Urgent Care vs. Emergency Room

Pediatric Urgent Care vs. Emergency Room

 

How do you know when to go to pediatric urgent care vs. the emergency room? If the situation is too emergent to read through this list, please consider taking your child to the emergency room.

Urgent Care

Fever (if older than 2 months)

Ear pain

Abdominal pain

Headache

Rash

Mild wheezing

Persistent cough

Cuts or minor burn

Suspected sprain or fracture

Vomiting or diarrhea

Sore throat

Infected bug bite

Minor animal bite

Mild allergic reaction

Urinary infection

Emergency Room

Severe difficulty breathing

Change in mental status: unusually sleepy or difficult to wake, disoriented, or confused

Excessive bleeding

Stiff neck and fever

Continuous rapid heartbeat

Ingestion of poisonous substance

Ingestion of excessive medication

Severe head injury

Medical device malfunction

Infant (less than 2 months) with fever

Severe dental trauma

Penetrating eye trauma

Neonatal jaundice