The Five Most Common Reasons For Emergency Room Visits

The Five Most Common Reasons For Emergency Room Visits

When you’re sick and can’t go to your doctor, what do you do? If you live in the United States, odds are good that the first place you’ll go to get the care you need is the emergency room. According to The Centers For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), nearly 9 million Americans visit the emergency room every year because of illness or injury. And most of those visits are due to one of these five common reasons…

Breathing Issues
Coughing, choking, difficulty breathing, and other respiratory issues can cause you to seek medical treatment at an emergency room. If your symptoms are severe, or if they persist for an extended period of time, it’s important to get help right away. The faster treatment begins, the better your chances are of experiencing a full recovery and returning to your regular routine quickly.

Flu and Pneumonia
We’re all aware of what flu and pneumonia are, but you may not realize how dangerous they can be. If you or someone else is experiencing these symptoms, take a trip to your nearest emergency room immediately. Flu and pneumonia both lead to respiratory problems like coughing, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing and chest pain. They can also cause fevers, headaches and chills.

Serious Injury or Trauma
While many emergency room visits are made for routine care, it’s important to remember that ERs are there for a reason: They’re meant for emergency situations. When you have an injury or illness that isn’t getting better—or is getting worse—the last place you should visit is your local hospital. But if you don’t have access to other healthcare professionals, a trip to your local emergency room might be in order.

Heart Problems
Heart disease is still one of America’s biggest killers, even though heart attacks and strokes can be prevented in many cases. One reason for frequent ER visits for heart problems is that it takes a long time for symptoms to appear, which leads to many people putting off treatment. Here are some warning signs

Drug Overdose
Taking too many prescription or non-prescription drugs can lead to a drug overdose. If you are taking a combination of different drugs (prescription and non-prescription), make sure you know how they all interact with each other, and never take more than one dose at any given time without consulting your doctor.