Urgent Care for Kids in El Cajon, CA

If you cut your finger or have pain in your chest, should you go to the emergency room or would an urgent care center be a better option? It is a difficult decision. This should be helpful in making the right decisions to get the best care you need.
 
Life-threatening injuries, such as a serious head injury or a heart attack would require a visit to the emergency room. An injury or illness that doesn’t appear to be life-threatening and still needs quick attention should be treated at an urgent care center. Urgent care centers can provide easy access to quality healthcare at those times when your primary care doctor’s office is closed. At East County Urgent Care and Walk-In Clinic, a variety of services are available to meet your healthcare needs.

Deciding where to go for the proper care in a sudden or scary medical situation can be difficult. You might not know if going to the emergency room is necessary or if urgent care will provide the services you need.

The difference between urgent care and emergency care comes down to what defines a medical emergency. Urgent care focuses on conditions that require prompt care but are not life-threatening. At urgent care centers, you will find doctors and physician assistants who have training in emergency or family medicine. They are good at what they do and can identify when a specialist or the emergency room is required.

Urgent care centers will often have X-ray machines and labs to do basic testing. They are equipped to deal with minor procedures like splinting broken bones, stitching up wounds, or draining an abscess.

A couple of other reasons to go to urgent care are that you will likely see a doctor sooner than you would in an emergency room and urgent care centers are less expensive.

Children get sick and they also have accidents. Often, these are not life-threatening concerns but still require immediate attention. Some of these health concerns can be treated quickly at an urgent care center.
 
Children get sore throats, earaches, and infections. Strep throat is fairly common and left untreated can become serious. If treated early, it doesn’t require an emergency room. Urgent care centers often have

lab equipment to test for infections like strep.
 
Children have accidents and end up with sprains and broken bones. Most urgent care centers will be able to deal with it quickly and effectively.
 
They can deal with the common illnesses that children acquire. Colds, cases of flu, and pink eye do not require a visit to the emergency room. But sometimes they require attention when a primary care physician isn’t available.

Children will swallow the wrong things from time to time. If your child has swallowed the wrong thing and they aren’t having trouble breathing, then urgent care is a good option. If they are having trouble breathing, then call 911 or take them to the emergency room.

Cuts and burns are also part of growing up. Minor burns and shallow cuts can be treated at an urgent care center. Most of the time, these issues can be readily treated without a trip to the emergency room.

Urgent care can provide the care that adults and children may need for acute illnesses and injuries that are not life-threatening. Many urgent care centers can treat children and will when needed. There are benefits to going to an urgent care center that does pediatric urgent care.
 
An urgent care center that does pediatric urgent care will have a pediatrician on staff. They will have staff who are trained to diagnose and treat children. They will also have the equipment and resources needed to treat common children’s health issues. We serve patients from El Cajon CA, Wells Park CA, Hillsdale CA, Alpine CA, Rancho San Diego CA, Santee CA, and Jamul CA.