Top Five Reasons You Should Go to the Emergency Room

A hospital’s emergency room is meant to serve patients in need of urgent
care. Millions of ER visits occur in the United States every year, but which
ones are completely necessary? Most ER physicians can agree on a list of
medical emergencies that should be addressed in the ER. Additionally Iasis
Utah Hospitals have posted wait times for their Emergency Departments on
UtahER.com for planning purposes.

1. Chest pain, discomfort, and burning:
These symptoms can be warning signs of a heart attack. It is common for
pain, discomfort, or burning to begin as a mild annoyance, which can
eventually grow stronger and spread through the back, arms, stomach,
neck or jaw.

2. Stroke symptoms:
A stroke is an interruption or blockage in blood circulation to the brain.
Symptoms
can happen suddenly and be severe or develop over a few hours. These
symptoms
include:

– sudden numbness, tingling, weakness, or loss of movement on one side
of
the body in the face, arm, or leg.
– changes in vision
– speech difficulties
– imbalance while walking
– confusion
– sudden, severe headache

3. Excessive/uncontrollable bleeding:
Although some cuts and other bleeding wounds can be easily controlled
and treated
with home care, those with 10 to 20 minutes of persistent bleeding after
applying
direct pressure can be much more serious than home care can handle.

4. Poisoning:
It is important to note that certain ingested poisons should be dealt with
immediately
at home. If possible, call the local poison control center. Preliminary home
treatment can save a life before the ambulance arrives.

5. Serious slips and falls:
Slip and fall injuries can be serious for anyone, but especially critical for the
senior population. As aging occurs, bone density and muscle strength
decrease, which affect the body’s ability to cope with and recover from
falling injuries.
A short-term, post slip and fall injury for a younger person can become a
long-lasting, even life-threatening, injury for a senior citizen.