Reasons to Visit the Emergency Room

The following is a list of symptoms which require a visit to the emergency room:

• Loss of consciousness.

• The following signs of a heart attack which last longer than two minutes: Pressure, fullness, squeezing or pain in the center of the chest; tightness, burning or aching under the breastbone; chest pain with lightheadedness.

• The following signs of a stroke: sudden weakness or numbness of the face, arm or leg on one side of the body; loss of vision or dimness suddenly, especially if it’s in one eye; inability to talk, or trouble talking, or understanding someone else talking; a severe and sudden headache with no explainable cause; dizziness, unsteadiness, sudden falling which are unexplained, particularly if they occur with other symptoms of stroke.

• More than normal shortness of breath.

• Bleeding which continues even after the application of direct pressure for ten minutes.

• Sudden, instantaneous and severe pain.

• Poisoning- however it is important to note that if it is at all possible to contact a poison control center first, it is better to get immediate advice. There are some poisons that need to vomited-up immediately, and others which need to be diluted with water immediately. Quick action in this regard can save a life.

• If there is an allergic reaction to an insect bite, sting or medication, particularly if it becomes difficult to breath. The symptoms become worse over time.

• Traumatic and serious head injury.

• Disorientation, sleepiness, or stupor which is unexplained.

• Coughing or vomiting up blood.

• Sever vomiting which is unabated.

• Feelings of a suicidal or homicidal nature.

Handle with Care: Emergency Room Care

There is a growing trend today to go to the emergency room even when there is no indication of a real emergency. In many cases people are refraining from scheduling a visit with their doctor in favor of an expensive and uncomfortable emergency room visit.

Non-emergency patients may find that they have to wait upwards of 2 hours or more to be seen by a physician in the emergency room. This is due to the fact that the ER practices triage, a system which assures that the most urgent cases, the real emergencies, get the immediate care that they need without having to wait on line. In many cases in real emergencies having to wait for care could mean the difference between life and death.

But what about the in-between cases in which one is not sure whether they are experiencing a “real” emergency or it is something better seen by your doctor in his office after scheduling an appointment.

The first rule is that if you believe you are experiencing a medical emergency, then you should not hesitate to go to the ER. Short of that, it might be prudent to first call your regular doctor, describe your symptoms, and have your doctor help you decide what you should do. It is possible that your doctor will tell you to come to his office to check you, and squeeze you in between his regularly scheduled patients to be sure you either do or do not need to go to the ER.
Most primary care doctors are available 24 hours a day, or else are part of a practice with a group of doctors in which there is always someone on call.

It is a good idea to become familiar with the kind of symptoms requiring an ER visit. The American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) published a booklet describing the signs and symptoms of illnesses and injuries which need immediate medical attention in an emergency room. To receive a free copy you can call the ACEP at 800-446-9776.

Helping to Create a Smooth Emergency Room Visit

Certainly, when you go the emergency room, there are many things that you can’t control. You can’t control how long you’ll have to be there, how many people need more urgent care than you do, or what the doctors will find. There are, however, certain things that you can control and the more that you take advantage of these items, the more smooth your process may be.

1. Id and insurance: If you have insurance, make sure to bring it with you to the emergency room. Bring the identification materials for the patient as well. If you bring your child for care, for instance, it’s not enough to bring your insurance materials. Bring the child’s materials.

2. Don’t bring a crowd: There are enough people in the emergency room – they don’t need extra people around. If you bring your child for care, don’t bring along the grandparents, both parents and siblings. One caregiver, or two at the most, is enough company for the patient.

3. Health record: If the patient has pre-existing conditions or medicines, make sure to bring materials on these issues. If they take medications, for instance, make sure you’ve got the name of each medicine and the dose. The emergency room doctors aren’t clairvoyant. They can only work with the materials that they have in front of them, and the more that you provide them with information, the better off they will be in creating good care.

4. Provide information: Along these lines, make sure to be upfront with the doctors. If you’ve brought your elderly father for care and he had two alcoholic drinks earlier in the evening, don’t hide this fact. If you noticed a bull’s eye on your son’s skin, but you assume it’s nothing, don’t blow it off! This small detail might be the difference between diagnosing Lyme’s Disease and missing it entirely.

Emergency Care Tips

As Benjamin Franklin said, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” This is certainly true when it comes to emergency room care. The more that you plan for an emergency, as ironic as that sounds, the more smooth the situation will be when there is really a crisis. For this reason, here are a number of tips for emergency room trip preparation.

Before anyone in the house needs to go to the emergency room, here are the things that should be done:

1. Keep all emergency numbers by the phone. These should include the police, the fire department, the poison control center, the name and number for your primary care doctor, and your insurance carrier. In time of a crisis, people often forget things and having them right by the phone will be very helpful. In addition, if you have a babysitter in the house or someone else, they’ll know how to get in touch with the help they need.

2. Know what your insurance policy covers. Before anyone needs emergency care, find out what to do in case of an emergency. Do you have to call your primary care physician first and get permission to go to the emergency room? Are certain emergencies covered by your insurance, while others aren’t? Do your homework now so that you don’t pay out of pocket later.

3. Have a list of all medications that you take and allergies that you have. This list should be in an easily accessible place, either with your health insurance card or on your Blackberry in an obvious place. Someone else should know where you keep this information, in case you can’t tell anyone about it when you need emergency care.

These preventative steps can make a big difference when an emergency strikes.

Show Patience as a Patient in the Emergency Room

If you end up in the emergency room for any reason, you’ll certainly want to know what to expect. Some people have the misconception that they will show up, be seen immediately, and be treated without any wait. This is simply not the case in most of the emergency rooms in the country, and here’s why.

When you first enter the emergency room, you’ll probably undergo a triage process. This is the process by which patients are seen and evaluated. The nurses and doctors need to look at each patient, decide how quickly the patient needs care, and then decide where the patient should go next. Obviously, people with the most urgent needs will be seen first. While you may get annoyed that others are going in front of you, the emergency room isn’t a place that waits on people on a first come, first serve basis.

You will probably have to wait for awhile to be seen, and then wait for awhile to be evaluated. Don’t think that you’ve been ignored or that the medical staff doesn’t care about you. They are working their way through the patients as quickly – and professionally – as they can. They do want to treat you – they just have to do so in order of need. They also might be waiting for lab results or x-rays to return; they may be waiting for a bed to open up for you; or they might been dealing with other patients.

Keep these ideas in mind as you enter the emergency room, and know that you will be treated by a professional staff that wants you to get back home as soon as possible.

Emergency Room - Be Prepared

Sure it seems ironic to plan for an emergency room visit. However, when you’re having trouble breathing or you’ve hurt yourself, you’re not going to take the time to get organized. If you are organized when you’re not hurt and not under pressure, it will help you to have a much smoother experience, should you need to visit the emergency room at some point.

You should always have your identification materials and your insurance materials together – and with you. If something happens to you when you aren’t home, and you’re taken to the emergency room in an ambulance, you’ll certainly want to have a way for them to identify you and to check your coverage. How many of us have run out of the house “just for a second” to buy something carrying only a $20 in our pocket? Or, who hasn’t gone jogging, carrying nothing but the iPod? It’s really quite important to make sure that you always have your identification on you.

You should also check with your health insurance company to know exactly what is covered in your plan. If you have an emergency that you think needs immediate care, will they cover it? What about if you have broken a limb? Have a terribly sore throat? Have a reaction to a rash? Finding out exactly what is covered and what isn’t with your emergency room care can save you hours of headaches – and bills – later.