When to go to Urgent Care for Eczema
While eczema symptoms are generally mild, if your child is suffering from severe itching and cracking of their skin and blisters, you should go to an urgent care center. You will likely be treated with steroid creams or oral steroids until your child’s eczema clears up. Severe cases can sometimes indicate a food allergy. At that point, it is important to eliminate any suspect foods from your child’s diet and check for additional allergies in their blood work.
The decision of when to go to urgent care or a walk-in clinic should depend on how severe your symptoms are. If you feel severely ill and/or require immediate treatment, it’s best to go straight to an urgent care facility. If you have mild symptoms that aren’t impacting your daily life and can wait until you can see your regular doctor, see if a visit at a walk-in clinic is convenient. In any case, always talk with your doctor before visiting an urgent care or walk-in clinic.
While more severe cases of eczema will require a trip to an urgent care center, there are still some indications that should prompt you to visit your doctor’s office instead. Your rash should be consistently itchy and red, or have begun to blister; if it is discolored or thickened beyond its usual appearance; or if you have also developed a fever. Also, if you have a history of asthma, contact dermatitis (an allergic reaction in your skin), or hives that don’t respond well with topical steroids, then an appointment with your doctor may be called for. While treatment at an urgent care clinic is helpful, those with these types of conditions may need prescription-strength medication instead.
Though an urgent care center can’t replace a primary care physician, it might be worth making a trip if you’re looking for safe treatment of an allergic reaction or skin condition. Seek emergency medical care immediately if your allergic reaction seems severe, like you are experiencing: swelling around your eyes; difficulty breathing; wheezing; increased heart rate; confusion or loss of consciousness. If any of these symptoms appear, go directly to an emergency room. For less urgent situations, consider visiting urgent care. If you have asthma and are having trouble breathing , shortness of breath, chest pain or tightness in your chest or throat (like you have asthma), these conditions require immediate attention at an urgent care center.
