For parents, any sign of children in pain or distress can be cause for worry. If your child is sick or injured, you’ll probably consider taking them to a doctor, but what if your pediatrician has no appointments available, or you’ve recently moved, and you don’t have a pediatrician? You may be tempted to take them to the nearest urgent care, but here are some reasons to seek pediatric emergency care in North Charleston, SC.
1. They Have Experience
When you take your child in for a routine checkup, you probably don’t take them to your doctor for adults. You take them to a pediatrician, so why should their urgent care experience be any different? Pediatric urgent care centers, or pediatric offices with urgent care coverage, are trained and are used to treating children specifically. They know how to administer the correct dosages of medication and can spot common injuries or illnesses in children that a regular urgent care doctor could miss or treat incorrectly.
2. They Know How to Interact With Children
Not only should they have the education to properly treat children, pediatric emergency care doctors should be used to interacting with children to keep them calm during their visit. A knowledgeable doctor can explain what they’re doing in a way that involves the child in the process and alleviates fear, making the visit less stressful for everyone involved.
3. Kids Are Active
Children can attain all sorts of bumps, bruises, coughs, and rashes, but it can be difficult to tell when a medical issue becomes a true emergency. While more obviously severe instances, like broken bones or seizures, should warrant a trip directly to the emergency room, a sprain or a high fever can be treated by seeking pediatric emergency care in North Charleston, SC. If the injury or illness turns out to be more severe than you originally thought, the health care professionals should be able to arrange further care for your child at a nearby hospital.
Another thing to keep in mind is that the equipment in normal, urgent care facilities or doctor’s offices are typically meant to be used on adults, whereas pediatric doctor’s offices or urgent care facilities should have the correct equipment already on hand. Staff members without direct experience with children may be uncomfortable treating children, even if their ailment isn’t an emergency. If you don’t know whether your child’s injury or illness constitutes an emergency or not, you should consult a qualified doctor, and the experienced staff of a pediatric emergency care center can be a huge help. Contact Palmetto Pediatrics to get more information!
