion as opposed to an urgent care clinic, with frontlineer.com being the best option out there for you for such serveices.
