There are many things that spring to mind when someone mentions going to the ER. Did they get a burn? A sting? Have a heart attack? Did they break a bone? Were they in a car accident? These are all common things that people will head to the ER for. One form of injury we don’t often think about is those involving the ear, nose, and throat. The most common forms of ENT injury seen at the ER are nose bleeds and fractures to the orofacial area (mouth, jaw, and face). Epiglottitis and peritonsillar abscesses also occasionally make an appearance. 

Common ENT Injuries Seen At The ER

• Sudden Hearing Loss – If you experience sudden hearing loss, there’s something clearly wrong. Trouble hearing properly may be the result of something simple, such as a build-up of fluid or wax in the ear. However, it can also be the result of something more serious such as nerve deafness. Facial paralysis, dizziness, and tinnitus are common symptoms that appear alongside hearing loss. 
• Nosebleeds – Nose bleeds are a common occurrence, and they may occur for any number of reasons. The majority of the time, a visit to an ER or even Urgent Care will be unwarranted. Generally, all that’s needed is to pinch the nose for 15 minutes, and the bleeding will stop. If this doesn’t work, however, it’s time for a visit to Urgent Care or the ER.
• Facial & Nasal Fractures – More than any other ENT injury, fractures and breaks to the nasal bone (the bridge of your nose) are common. Other types of fracture that Urgent Care and ER offices see are breaks of the eye socket, the cheekbone, or jaw. Regardless of which bone is broken, it calls for a visit to the ER.
• Tonsils & Adenoids – The discomfort and swelling caused by tonsillitis may not seem like a life-threatening condition, but it’s not safe to take that for granted. Strep throat, one of the common diseases behind tonsillitis, can cause a high fever and will not pass without antibiotics. More concerningly, the swelling of your tonsils may be the result of an abscess. These pockets of infection, known as peritonsillar abscesses, form behind the tonsil and must be drained and treated with antibiotics. Left untreated, they have the potential to pass the infection into your bloodstream, causing sepsis.
• Breathing Problems – Severe asthma, pneumonia, pulmonary embolism, influenza, and heart failure can all be sources of breathing difficulty. It’s also possible for this complication to be the result of a tumor or foreign body in the airway itself. Any difficulty with breathing should be addressed by a professional immediately.

See Your Physician For Any ENT Emergency

Any time you experience a medical emergency of any kind, a trip to the Urgent Care or ER is warranted. They’ll be able to address any immediate health concerns and stabilize you until you can see a primary care physician. While ENT emergencies aren’t common, they do need to be taken seriously. Don’t take a risk with your life; get to your Urgent Care immediately for any non-life-threatening medical emergency.

While car accidents can be quite serious, the majority of them amount to what appear to be minor fender benders. A trip to the hospital may largely seem unnecessary, even when soreness sets in the next day. No matter how inconsequential your accident may seem, it’s possible you didn’t escape unscathed. Some symptoms may be immediately apparent, while others may not appear for a day or two. It may startle you to learn that it’s possible that there are other injuries lying in wait that may not show any symptoms at all. They can persist and cause problems for years to come if not treated properly.

Prevent Lasting Injury After An Accident With These Tips

It’s an unfortunate truth of surviving an auto accident that you may have experienced invisible injuries that will cause you issues years down the road. These injuries may be hard to detect, taking months or even years to present with symptoms. Spinal misalignments in the back and neck may disguise themselves as sore muscles or a stiff back. Following these four tips can help you ensure that you address all the injuries you sustained during the accident, even the hidden ones.

• Seek Care Immediately – Regardless of whether your accident results in you going to a hospital, you should seek medical care. Fatigue, muscle aches, headaches, and other seemingly “minor” injuries are often shrugged off by those who’ve been in an accident. Unfortunately, these can indicate injuries to the spine, soft tissues, and of course whiplash. Weeks or months can pass before the injury presents with more serious symptoms.
• See Your PCP or Urgent Care First – As soon as the next day you should get yourself into Urgent Care. Sooner, if possible. Either way, follow up with your PCP as soon as possible. This will do two things that may benefit you. First, it will ensure that your PCP is keeping eye on any developing symptoms. Second, it will create a record of care in the event that more serious symptoms develop. This can be valuable if you are seeking recompense of your medical costs from an insurance company.
• Speak Honestly With Your Provider – As you’re receiving care, be sure to be honest and thorough with your provider. You need to let them know all the symptoms you’ve experienced, the circumstances of your accident, and when the symptoms began. A thorough medical history should also be provided if they aren’t your PCP.
• Be Inquisitive – Don’t just ask questions, ask LOTS of questions. Your health and safety are of eminent concern to your medical care provider. Asking plenty of questions helps you advocate for yourself and be an involved patient. Be certain to be clear about your experiences and symptoms, and insist on their being taken seriously. An engaged patient is certain to get the care they need.

These four tips will provide you with a solid foundation to get the care you need after an auto accident. It bears repeating that the care you receive following the accident can impact any recompense you receive from an insurance company. A full and comprehensive treatment plan should be developed to ensure that all aspects of the care needed are covered.

Act Quickly To Get Appropriate Care After Auto Accidents

When it comes to surviving an auto accident, so much hinges on getting care quickly. Even if your injuries aren’t life-threatening, the full extent of them may not manifest for weeks or even months. Seek help from your PCP or Urgent Care immediately afterward!

The idea of A.I. potentially replacing physicians sounds like something 50 years into the future, but many scientists and healthcare experts believe that A.I. may soon be entering into practice. A.I. may soon be working alongside physicians, and for urgent care practices, the integration of A.I. technology may help provide urgent care with better accuracy than ever before. Most of the medical community is optimistic about the use of A.I., and all have different visions of what the future will appear as for people everywhere. It’s right now unclear what the future of A.I. will look like, but with the various technologies we currently have in place, the concept of A.I. may not be so far off.

Our Current A.I. Technologies In Healthcare

Our outlook for A.I. technology comes with some great advancements for the healthcare industry, but it also comes with some debates about how A.I. will be used. One of the biggest benefits cited by experts is that it could provide greater access to underprivileged communities and lower healthcare costs. It can also potentially reduce the risk of medical errors, supply more healthcare services for those in emergency care facilities and outpatient practices, and free overworked physicians from the stressors of their careers.

However, there are also some potential downsides with A.I. in healthcare. The idea of data collections and privacy issues may become even more of a concern with the conception of A.I. Alongside that, A.I. could potentially overlook the needs of underserved communities and create biases based on collected data, resulting in failures to provide services for those in need. With that, it can also misdiagnose conditions and categorize conditions incorrectly based on preceding information.

Right now, we can’t know for certain how A.I. will be used. So, what technologies do we have now that may eventually be its predecessors? In order to provide more insight into A.I., the healthcare industry has technologies that apply A.I. techniques, including:

• Machine-Learning: Machine learning technology is a form of artificial intelligence that uses data and algorithms to uncover data insights used to improve industries. This type of technology within the healthcare industry investigates trends to provide better measures for patient care. Data science uses algorithms to classify and predict information based on data for businesses to answer questions about future healthcare problems.
• Deep-Learning: Although similar to machine learning, deep learning works with automating processes through raw forms of data, such as sounds and images, with performing tasks. Deep learning works to be more accurate than machine learning and doesn’t require as much human intervention, and some examples of this are voice recognition technology and imaging analytics for diagnosis.

How Urgent Care Works With A.I. Technology

As many healthcare practices are working on using A.I. at their practices, urgent care practices may potentially benefit from these types of services by providing faster means of analytics and diagnosis for various conditions. Temperature monitors, on-screen interfaces, and even telemedicine may also help improve the outlook of A.I. in urgent care, and while these systems still require improvements, they’re highly worth exploring if it means healthcare can be improved.  

The medical industry is constantly being modernized to meet the needs of today’s patients, and today’s technology plays a huge part in that advancement. Right now, our smartphones exceed the ability of what was once considered advanced over 30 years ago, among many devices that people would only think of in science fiction. Nowadays, the expanse into artificial intelligence has been making its way into the medical industry, and the latest studies have been stating that eventually, AI will play a huge role in diagnosis and treatment.

Personalized Medicine and The Introduction of Artificial Intelligence

New forms of medicine are being introduced, and one of the trending terms being used today to expand on patient’s care is “personalized medicine.” This type of medicine, also called precision medicine, tailors the medicines used to the patient and take into consideration things such as medical history, lifestyle, and the patient’s genetics, and are thus used to create treatment plans suited to the patient’s care. However, one of the biggest challenges for medical practitioners is how to handle personalized care. Altogether, it’s a daunting task and often lacks efficiency.

Artificial intelligence has the potential to accomplish these goals faster and more efficiently, which can provide immense benefits for patients needing personalized care. For instance, patients needing chronic care management for a traumatic spinal injury will need extensive, long-term treatment until their symptoms or condition subsides, and through the use of artificial intelligence, that patient can receive their treatments and care more effectively without having to rely on the waiting lists and other factors that may interfere with their treatment. Overall, AI has the potential to do many things, including:

• Processes large volumes of data effectively
• Identify and track patterns within data
• Recommend treatment options based on collected data
• Project anticipated outcomes from suggested treatments

These systems also have the ability to identify health risks before they become too severe and make connections using the patient’s medical data to provide preventative care. AI-powered precision medicine can become a possibility, but it will take a slew of revamping infrastructure to be able to integrate these new systems into today’s medical practices. Almost every part of the medical industry, from academic organizations to pharmaceutical companies, will need to take part in this initiative. However, today’s AI is still considered primitive by many researchers, and we still have a long way to go before we can begin thinking about advancing forward.

What To Expect In The Future of Medical Care

Once this type of technology advances far enough, it will provide huge advancements in the healthcare industry. Right now, we’re already seeing the works of telemedicine work their way into offices due to the onset of the Covid-19, which has already helped many reduce costs and disease spread. Sooner or later, technologies like artificial intelligence will make their way into practices, and hopefully, with the introduction of this technology, we’ll see more improvements in the healthcare industry and patients’ health.

When 2020 came and passed, many urgent care centers saw a massive increase in the number of visits due to the demand for Covid-19 symptomatic care, including the need for testing and vaccinations. At least half of the influx of patients seeking this type of care were new visitors, and because of this increased demand, urgent care centers have become a viable alternative for treatment in comparison to primary care centers and hospitals. As more urgent care centers continue to expand on their services from emergency to primary care, many patients often still face considerable challenges as the Covid-19 pandemic continues, thus leading to questions about how urgent care facilities can care for patients under these turbulent conditions.

To answer this, we’re here to give you a brief update on what guidelines are used to help keep patients safe and healthy during the pandemic and expand on how urgent care centers work to create a place for on-demand care.

The Urgent Care Industry and On-Demand Care

Visit volumes during the pandemic rose significantly over the past few years due to the high demands for Covid-19 related care. The pandemic has given urgent care clinics the opportunity to serve patients as a go-to option for Covid-related care, with a 58% increase in volume and about 70 million Covid-19 tests administered nationwide. Because of these record-breaking numbers, the urgent care industry has grown significantly since then, but the majority of this growth has come from single visits from new patients rather than multiple, repeating visits with ongoing patients.

These drastic changes in the healthcare industry have led many urgent care clinics to focus their efforts on retaining new patients as returning visitors. Strategic marketing efforts by these clinics have also led to standardization for Covid-19 protocols. These protocols, established by organizations such as the CDC, work to help keep patients safe during their single visits and multiple visits to these clinics and work to create exceptional experiences for patients needing healthcare.

The advancement of healthcare technology combined with these procedures has made urgent care clinics highly valuable assets in today’s industry, and even with unpredictable patient flows, urgent care clinics operate through these methods to help new patients gain treatment:

• Telehealth Services: Telehealth services, including video calls, texting, and phone calls, have been able to help reduce the spread of Covid-19 overall, helping patients assess their symptoms and remove scheduling barriers for tests, vaccines, and other treatments.
• Software Solutions: Texting software solutions, appointment organization methods, and other virtual methods for clinic management have helped enhance engagement with patients, making the scheduling process easier and creating more streamlined workflows.
• Detection and Disinfecting Solutions: Temperature scanners, wearing masks, hand sanitizer, and on-site screenings, many urgent care clinics have taken to these methods to care for episodic health problems and other immediate concerns faced by patients, all while reducing the spread of the virus to provide medical care.

Commitment To Safety and Health in Urgent Care

By following the CDC guidelines, these methods work to reduce not only infection rates but also manage non-Covid related health problems to meet these demands. The best way to find out about your urgent care centers and their protocols is to contact them today to learn more.

For most primary care and urgent care practices, enhancing the way care is delivered is a vital aspect of how today’s practices are run, especially when helping patients through chronic health conditions. Because of the huge amounts of demand for healthcare, the industry itself has been working to improve the conditions practices face by improving technological advancements. Through advancing these methods, we’re already seeing the results of how care is delivered to patients. Right now, many of the current pieces of technology we use to assist in allowing us to provide better treatments and a more comprehensive experience. Through these changes, healthcare providers will potentially shift their focus from treatment to prevention.

How Digital Technology’s Changing the Healthcare Industry

Research in disease pathology and biology improved with the addition of computerized data back in the 1970s and 1980s. Computerized data allowed the ability to store personal information in an electronic format, and because of this advancement, new scientific disciplines emerged. Studies in genomics, bioinformatics, and system biology helped the medical industry look deeper into disease pathology and its behaviors. From there, it’s led to some great advancements in chronic health treatments such as cancer, heart disease, and diabetes.

To dive deeper into this subject, many studies have been working with simulations for testing drugs through computerized biological systems. From these various tests, researchers have been able to help increase access to clinical trials for patients with chronic conditions, and because of the increase in participation in these studies, new intervention methods, medications, and management systems have been expanded upon to help people receive treatment. These advances also have the potential to reduce the need for emergency care and help reduce mortality rates across the general population.

All of these results came from having better access and advancements in technology. The healthcare industry can potentially support more advancements in chronic disease treatments, and if it advances enough, our healthcare systems can work towards prevention methods for diseases through lifestyle recommendations rather than treatment-focused methods that focus on prescription drugs and surgical methods.

Our Digital Technologies In Place Today

Our practices continue to implement the best technology out there to help our patients receive care, and as future generations begin to become more health-conscious, digital methods of treatment and communication have been able to help increase transparency, access to personal data, and chronic disease management. These technologies include:

• Telemedicine: Telemedicine has been a huge advancement for practices everywhere, as these methods of communication have helped many patients receive care without the unnecessary costs associated with appointments and social barriers often faced by patients in rural communities.
• Patient Management Software: Practices can work more effectively at organizing patient appointments and treatment plans through management software.
• Monitoring Systems: For those with chronic diseases, many apps and programs have been developed over the last ten years to help monitor various aspects of their nutrition and fitness levels.

Today’s practices rely on the advancement of digital technology, and through these improvements, our healthcare system can work to meet the needs of patients with chronic health problems and deliver better solutions all around.

As December rolls out and the winter is officially upon us, the holiday seasons can come with promising riches of presents, drinks, food, and staying inside are all great ways to enjoy the cold weather while it lasts. During this time, it can also be quite easy to stay indoors all winter and pack in those calories, making weight loss goals and other aspirations difficult to achieve before the new year. If you find yourself lacking in those goals, then we’re here to help you stay fit and warm during the winter season by giving you some great tips to follow to keep yourself healthy.

The Health Risks That Come With Winter

Winter comes with cold air, copious amounts of warm beverages, and excessively fatty foods that keep our bodies warm and comfy when snow, sleet, and chilly nights are ahead. Although winter is a wonderful time, winter is also filled with a lot of health risks that come with it. For those sensitive to health-related issues, winter can be disastrous due to these various factors:

• Asthma Attacks: One of the biggest triggers for those with asthma is freezing cold temperatures. Colder temperatures typically trigger these attacks, especially if the air is dry, as it irritates the lining in the airways and causes coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath. The more severe your asthma is, the more likely you are to suffer from an asthma attack during winter.
• Colds and Viruses: Besides the well-known Covid-19 virus, dry winter weather allows flu viruses to survive and transmit more easily, and close proximity to others during this time can easily spread these viruses and thus make your immune system more vulnerable.
• Excessive Weight Gain: As previously stated, weight gain problems are a huge problem as regular exercise becomes more difficult to maintain, especially as the holidays contain rich foods and larger meal portions.
• Seasonal Depression: Seasonal depression affects hundreds of people across the world due to the changes in seasonal patterns and hormone changes that affect your mood and energy.
• Heart Attacks: Heart attacks are also more common during winter due to strenuous activities that require more blood to be pumped through the heart. For those with heart disease, winter weather doesn’t bode well.

Tips To Keep Yourself Healthy This Winter

With the onset of winter comes many risks, but luckily you can combat those risks by staying healthy and active. Exercising at least 30 minutes per day can help keep your body weight managed and keep you cardioactive. Going outside during winter can help beat seasonal depression, decreasing your portion sizes, and paying attention to your body’s reactions to the cold can help you keep asthma and heart attacks away. If you would like more information about how to beat the winter blues and keep yourself safe from these winter hazards, then contacting your local primary doctor for an appointment can help you continue your good health and keep you warm and safe this winter.

Most people are aware of how bad sugar is in a general sense, as it commonly contributes to weight gain and obesity rates throughout the United States. However, because added sugars are found in almost every food product made today, added sugars have become one of the largest health risks over the past 20 years. For many, sugar is a sweet habit that’s addictive and hard to avoid, and for physicians, it is a terrible ingredient that’s causing more harm than good. We’re here to help you learn about the risks of eating too much sugar and help you find ways to curb your sugar cravings if you intend on dieting and eating healthier.

All The Sweet Dangers Of Added Sugar

One of the most frequent misconceptions about sugar is that all sugar is bad, but the relationship between sugar and our bodies is more complex than that. Natural sugars are often found in foods that contain carbohydrates, such as vegetables and fruits, and when it comes to the benefits these food groups have, whole foods that contain natural sugars are considered okay for our health. This is because fruits and vegetables also contain high amounts of fiber, antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals that our bodies need to sustain us.

However, it is when added sugars are present in our foods that trouble begins. Added sugars are mostly added to processed foods and are often found in food items we’d least expect, including bread, soups, and cured meats. On average, a person eats about 24 teaspoons of sugar each day, causing a huge impact on our bodies, causing long-term consequences that include:

• Heart Disease: Eating foods high in added sugar has been linked to high blood pressure and high amounts of inflammation throughout the blood vessels. It also has been linked to higher triglycerides, and thus has been connected to heart disease, which increases the risk of heart attacks.
• Type II Diabetes: When it comes to type II diabetes, added sugars have been known to increase insulin resistance, one of the primary indicators for this disease, causing blood sugar levels to rise and become unmanageable.
• Depression: Diets that are high in added sugars often lead to increased levels of dopamine throughout the system, and eating large amounts of processed foods has been associated with a higher risk of depression and mood swings.
• Obesity: Added sugars contribute to weight gain due to how these sugars influence our hormones. The hormones that regulate hunger increase, while the hormones that regulate satiation decrease, causing the body to store more energy eaten as fat than used by the body’s metabolism.
• Cancer: Some studies have shown that added sugars in high-fat diets have been linked to cancer because of their connection to inflammation throughout the body.

How To Limit Your Added Sugar Consumption

According to the American Heart Association, the organization recommends a minimum of 6 teaspoons of added sugar per day for women and a minimum of 9 teaspoons per day for men. While most foods today contain added sugars, some of the best ways to avoid added sugars is through drinking water instead of sugary drinks, reducing the amount of sugar in your morning beverage, checking your nutrition labels when picking out foods, and choosing unsweetened options for your favorite foods. For more information about eating a healthier diet, visiting your primary doctor for tips is the best place to begin enjoying your life healthier and happier.

Thanksgiving dinner may not sound so bad on the surface, and in a way, the main components of this large feast, such as the turkey, baked potatoes, and other items, are, in fact, healthy. However, this day is known as a day of splurging, overeating, and food comas make it a national pastime for gaining weight during the holidays. Luckily, with the right tips up your sleeve, you can have a healthier Thanksgiving that won’t hurt your weight or your budget.

Why Holiday Weight Gain is A Problem

Holiday weight gain refers to the average five pounds or more that most Americans gain in between the periods of Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day. This huge fluctuation in weight gain ultimately contributes to the overall average weight that adults throughout the US gain over the course of the entire year. While five pounds doesn’t sound terrible on the surface, if you consider how little people exercise today to remove weight, then that weight gain isn’t reversed but rather compounded into unhealthy proportions that are damaging to our health and quality of life.

While this isn’t the sole cause of today’s obesity rates, being overweight or obese can affect all aspects of our lives and lead to a poorer quality of life. This complex health issue results from numerous causes and factors and ultimately can lead to an increased risk of the following health conditions:

• High Blood Pressure
• High LDL Cholesterol
• Gallbladder Disease
• Stroke
• Heart Disease
• Osteoarthritis
• Type 2 Diabetes
• Sleep Apnea
• Multiple Types of Cancer

Most cases of obesity often result from behaviors and life choices, as regular activity and healthy eating are the only ways to prevent and remove excess weight gain. It is recommended by the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans that adults partake in at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity to stay healthy. As for healthy diets, taking extra shares of stuffing and cranberry sauce doesn’t help with weight loss either way.

How To Stay Healthy During Thanksgiving and Beyond

Thanksgiving is often a time to celebrate and enjoy a well-cooked meal with family members and loved ones, and during this time, there are plenty of ways you can stay healthy. Here are our suggestions for avoiding that uncomfortable turkey-and-stuffing coma and feeling great on Thanksgiving day:

• Eat Your Three Meals a Day: Eating your breakfast and lunch before your Thanksgiving dinner can help curve cravings for seconds and avoid that dreaded food coma.
• Exercise Before Your Meal: If you exercise for the day, you’ll be less hungry for dinner and feel good about working out your body.
• Switch Out Favorites For Vegetables: Instead of grabbing stuffing and green bean casserole, switch it out for seasoned vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots.
• Try Whole Grain Options: If you plan on making bread and stuffings, you can work with whole-grain options that are just as tastier.
• Grab Seconds with Smaller Plates: Taking smaller portions overall means you can go for seconds with your health in mind.

Thanksgiving is a nice, long-drawn-out meal that many people celebrate, and following these tips during this time means you’ll avoid weight gain during the holidays, keeping your body happy and healthy.

Concussions can happen at any point, and these traumatic brain injuries can lead to long-lasting effects. Concussions often result from a sudden jolt or blow to the head and cause the brain to shake inside the skull. This heavy impact can impact brain function temporarily, but these injuries can often leave behind long-term effects that impact memory, personality changes and can increase the risk of brain disorders later on in life. We’re here to help you by looking at the effects of concussions, how to seek help, and what to pay attention to with concussions to receive treatments.

Post-Concussion Symptoms and Their Effects

Any whiplash, accident, or bump to the head can cause a concussion, and while concussions most often happen to athletes and construction workers, anyone can get a concussion, as concussions most often occur during minor car accidents, accidental falls, or experiences of whiplash. According to the CDC, about three million people experience a concussion each year in the United States, and about 150 people die from traumatic brain injuries each day. If you’ve experienced any hard blow to the head, it’s essential to seek medical attention right away to remove the possibility of a concussion.

For many people, head injuries can be hard to notice, mainly as their symptoms most often occur hours to days after the experience. The after-effects of a concussion can ultimately result in long-term problems, and these risks increase if they’re ignored. If you’ve suffered a head injury, these are some of the initial symptoms you should look out for to determine if you should seek medical help:

• Persistent, severe headaches that worsen over time
• Unsteadiness and loss of balance
• Blurry vision
• Drowsiness and difficulty staying awake
• Weakness or numbness throughout the arms or legs
• Confusion and irritability
• Slurred speech
• Vomiting
• Seizures
• Blood/clear liquid from the ears and nose

When concussions develop long-term effects, it’s referred to as post-concussion syndrome. Post-concussion syndrome often starts as early as three weeks, causing concerning medical issues that require the help of mental health professionals and other specialists. Even mild concussions can develop this condition, and depending on the severity of the concussion, some individuals can face symptoms for months to years, leading to permanent disability. In these cases, it’s essential to pay attention to any unusual symptoms that occur from post-concussion syndrome, including:

• Memory Loss/Amnesia
• Personality Changes
• Progressive Brain Disorders
• Sleep Disturbances
• Loss of Taste/Smell

For any head injury, it’s essential to see your physician as soon as possible to help deter any long-term side effects. Visiting an urgent care practice can help remove those worries by performing diagnostic tests and after-care instructions for caring for your injury to help prevent these long-term effects from occurring. If you are unsure of how severe your head injury is, then the best place to go to receive treatment is through your local urgent care facility.