Illness Care Services

Often, an illness can appear out of the blue. You wake up in the morning experiencing intense abnormal pain, stumble up a flight of stairs and get a swollen ankle, or your baby experiences a spike in fever. Regardless of your situation, you might be torn between seeking medical help from an urgent care clinic or an emergency room.

Therefore, it’s crucial to know when to go to urgent care or the emergency room to get the care you deserve. If you’re in the DFW Metroplex area, Citra Urgent Care offers high-quality urgent care services thanks to our compassionate and dedicated team. Here’s what you should know about our urgent care services.

Common Urgent Care Complaints

You can only seek medical help from urgent care services if you experience an illness that doesn’t need emergency treatment. Urgent care services are limited to specific medical problems, especially after-hour minor injuries or illnesses that don’t need complex medical intervention. Here are some of the common reasons for urgent care:

• Abdominal pain
• Fever without rashes
• Minor cuts that may need stitches
• Dehydration
• Persistent vomiting and diarrhea
• Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs)
• STD testing
• Treatment for minor lacerations requiring stitches, sprains, and fractures/broken bones
• Upper respiratory infections/symptoms like common colds and sore throats

If you’re experiencing any of the above symptoms within the DFW Metroplex, Citra Urgent Care is here to help you get quick medical care without the hassle of scheduling appointments with your primary doctor.

Difference between an Emergency Room and Urgent Care Services

Sometimes, you may wonder, should I go to the ER or urgent care while faced with a minor illness? Knowing the difference between these two will help you determine when to go to urgent care and if your medical problem needs emergency care services. Here’s a breakdown of the key difference between an ER and an urgent care service that will help you make the right decision:

Health Conditions Treated

Emergency rooms are meant to handle potential life-threatening conditions, while urgent care centers address non-life-threatening conditions. Urgent care can also treat non-urgent conditions such as STD testing, sore throats, and several day-to-day medical concerns that cannot be treated in emergency rooms.

Urgent care services are also suitable for illnesses or injuries without underlying conditions. For instance, you can seek treatment from an urgent care clinic if you have an earache. However, if you have an immune-suppressing medical condition or a history of cancer, you should seek help from an emergency room.

Hours of Operation

Emergency rooms operate 24/7, while urgent care services typically run on weekends and evenings and remain open until midnight. Emergency rooms are also part of large hospitals, are frequently busy, and prioritize severe cases first. Therefore, you may need to wait while seeking medical help from an ER. On the other hand, urgent care clinics like Citra Urgent Care allow walk-in services without scheduling an appointment.

Staff Members

When it comes to staff, emergency rooms are usually staffed with physicians, nurse practitioners, nurses, and assistants trained in emergency care services. Experts such as orthopedics, neurologists, cardiologists, and more are on call to handle severe problems.

Most urgent care are staffed with nurse practitioners, nurse assistants, and physician assistants, with some having physicians as staff members. These staff members can only diagnose and treat less severe medical problems.

Medical Equipment

Urgent care and emergency rooms also vary according to the equipment they’re equipped with. Emergency rooms have complex medical devices to treat severe conditions like major traumas from accidents, respiratory issues, cardiac arrest, and allergic reactions. In contrast, most urgent care facilities have X-rays and a site lab for less severe medical conditions.

Contact Us Today for All Your Medical Needs

Now, you’re clear on when to go to urgent care clinics. You can only seek medical help from these clinics if you’re experiencing symptoms that don’t need emergency care and complex diagnosis and treatment devices.

Are you seeking a convenient, affordable, reliable urgent care clinic in the DFW Metroplex? Look no further than Citra Urgent Care. Our family-owned and operated urgent care clinic provides exceptional healthcare services to our communities. Whether it’s an illness, lab and x-ray services, pediatric care, or rapid STI testing, we’re here to provide high-quality services to you. Contact us today or visit one of our locations to get help for all your medical needs.

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