Colds and illnesses often come with the decreasing winter temperatures. More people experience cold during the winter months than any other time of the year. It can be difficult to self diagnose a cold. It can be even harder to decide if medical consultation is needed. In most cases, a simple cold does not require a visit to your health professional. However, there are some circumstances that do warrant a visit to a medical professional, even with the common cold.
Are you unable to overcome the symptoms of the cold? The common cold can last a few weeks, even up to a month. However, you should not feel terrible that entire time. You may feel overly tired for the couple of days leading up to the full blown symptoms. You may feel the typical symptoms of a common cold for about a week, and then you should begin to get better. If your symptoms last longer than this, and they do not seem to be improving, it may be time to visit one of the local urgent care and clinics.
Are you unable to keep anything down? A little flu like sickness can come with common cold symptoms, but they should not be your main symptom. Also, if you are unable to keep food down for multiple days, it may be time to visit a local urgent care and clinics center. Multiple days without the ability to keep food and water down can quickly lead to dehydration. This can make your symptoms worse and make you feel worse, overall.
Are you running a constant high fever? A mild fever is normal, even with the common cold. Your body is attempting to fight off the cold, thus raising the temperature of your body. However, if you are unable to keep your temperature down or if your temperature remains above average for many hours or days, seek medical assistance. If you have a slightly above average temperature, you may be able to visit local urgent care and clinics. If your fever is extremely high, you may want to consider emergency care at your local emergency room.
Are you having any breathing difficulties? An important symptom to look out for is breathing difficulties. Colds can lead to inflamed breathing cavities, which can make breathing difficult. It is important to distinguish that a breathing difficulty is not the same as a feeling of stuffiness or congestion. Also, some medications can cause breathing difficulties. Having trouble with breathing may warrant a visit to the emergency department.
Are the cold symptoms in a very young child? Newborn babies and very young children do not have as strong of immune systems as adults do. They have more difficulty fighting off common colds than we do. If you have a young child that is battling the symptoms of a common cold, it is always a good idea to keep your medical professional in touch. If they are unreachable, you may consider bringing your child to one of the urgent care and clinics that specializes in pediatric care.
Urgent care centers are great medical resources for those dealing with common colds or illnesses. They are the great alternative to long wait times at your primary physician?s office and the inconvenience of the emergency department. Many urgent care centers today even have the ability to offer advanced diagnostic and laboratory services, making them a preferred choice for a convenient quality and cost. Roughly 60% of all urgent care centers have a wait time of less than 15 minutes to see a physician or mid level provider, and 65% have a physician on site at all times.
There are approximately 9,300 walk in, stand alone urgent care centers in the United States, and 50 to 100 new clinics open every year (numbers fluctuate with corporate buy overs, expansions and consolidations). Urgent care clinics average seven exam and treatment rooms, making the wait times much less than a traditional medical setting, such as your local emergency department. They are a great option for the common cold symptoms.