# Emergency Room or Urgent Care? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 15, 2012, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emergency-room-or-urgent-care/625257 "2012-06-15T17:08:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2012, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emergency-room-or-urgent-care/625257/1 "2012-06-15T17:08:01Z")
I am sorry if this kind of is breaking the rules, I know that asking for medical advice on here is kind of frowned upon. Feel free to close the thread if it’s a violation, and I apologize in advance if so. I have some sort of terrible flu, and haven’t been able to hold down any water whatsoever for several hours now. I try drinking even the smallest amount and it either comes back up out my mouth or out my ass. Pretty terrible and gross. I’m worried about dehydrating, so I need to go see a doctor, and I’ll be leaving here soon to do just that. I was just wondering how serious it is. I don’t feel like my life is in danger immediately, because I don’t know how likely it is I could dehydrate to the point of passing out/death, etc. It has only been going on for about 5 hours now or so. I feel very, very thirsty, light headed, kind of dizzy, very weak… but I can get up and walk around and I’m aware of what’s going on. That being said, do any of you have an opinion on whether I should go to urgent care or to an ER? Money doesn’t really matter to me unless it’s obscenely more expensive. Will they be able to help me at an urgent care facility? Thanks so much. ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2012, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emergency-room-or-urgent-care/625257/2 "2012-06-15T17:15:27Z")
If you feel that you may need IV hydration, an ER would be the way to go. Most urgent care centers don’t do that. The only thing an urgent care would be able to do for you is collect a stool sample to send to the lab to see if you have food poisoning or other infection, and to give you a prescription for diarrhea/vomiting. ETA: I, personally, would not seek medical attention for this unless I were very old, very young, or immunocompromised, unless it lasted for more than 24 hours. But your MMV. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2012, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emergency-room-or-urgent-care/625257/3 "2012-06-15T17:21:40Z")
I’d say go to the ER and take a cab. If you’re light-headed, dizzy and think you need medical care, you probably shouldn’t be driving. And, if they hang onto you for a while, you don’t want to have to deal with wherever your car’s parked. Speaking as a guy who drove himself to the ER once and ended up spending a day in the ICU with diabetic ketoacidosis… they were kinda surprised, because most people who show up with that are in a coma. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2012, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emergency-room-or-urgent-care/625257/4 "2012-06-15T17:22:06Z")
> [@drewtwo99](#): > > I am sorry if this kind of is breaking the rules, I know that asking for medical advice on here is kind of frowned upon. Feel free to close the thread if it’s a violation, and I apologize in advance if so. We relaxed the rules on medical and legal advice some time ago. Now they’re OK in IMHO (but not in GQ). We just want to emphasize that free advice is only worth what you pay for it.😉 ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2012, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emergency-room-or-urgent-care/625257/5 "2012-06-15T17:26:12Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > I’d say go to the ER and take a cab. If you’re light-headed, dizzy and think you need medical care, you probably shouldn’t be driving. And, if they hang onto you for a while, you don’t want to have to deal with wherever your car’s parked. > > Speaking as a guy who drove himself to the ER once and ended up spending a day in the ICU with diabetic ketoacidosis… they were kinda surprised, because most people who show up with that are in a coma. Concur. With bells on. ---
**Author:** ![peedin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peedin/32/14095_2.png) [@peedin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peedin)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2012, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emergency-room-or-urgent-care/625257/6 "2012-06-15T17:32:07Z")
We just had this discussion at lunch. At the hospital where I work. The consensus was “if you need an ambulance to get there, go to the ER. If you can drive yourself, go to convenient care.” ---
**Author:** ![Amasia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ba9def/32.png) [@Amasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amasia)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2012, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emergency-room-or-urgent-care/625257/7 "2012-06-15T17:35:53Z")
The emergency room will be obscenely more expensive. Do you have health insurance or any sort of primary care MD? If so, can you call them and ask for a recommendation? ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2012, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emergency-room-or-urgent-care/625257/8 "2012-06-15T17:39:13Z")
> [@peedin](#): > > We just had this discussion at lunch. At the hospital where I work. The consensus was “if you need an ambulance to get there, go to the ER. If you can drive yourself, go to convenient care.” Not necessarily. There are quite a few scenarios where you could drive yourself and still should go to a hospital instead of urgent care. One example would be if you had a facial laceration- you could drive yourself, yet an urgent care would send you to an ER because you’d need a plastic surgery consult. ---
**Author:** ![lavenderviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/cdc98d/32.png) [@lavenderviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lavenderviolet)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2012, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emergency-room-or-urgent-care/625257/9 "2012-06-15T17:49:16Z")
If you go to the ER, they will probably give you an IV so they can give you some fluid and some medication to stop the vomiting (likely zofran). You’ll probably be more comfortable that way, so nobody would blame you for going to the ER for this even though it may not be strictly an “emergency”. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2012, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emergency-room-or-urgent-care/625257/10 "2012-06-15T18:04:18Z")
> [@Amasia](#): > > primary care MD? +1 You just sound sick. ER is for emergencies, which your situation does not sound like. Eat bananas, rice, applesauce and toast, in small amounts to start off. You might also want to get some pedialyte to drink. The electrolytes will be good for you. If it’s your symptoms are continuing for 24 hours, then go to the quack shack. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2012, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emergency-room-or-urgent-care/625257/11 "2012-06-15T18:08:29Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > +1 You just sound sick. ER is for emergencies, which your situation does not sound like. > > Eat bananas, rice, applesauce and toast, in small amounts to start off. You might also want to get some pedialyte to drink. The electrolytes will be good for you. If it’s your symptoms are continuing for 24 hours, then go to the quack shack. The OP can’t even keep water down. I would also go to the ER. ---
**Author:** ![Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Living_Well_Is_Best_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2012, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emergency-room-or-urgent-care/625257/12 "2012-06-15T18:09:29Z")
This doesn’t sound like an emergency to me. I’d wait and see a little while longer. Try to drink a gatorade or something like to get yourself hydrated when you feel you can keep something down. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2012, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emergency-room-or-urgent-care/625257/13 "2012-06-15T18:15:43Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > The OP can’t even keep water down. > I would also go to the ER. Water is harder to keep down when you’re sick, than the items I listed. ---
**Author:** ![Lasciel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e79b87/32.png) [@Lasciel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lasciel)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2012, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emergency-room-or-urgent-care/625257/14 "2012-06-15T18:22:15Z")
If you can’t even keep down water right now, you’re pretty bad off, but it’s not immediately fatal. If you’re willing to wait for a bit, I’d try the following: swish your mouth out with fresh water every 5 or so minutes. Don’t actively try to swallow any, but don’t forcefully spit it out either, just let it sort of dribble back out (being in the shower or bath is useful for this). Afterwards, when you swallow normally, there will be just a teency bit of water getting into your system. If you keep that down, do it again in 5 minutes. If you keep both of those down, switch to about 1/3 gatorade to 2/3 water, and go again. If you keep that down, go again. Then slowly work the percentages of gatorade up, and keep “not drinking” every 5 minutes. Once you’ve gone about an hour after you started the gatorade without puking, then try a single small swallow of plain water again. (you wanna wait so long so if you puke up the swallow of water, you’ve had a chance to get some of the electrolytes from the gatorade into your system.) If you keep that down, you should be on the mend - switch to straight gatorade and take \*very small sips \*every 10 minutes or so. I wouldn’t try any food at all until tomorrow if it were me. If instead that first real swallow makes you puke again, or you’re still dizzy, call your GP and get him to officially tell you to go to the ER. Better chance of insurance coverage that way. If it were me, I’d tough it out for a half-day - try to sleep through the worst and hope that it was more settled when I woke up, but then it’s going on to the weekend, and there’s no guarantee that you’ll feel better later on. Sorry to hear that - stomach problems suck ass. ---
**Author:** ![Lasciel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e79b87/32.png) [@Lasciel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lasciel)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2012, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emergency-room-or-urgent-care/625257/15 "2012-06-15T18:23:48Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > Water is harder to keep down when you’re sick, than the items I listed. Maybe just an anecdote, but I didn’t find that ANYTHING solid was keep-downable when I was in the throes of puking my guts up. The only thing that really worked was diluted gatorade, and sucking on (but not swallowing) saltine crackers. ---
**Author:** ![Farmer\_Jane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Farmer\_Jane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Farmer_Jane)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2012, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emergency-room-or-urgent-care/625257/16 "2012-06-15T18:32:36Z")
Check for an urgent care that has IVs. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2012, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emergency-room-or-urgent-care/625257/17 "2012-06-15T18:44:01Z")
I know you really don’t want to hear a paperwork/bureaucratic answer, but it is something that may impact your decision. Do you have medical insurance? If so, does it cover an urgent care visit? Anyone have an idea what an urgent care visit might cost with an uninsured (or the insurance won’t cover it) visit? I know, I know. But at the same time, the OP might have financial concerns that are impacting the decision to seek help, let alone choosing between urgent care and and ER visit. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2012, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emergency-room-or-urgent-care/625257/18 "2012-06-15T19:19:59Z")
> [@Duckster](#): > > But at the same time, the OP might have financial concerns that are impacting the decision to seek help, let alone choosing between urgent care and and ER visit. > [@drewtwo99](#): > > Money doesn’t really matter to me unless it’s obscenely more expensive. … ---
**Author:** ![Becky2844](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Becky2844](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Becky2844)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2012, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emergency-room-or-urgent-care/625257/19 "2012-06-15T20:11:09Z")
I’m with **Omar Little** ; water is the hardest thing to keep down when you’re sick. Our household magic potion is flat 7UP. But if you’re feeling bad enough to consider medical help I think I’d go to the ER. My husband drove himself to the hospital while having what turned out to be a very bad heart attack. Stupid, stupid man. I almost had one myself when they called me. I told him later that if he didn’t care about himself, at least think about the people he could have killed while he died on the highway and took out another car or two along with him. ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2012, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emergency-room-or-urgent-care/625257/20 "2012-06-16T01:21:15Z")
Let us know how you’re doing Drew. Being sick is the pits. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emergency-room-or-urgent-care/625257.md?page=2)