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Is It a Medical Emergency?

Even healthy kids get hurt and sick sometimes. In some cases, you may panic and want to head straight to the emergency room at the nearest hospital. In other cases, it's more difficult to determine whether an injury or an illness needs the attention of a medical professional, or whether you can take care of it at home.

Ultimately, different problems require different levels of care. And when your child needs some sort of medical help, you have lots of options...

Even healthy kids get hurt and sick sometimes. In some cases, you may panic and want to head straight to the emergency room at the nearest hospital. In other cases, it's more difficult to determine whether an injury or an illness needs the attention of a medical professional, or whether you can take care of it at home.

Ultimately, different problems require different levels of care. And when your child needs some sort of medical help, you have lots of options:

* Handle the problem at home. Many minor injuries and illnesses, including some cuts, poison ivy rashes, coughs, colds, scrapes, and bruises, can be handled with home care and over-the-counter (OTC) treatments.
* Call your doctor. This is a good option in most cases. If you're unsure of the level of medical care your child needs, your child's doctor - or a nurse who works in the office - can help you determine what steps to take and how to take them.
* Visit an urgent care center. An urgent care center can be a good option at night and on weekends when your child's doctor may not be in the office, but it's not necessarily a medical emergency. At these clinics, you can usually get things like x-rays, stitches, and care for other minor injuries that aren't life threatening yet require medical attention on the same day.
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