Workout Tips
Your trusty first-aid kit will only get you so far during a medical emergency. Sometimes, your symptoms warrant an immediate visit to the nearest ER, a same-day trip to your local urgent-care clinic, or an appointment with your doctor in the next few days.
Here's how to determine your destination when these six common ailments strike.
(For 2,000+ more tips on how to take total control of your health, check out The Better Man Project.)
1. Cut
A run-of-the-mill scrape requires little more than a clean scrub, some ointment, and a Band-Aid. But if the cut won't stay closed, you should seek medical treatment to avoid blood loss and infection.
Head to the ER if:
It's located in sensitive areas. A deep cut on your hands, face, joints, or genitals requires immediate action because it could cause permanent damage, says Jonathan Arend, M.D., an assistant professor of medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. For example, if you have difficulty moving your fingers or experience loss of sensation in your hand due to a cut, you could have nerve damage that needs to be addressed right away.
Go to urgent care if:
It's a bleeder. “A cut that continues to bleed beyond 20 minutes with direct pressure needs to be evaluated by a physician because it probably requires stitches,” Dr. Arend says.
It's longer than ¾ of an inch or deeper than ¼ of an inch. You'll also need to stitch up the cut it gapes open when you push it together, says Dr. Arend.
Wait to see your doctor if:
It looks like it has become infected. Telltale signs include redness, swelling, tenderness, or pain around the wound; yellow or greenish pus; or fever. You may need an antibiotic to get rid of the infection, says Reshma Patel, M.D., an emergency medicine physician at New York University Langone Medical Center.
2. Headache
The majority of headaches aren't life-threatening, but there isn't much middle ground between benign and deadly kinds, Dr. Arend says.
(If you chalk up your headache to a little too much booze, follow these 11 Ways to Ease a Nasty Hangover.)
Head to the ER if:
It's the worst headache of your life. A brain buster this excruciating, especially if it comes on within seconds or minutes, could be due to a ruptured aneurysm in your brain, which may be fatal.
It comes with a fever or stiff neck. These are telltale signs of meningitis–inflammation that occurs around your brain and spinal cord that can cause permanent brain damage and death. However, getting treated as quickly as possible, often with an antibiotic, can reduce your risk of death to below 15 percent, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
You're weak or numb on one side of your body. You could be having a stroke. The earlier you seek treatment, the sooner doctors can stop it and preserve more of your brain tissue. And older men aren't the only guys at risk: Per the CDC rep, 34 percent of people hospitalized for stroke are under age 65.
Go to urgent care if:
You suffered a blow to the head. You may have a concussion. Without proper treatment, it could result in long-term brain damage and may increase your risk of dementia. “As long as you didn't experience loss of consciousness, nausea, or vomiting, it's okay to get treated for a concussion at urgent care,” Dr. Patel says. “But if you have those symptoms go to the ER since you probably need a CT scan.”
Wait to see your doctor if:
Your headache persists. A headache that lasts for more than 24 hours and doesn't improve with over-the-counter pain relievers could indicate a migraine, which may require prescription medication. If you have one, you may also experience sensitivity to light, sound, and smell; nausea; eye pain; throbbing on one or both sides of your noggin; and seeing flickering lights, spots, or lines.
3. Fever
Take your temperature. If you exceed 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit and you show some of the severe symptoms listed below, head to the ER. If your temp is as high as 103 but you don't have any of these issues, give your doc a call.
Head to the ER if:
You experience red-flag symptoms: These include a rash, difficulty breathing, headache, neck pain, seizures, severe nausea or diarrhea, or pain in your abdomen, and are all signs of serious infections and require emergency treatment.
Related: 5 Strange Causes of Diarrhea
You recently traveled to West Africa, Asia, Latin America, or the Middle East. You may have picked up an illness such as MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome), yellow fever, malaria, typhoid, and others.
You were recently hospitalized. There's a chance you may have picked up a serious bacterial infection such as MRSA or C. diff during your stay. Signs include a red, swollen, or painful bump on the skin or severe diarrhea, respectively.
Go to urgent care if:
You're also coughing and sneezing. You may have the flu. “If you get treated with Tamiflu within 72 hours of the onset of symptoms, you can short the duration of the flu by about a day,” Dr. Patel says.
Wait to see your doctor if:
You have an immune system deficiency. Fevers can be a sign of more dangerous diseases if you have cancer or HIV, or if you take meds that suppress your immune system, like for certain types of arthritis.
Your fever persists for more than a week. “If you also experience congestion or sinus pressure, you could have a sinus infection and may require antibiotics,” Dr. Arend says.
4. Chest Pain
Even if you're a young, healthy guy, don't shrug off chest pain. Many of the risk factors for a heart attack, such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol, often occur without any symptoms.
Head to the ER if:
You have other heart attack symptoms. Dial 911 if you also experience difficulty breathing, nausea, vomiting, pain in your left arm, or jaw pain.
You have risk factors for heart disease or heart attack. Get your chest pain checked immediately if you're overweight or obese, or if you have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or a family history of heart disease.
Go to urgent care if:
You lifted something heavy. Whether you set a new personal record or hauled around your 30-pound toddler, you may have strained a muscle in your chest wall. If you experience tenderness when you press a finger along your sternum, and don't have any other symptoms of a heart attack, it's a muscle pull. “And if the doctor at urgent care thinks it might be something more serious, they can do an EKG to find out,” Dr. Patel says.
Wait to see your doctor if:
You just ate. If you frequently experience chest pain after eating and no other signs of a heart attack are present, it could be gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), Dr. Arend says. You may experience symptoms such as burning in your chest or throat, difficulty swallowing, and a bitter or sour taste in your mouth, thanks to juices from your stomach backing up into your esophagus.
You spy a rash on one side of your body. You may have shingles, which is caused by the same virus that triggers chickenpox. The rash may wrap around your left or right side of your body from your back toward your chest. In fact, you may experience pain, tingling, or numbness in your chest days or weeks before the rash appears, as well as flu-like symptoms.
5. Vomiting/Diarrhea
Most cases of vomiting and diarrhea are due to viruses that leave you glued to your toilet seat for 24 hours before they resolve on their own. If your illness exceeds this timeframe or comes with any of the symptoms below, be sure to seek appropriate care.
Head to the ER if:
Your vomit or stool contains red or black material. Both indicate internal bleeding, which may be due to issues like a stomach ulcer or diverticulosis that could require immediate treatment to stop the bleeding. Blood in your stool could also signal colorectal cancer, so it's crucial to get it checked out ASAP. (These are the 10 Cancer Symptoms You Shouldn't Ignore.)
It feels like an elephant is sitting on your chest. If you vomit and feel pain or tightness in your chest, or experience any other symptoms of a heart attack, dial 911.
Go to urgent care if:
You can't keep anything down. If you're unable to eat or drink, you risk dehydration and may need to receive IV fluids. Signs of dehydration include muscle cramps, weakness, dry mouth, dizziness, confusion, and very dark urine.
Wait to see your doctor if:
Your diarrhea lasts 7 to 10 days. It could be due to bacteria such as campylobacter or parasites like giardia, which can be treated with an antibiotic, Dr. Arend says.
6. Burn
Pain isn't actually the best indicator of how bad a burn is. That's because underlying nerve endings are more likely to die with a more severe burn, says Dr. Arend. Instead, check the size–see a doctor for any burn more than 3 inches wide.
Head to the ER if:
Your burn is blistering and only painful with deep pressure. Chances are, it's a third-degree burn and involves more than the skin–like underlying fat–and should be treated immediately to reduce long-term and widespread damage.
It affects sensitive areas. “Any burn that involves your face, hands, feet, or genitals are reasons to seek emergency care because scar tissue that forms as they heal can interfere with how these areas function,” Dr. Arend says.
Go to urgent care if:
The burn is painful and blisters. You likely have a second-degree burn. Your doctor will determine whether you need antibiotics to treat an infection and may apply a dressing to keep it protected and aid healing.
Anything that's smaller than 3 inches and doesn't blister can be treated at home. Run the area under cool running water, moisturize the skin with an aloe vera lotion or gel, and keep it covered to prevent an infection.
Wait to see your doctor if:
It's not getting better. If a superficial burn still looks pretty gnarly after a few days of treating it at home, you may need an antibiotic to address an underlying infection. “Your doctor may also give you the topical medication Silvadene, which creates more of a protective barrier than Neosporin or Bacitracin,” Dr. Patel says.
The post Should You See Your Doctor, Go to an Urgent-Care Clinic, or Head to the ER? appeared first on Workout Tips.
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