Springtime Colds, Allergies, And Urgent Care Centers: When Do You Need A Doctor?
Springtime colds and allergies are no fun. After a long winter, you are ready to be outside, but your sinuses and your body suddenly have plans to prolong bed rest. If you do stay in bed, how long is too long? When should you stop treating your symptoms on your own? Do you need to see your doctor, or will a doctor in an urgent care center do? Answers follow.
When the Cold Lasts Longer Than Ten Days
If you have a cold, it will be accompanied by a cough. When the cough, and your cold, does not go away after ten days (which is the maximum time most doctors allow for a cold), you should see a doctor. An urgent care doctor in this case is sufficient, unless the urgent care doctor suspects pneumonia and does not have access to an x-ray machine. Then you should try to see your own doctor as soon as possible.
When Allergies Are Accompanied by Sour Smells, Yellow or Green Mucous and/or Migraines
Allergies in the spring are pretty straightforward. The grass is coming up and the pollen from tree buds is popping. You may have all of the usual allergy symptoms, and the allergy medication you take works just fine. It is when the allergy medication does not seem to be working and/or you have a sour smell in your nose, you have yellow or green mucous discharge from your nose, and/or migraines. These symptoms are good indicators that your allergy has gone from an allergy to a sinus infection. Your allergy may still be present, but now you have something else more serious to contend with. An urgent care doctor will diagnose the problem and probably put you on an antibiotic, and possibly and anti-migraine medication too (if applicable).
When You Have a Fever
Fevers do not usually accompany colds and allergies. If you spike a fever and the fever hangs around, definitely seek urgent medical attention. A fever tells the doctor that there is something else more serious taking place in your body than a cold or an allergy. He or she has to find the source of this fever and vanquish it, or you may be feeling deathly ill for a while.
The Rest of the Time
The rest of the time, just rest. Symptoms will eventually subside, even though they are unpleasant right now. If you saw an urgent care doctor with anything less than the above issues, he or she would probably just send you home and tell you to rest anyway. For more information, contact establishments like La Costa Urgent Care.