5 Reasons to go to the Emergency Room

5 Reasons to go to the Emergency Room

When you’re injured or suddenly feel unwell, it can be hard to decide whether you should go to the emergency room, urgent care clinic, or your primary care physician instead. While urgent care and regular doctors’ offices are great resources to have when you need them, there are times when it makes more sense to head straight to the hospital—or even call 911 immediately—instead of waiting on hold with your health insurance company over the phone. Here are five signs that you should head straight to the emergency room right away.

1) If you’ve been injured

The emergency room is an excellent resource for people who have been injured. Treatment can begin immediately, and without seeing a doctor you can get emergency care for broken bones, internal bleeding, head injuries, animal bites or stings, severe allergic reactions and more. If you’re experiencing severe pain after an accident or injury, call 911 right away.

2) If you think you might be sick

Going to an emergency room is one of those situations where you want to be 100% sure your situation needs immediate attention. If you’re unsure whether you should go, wait it out for a few hours and see if things get better. You can always call your doctor, too, and they’ll be able to give you a good idea of what’s wrong or if it’s best for you to come in.

3) If there is blood outside your body

If you bleed heavily from an injury, blood may appear outside your body. This can be alarming, but if you’re otherwise okay, it’s okay. If there is bright red blood that is not coming from your gums or your nose or ears or eyes, then call 911 and get yourself checked out at an emergency room.x

4) If you think you might hurt yourself

Going to an emergency room is a precautionary measure. You might have a sprained wrist, but it’s possible you have a broken bone. If you think you’re in danger, you should call for help—whether that be from 911 or from someone else. In these situations, it’s better to be safe than sorry. It can always wait until tomorrow if nothing is actually wrong with you, but once something is wrong with your body, it may be too late.

5) If something is stuck inside your body

If you’ve got something stuck in your throat, down your esophagus, or up your nose, don’t try removing it at home. It could get worse if you don’t get help immediately.