Urgent Care Clinics Treat Most Common Ailments, Including Allergies

Urgent care clinics offer a new model of healthcare, where you don’t have to make an appointment to see a doctor to get medical care for urgent problems like colds, flu, allergies, rashes, stomach ache, and more. For people and families on the go, this means quality health care without a long wait or a stressful trip to the emergency room. The clinics treat a wide range of ailments and injuries, which makes them a good place to go in allergy season. With thousands of locations across the country, there’s bound to be one near you.

When to go to urgent care
Injuries like fractures, bumps, and bruises, and ailments like allergies, rashes, colds, and ear infections are some of the most common reasons why people need medical care. These are not life threatening conditions requiring emergency care, but they do need immediate medical treatment. In the past, the only two choices available for any medical treatment were to rush to the ER, or to make a doctors appointment, which could take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks. In the second case, by the time you got to see a doctor, the flu or stomach ache or whatever it was would have gone away on its own, after you had spent several days in severe discomfort.
Walk in clinics offer a new model of convenient health care, where patients can just walk in, as the name suggests, and see a doctor without a long wait. These provide immediate medical care, with extended hours. Most are open on weekends as well, making it convenient to see a doctor on your own schedule. Appointments are not necessary, but scheduling one means that you can get in and out even quicker. You can even make an appointment online. Most clinics also have on site diagnostics and dispensing pharmacies, which means that you can meet all your medical needs at a single stop.
Getting ready for allergy season
What do urgent care centers treat? The answer to that is, they treat almost everything that needs medical attention but is not a life-threatening emergency. For emergencies like stroke, heart attack, or severe injuries, you should call 911 for an ambulance or rush the patient to the ER. But for most other medical problems, urgent care centers can provide treatment. The most common illness treated in these clinics in 2012 was an upper respiratory condition, and the most common treatment provided was wound treatment.
Now that it’s allergy season, those who are susceptible will be suffering from the full range of symptoms. Allergies can be caused by dust, pollen, grass, dander, and a number of other things. Symptoms can include runny nose, congestion, watery and itchy eyes, headaches, rashes, and more. As any allergy sufferer knows, it’s no fun at all, and immediate relief is needed. Urgent care clinics can provide allergy relief and treatment when it’s needed, without your having to spend hours at the ER.

At the present time, urgent care centers see as many as 3 million patients a week, according to the Urgent Care Association of America. This shows that people are clearly voting with their feet for a new and convenient model of healthcare, which provides immediate medical treatment for common problems. There are thousands of walk in clinics across the country, and there’s bound to be one conveniently located in your neighborhood. It’s a good idea to find out its location during allergy season, in case a visit becomes necessary.