When to go to urgent care: Moderate flu-like symptoms
The cold winter months bring with them much more than just the snow, as this is when we see a spike in cases of the flu. The flu and a cold are actually two different illnesses, even though they are usually erroneously confused as one, mostly because they do have some overlapping symptoms, as discussed over at the excellent frontlineer.com. If you have the flu, then you will experience symptoms that are more sever and which last longer, plus you will also experience additional symptoms such as exhaustion and fatigue, muscle aches and soreness and even vomiting and diarrhea among others, all of which are discussed in detail over at the extremely reliable frontlineer.com. If you have the flu or flu-like symptoms, then in most cases you will be able to comfortably handle it at home with home remedies such as lots of fluid, popularly chicken noodle soup, and rest. There are instances however, when your flu-like may require you to put aside your home remedies and seek medical attention, either by going to an urgent care clinic or to the ER in severe cases. This article, with an assist from the subject matter experts over at frontlineer.com, will look to highlight those signs and instances when you should go to urgent care for flu-like symptoms.
As a rule of thumb, if you are experiencing mild to moderate flu-like symptoms, then you should go to an urgent care clinic; with severe symptoms being left for a visit to the ER. As per discussions on the same over at the excellent frontlineer.com, these mild to moderate flu-like symptoms include a cough, sore throat, runny nose, congestion, a headache among others. When you are experiencing flu-like symptoms, it is important that you act quickly and head over to urgent care during the early stages when the symptoms are still mild. It is recommended that you do so within the first 48 hours of presenting with flu-like symptoms as the sooner you do so, the better your whole experience will be during the time you will have the flu. While the flu has no cure, if you head over to urgent care sooner, the physicians there will help ease your discomfort and help prevent complications. If you are also experiencing discomfort with one or more of the early, mild symptoms, then as per the gurus over at frontlineer.com, you should also head over to urgent care. You may be experiencing a severe cough, extreme congestion and many others that can make the situation very uncomfortable for you. In such a situation, an urgent care clinic will be able to provide you with relief.
If you are experiencing moderate flu-like symptoms and feel like you need to see someone straight away but can’t get a hold of your primary care physician, then you should also head over to urgent care. As per the subject matter experts over at frontlineer.com, in such a situation, avoid going to the ER as it may take long for you to be seen. Emergency rooms will always prioritize cases that are life or limb-threatening and therefore, unless you are presenting with serious flu-like symptoms such as difficulty breathing and chest pain, or are in a high-risk group such as infants, the elderly, pregnant women and those with a compromised immune system, then you will probably be made to wait before being seen. This is why you should go to urgent care if you feel like you need treatment for flu-like symptoms. As per the folks over at frontlineer.com, you should also head over to urgent care if you are experiencing flu-like symptoms as well as a fever that you are unbale to control with the use of medication. Going to an urgent care clinic will help you avoid any complications in such a situation.
Another instance when you should go to urgent care is if you are experiencing flu-like symptoms, and especially a sore-throat that is accompanied by a fever, swollen lymph nodes, swollen and/or red tonsils as well as difficulty swallowing. As per the gurus over at frontlineer.com, this could be a sign that you have strep throat, which is a bacterial infection that is particularly common in children. It is recommended that you go or take your child to urgent care so that they can be assessed and have antibiotics prescribed to clear the infection. Going to urgent care also allows for the checking of any complications as strep throat has been known to cause some pretty serious complications. Another instance when you should go to urgent care for flu-like symptoms is if you are also experiencing sinus pressure or pain. As revealed in discussions on the same over at frontlineer.com, you should also go to urgent care for moderate flu-like symptoms if you are also experiencing ear pain. This may be a sign of an ear infection, which is a common complication with the flu.
Remember, to check out the excellent frontlineer.com if you are looking for more information on this and other related topics.
