Urgent care clinics are often thought of as places for adult patients to go when they need to be seen relatively quickly without waiting for an appointment. However, you should also think of urgent care for kids just as much as adults. An estimated 3 million patients visit these clinics each week, according to the Urgent Care Association of America, and many patients are juveniles brought in by their parents for a number of reasons. These clinics are equally skilled at examining and treating kids just as much as adults, and this article will be looking at several reasons why you should take your family to urgent care for kids treatment.
- Sports Injuries: One reason to go to urgent care for kids treatment is because of sports injuries. Whether it’s for gym class or an organized sports team, many kids end up with some type of sports injury, ranging from sprained ankles to minor bone fractures, all dependent on the sport being played. Urgent care clinics can attend to most sports injuries and give kids treatment for them, or at least get the healing process started. Treatment can include getting X-rays of the injured area to see if any bones are fractured or completely broken.
- Sports Physicals: Another reason to go to urgent care for kids treatment is for sports physicals. If your child wants to join a sports team for school, they’ll be required to take a sports physical to make sure they’re in good condition to participate, and urgent care clinics offer these physicals to anyone who needs them. These are examinations that can be finished relatively quickly, and having them done at urgent care is ideal since you don’t need an appointment beforehand.
- Ear Infections: A third reason to go to urgent care for kids treatment is for ear infections. While adults can get ear infections also, they’re more known as a problem for kids, and a painful problem at that. If your kid is suffering from what appears to be an ear infection, you can take them to an urgent care clinic and have them examined to see what exactly is causing the pain in their ears. Sometimes it’s an ear infection, and sometimes it’s another issue masquerading as an ear infection, so it’s important to take them to a medical professional to see what exactly is causing the problem.
- Travel Vaccinations: And finally, a fourth reason to go to urgent care for kids treatment is for travel vaccinations. For example, if you and your family are planning to travel overseas for a trip, then it is highly recommended to get certain vaccinations before leaving. These are vaccinations for certain diseases that can be obtained at urgent care clinics and should be administered well before you leave so the vaccine has time to take effect in the body.
In conclusion, there are several reasons to go to urgent care for kids treatment. These reasons include, but are far from limited to: treating sports injuries, giving sports physicals as needed, treating ear infections, and giving travel vaccinations. Keep in mind that these are just a few of the things that urgent care clinics can do for younger patients.
