Most Common Injuries You Can Have Treated at a Walk-In Clinic

After suffering a minor injury, whether it’s caused by a rough game or a simple accident, an urgent care clinic is the place to visit when you need medical care. Instead of visiting an emergency room, urgent care is the ideal place to get help if you aren't suffering from a life-threatening ailment.

Here are a few of the most common injuries that are treated at a local urgent care center when you need to be seen by a medical professional.

Severe Burns

Minor burns shouldn’t be an immediate cause for concern, but severe burns warrant medical attention. These burns can actually cause permanent tissue damage, which can be particularly debilitating if it occurred on your hands, feet, or major joints. A walk in clinic can provide relief and minimize the risks of permanent damage caused by burns.

Cuts and Lacerations

Generally speaking, shallow cuts are ones that won’t show muscle or bone. Lacerations, on the other hand, are deep cuts that may result in nerve damage. Both shallow cuts and lacerations can be treated at an urgent care center, where a medical professional can stitch up the wound and stop the bleeding. You can avoid waiting in long lines at the emergency room and receive quality care at a walk in clinic to ensure that the injury heals properly.

Sports Injuries

Injuries caused by sports, such as sprains or broken bones, are commonly treated at urgent care clinics. The medical professional can often perform tests or x-rays to determine the severity of the injury before treating it. You may be fitted with a splint or a cast before leaving the clinic and may also receive pain medication to alleviate the discomfort that you're experiencing.

Car Accident Injuries

Vehicular accidents can happen at any given time. It’s entirely possible, then, to have difficulty finding medical assistance for minor injuries you’ve sustained after an accident, especially if it occurred way past your doctor’s business hours.

Immediate medical attention is required for injuries from car accidents. That’s why you can go to a walk-in clinic for the necessary treatment, be it splinting or casting. Should your injuries be deemed too serious, you will be provided with a referral to a trusted orthopedist.

Understanding when to visit an urgent care center can offer convenience when you need medical treatment. Although the condition or injury may not be life-threatening, you can have peace of mind knowing you'll quickly be treated by a medical professional when your primary doctor's office is closed.

Sources:

Urgent Care or ER? Don't Make The Wrong Choice, emergencycareforyou.org

How To Tell If You Should Go To Urgent Care Or The ER, womenshealthmag.com

Urgent Care vs. ER: Where Should I Go?, health.ucsd.edu