Telehealth has become a vitally important part of today’s healthcare, and for urgent care practice, patients can highly benefit from telehealth services as they can provide meaningful, responsive interactions in urgent care scenarios. Telehealth has been rising over the last ten years, as the integration of telehealth services has nearly doubled in growth, and about 75% of today’s hospitals in the United States now use telehealth services as part of today’s standard of care. Over time, more practices will be able to integrate these systems into their models of treatment, and for patients, it provides them with the security they need to address medical problems and find treatments. But what exactly is telehealth all about? Here’s how it’s changing everything.

How Does Telehealth Work in Today’s Healthcare

Telehealth refers to telecommunication and electronic technologies we use every day to provide healthcare services at a distance. A sub-branch of this, called telemedicine, works by delivering medical treatments from a distance, such as a physician interacting with a patient at a different location. Telehealth, however, covers a broader range of services, incorporating aspects of low-risk urgent care, medication management, chronic condition monitoring, and health coaching sessions.

Because of today’s technology, patients can now access their health services through chat, voice calls, phone, email, patient portals, and even monitoring devices. All of these methods provide different forms of communication, allowing physicians to monitor their patient’s health, communicate with patients at different times, and review information for health conditions.

How Can Telehealth Be Used In Urgent Care

In urgent care, telehealth services can provide patients in urgent situations with the resources they need in a timely manner. Telehealth can be argued as being more crucial in certain situations due to its reliable forms of communication. But in regards to what types of visits can be used, how physicians can treat patients and other means of urgent care services, patients can experience multiple benefits, including:

• Eliminates Unneeded ER Visits: For patients faced with urgent but not emergency situations such as severe allergies, coughing fits, and other conditions, patients can determine with their urgent care physicians what their conditions are and what treatments they need removing the need for ER visits.
• Reduces Illness Exposure: Patients faced with illnesses or chronic immune deficiencies can reduce the risk of illness exposure from others by opting into telehealth visits with their physicians. In urgent scenarios, physicians can provide recommendations and referrals to specialists.
• Improved Timeliness of Care: Telehealth appointments also work to improve the quality of care, providing a quick and easy way to receive treatment in a timely manner.
• Lifesaving Consultations: Patients under significant stress related to their symptoms can find lifesaving resources and, if necessary, be recommended to ER services for further treatment.

Telehealth comes with many benefits for urgent care. If you need urgent care and are unable to find the time or resources for an in-person appointment, reach out to your local urgent care practice to find out about treatment options, specialists in your area, and ways your urgent care physician can help promote better health. 

If you’ve ever had a UTI or urinary tract infection, you’re familiar with the impossible and uncomfortable it can be. This bacterial infection causes a burning sensation when sufferers urinate while giving them a persistent need to urinate. When you feel the symptoms of this condition coming on, you may think it’s time to schedule a doctor’s appointment. However, the longer you wait, the more severe the infection. It will take longer for you to overcome it and finally get relief. Find out why a trip to Urgent Care may be the right move by learning more about UTIs.

Facts About UTIs And Why To Use Urgent Care

• Women Get UTIs More Often By Men – UTIs are nearly 10x more likely to happen to women than men. The shortness of the urethra in women increases the likelihood that bacteria will be able to make it to the bladder. Once there, they begin to multiply. 20% of all women will have a UTI during their lifetime. Those who contract one are more likely to contract another later.
• UTIs Aren’t Always Caused By Sex – Getting a UTI after sex is a well-known phenomenon, with 80% of premenopausal women with UTIs reporting sexual activity in the last 24 hours. However, it’s not the only cause. UTIs tend to occur more often with a new partner.
• Genital Irritation Doesn’t Always Mean a UTI – The symptoms of a UTI are common to many concerns. Foul-smelling urine, pain while peeing, and pain and pressure in the lower abdomen can indicate a number of concerns. In elderly patients, confusion is one of the more common symptoms. However, it can also point to a yeast infection, bacterial vaginosis, or an STI.
• Urgent Care Can Treat UTIs – Your OB/GYN or PCP can be excellent resources following a trip to Urgent Care. Stopping in at your local UC clinic ensures that your condition is addressed promptly. Following up with your PCP or OB/GYN is a good way of discussing its occurrence and changing things to prevent more in the future.
• UTI Pain Can Be Mitigated With Home Remedies – Antibiotics are an important first step in helping overcome a UTI. However, you can take steps to prevent them in the future. This includes increasing your intake of fluids, especially water. Warmth can help ease the pain associated with urinating and topical pain, including the Irritation you may be experiencing.

Our Urgent Care Team Is Ready To Help You Tonight!

Aside from prevention, the best thing you can do for a UTI is to get treatment as promptly as possible. Acting quickly will ensure you catch it when it can most easily be treated and limit how long you suffer with them. Visiting your local urgent care will immediately lead you to relief from UTI symptoms. After that, it’s time to follow up with your primary care team to ensure that you can prevent a recurrence in the future.

The advance in digital technology has had a profound impact on our world. How we interact with our loved ones, form friendships, do business, and even receive medical care has felt its touch. While there is reasonable caution about the potential risks of integrating our physical and virtual selves, the benefits are unquestionable. One area that demonstrates this soundly is that of medical wearable devices. These innovations have made it possible to track patient conditions more thoroughly and get better diagnostic data than ever before. This data, in turn, results in more effective care and faster outcomes for all involved.

How Patients And Doctors Benefit From Wearables

Testing and monitoring patient health is part of the diagnostic process that requires a hospital stay. Even in cases where this wasn’t necessary, there would be inconvenient visits to the office. These visits often involved stress tests in determining if triggering a patient’s reported symptoms was possible. This was an inefficient and often ineffective method of collecting this information. It was difficult to provide a proper diagnosis without the ability to trigger the patient’s symptoms. Further, even with a diagnosis, it could be difficult to determine a proper treatment with the data provided.

Wearable Medical Devices allow this information to be collected more naturally. As patients go about their day, the device reports back to the doctor. By remotely monitoring the heart rate, blood pressure, and other biometrics, the doctor gets an image as it occurs during the patient’s day. This allows the doctor to see the flare-ups of their condition as the patient experiences them and understand the circumstances surrounding it. The result is a better ability to diagnose and prescribe treatment for the condition. Some forms of wearable medical devices include:

• VivaLNK Continuous Temperature Sensor Patch – This device tracks the patient’s body temperature as they go about their day. It can deliver ongoing feedback for as long as the patient wears it. This is an effective tool for doctors working with patients with conditions such as fibromyalgia. The data from this device has led to a deeper understanding of the condition and better treatment for sufferers.
• Mojo Lenses – These lenses are an incredible innovation that brings data directly and discretely to the patient. While wearing the lenses, the patient has a HUD (Head’s Up Display) that provides information about their heart rate, blood pressure, and other conditions. It can also provide important information to the patient that allows them to navigate better. The applications of this device are only just beginning to be explored.

Some devices aren’t designed to report information back to the doctor. One example is Immunotouch. Scientists created this innovative device during the COVID-19 pandemic to remind patients not to touch their faces. The device would notify them anytime they reached for their face. This reminder helped to prevent them from contracting the COVID-19 infection.

Your Physician Can Provide Wearable Device Options

Speak to your physician to determine what types of wearable medical devices may be appropriate for your health conditions.

Modern technology seems to know no bounds. We can watch our favorite shows from anywhere on tablets or smartphones. With a few quick taps and swipes, we can get answers to almost any question we can imagine. The instant a book is released, we can have it on our phones without even visiting the bookstore. All of this has profoundly affected our quality of life and educational options. However, not all of the impacts of modern technology have been positive. With all this connectivity comes a host of new problems, and medical science is just beginning to grasp the range of these concerns. Mental and physical health can be impacted by spending excessive time glued to a screen.

The Verdict Is In On The Risks Of Excessive Screen Time

The presence of this technology in our lives has significant impacts we may not immediately notice. Its ever-present nature has shown that these seeming miracles of technology have altered the way we live, the way we exercise, and even the way we love. In all of this, there were inevitably going to be some regrettable impacts. Below are four known consequences of spending too much time in front of an electronic screen:

• Higher Rates Of Developmental Delay: Make no mistake, the amount of information available online can increase book smarts in impressive ways. However, there are risks in younger children. Those who spend greater than two hours a day using an electronic device can have difficulty developing interpersonal skills and building language. The impact is often most strongly felt in their ability to relate to other people in real-world environments.
• Poor Sleep Quality: Many people use their phones to wind down at the end of a long day. Surprisingly this can significantly impact the quality of sleep they get. It’s common for people to sleep less and sleep more poorly when using a device right before sleep. Doctors suggest getting away from your digital device for at least half an hour before falling asleep to counteract this effect. Blue-light filters put on your device can also help.
• Heightened Obesity Rates: Obesity has been an ongoing battle in the United States for many years. The introduction of numerous digital devices in our lives has only aggravated this reality. Obesity isn’t just about additional weight and impaired physical health. It has also been shown to be connected to mood disorders, anxiety, depression, and other mental impacts that can impair our quality of life.

These factors just scratch the surface of what we’re learning about the impact of electronics on our day-to-day life.

The Positive Effects of Screen Time

We must address the dual nature of our new digital reality. There are impressive and far-reaching benefits to the access we have to information today. People can make friends and connect across vast distances. Online friendships can become as essential to our mental health and are just as valid as physical in-person friendships. The concept that these digital friendships aren’t as important or real as traditional friendships are outdated and incorrect. In addition to these elements, the digital world helps shrink our world. It also shows that despite our differences, we all come with the same concerns. The future of our world is indelibly going to mix digital and physical realities more as time goes on. We must take care of both these worlds and learn to live while straddling them.

There are millions of people all over the world who come down with a case of pneumonia each year. In the US alone, there are nearly 120 million cases annually. One common misconception about Pneumonia is that it is a disease in and of itself. The term describes the appearance of multiple symptoms together. This means the underlying cause of Pneumonia can vary significantly, with a common source being the flu. Keep reading to learn more about Pneumonia.

What To Know About Pneumonia And Its Treatment

Since Pneumonia is a collection of symptoms resulting from other conditions, it comes in many forms. When Pneumonia bacterial infection causes pneumonia, antibiotics may be able to help treat it. When Pneumonia is, instead, the result of a virus, there are a limited number of treatments available. This fact is particularly concerning since Pneumonia most commonly occurs in the very old and very young. Some other facts about Pneumonia include:

• It’s An Infection Of The Lungs – This condition results from one or more infections that cause the lungs to fill with fluid. 
• It Affects Vulnerable Patients – Those who are immunocompromised, very young, or very old are those most likely to contract this condition. Over 100 million cases in the US each year are in children under five years of age. 
• It Can Be Deadly – Of those 100 million cases, 10% become severe, with 880,000 deaths. The majority of these deaths are in those under two years of age.
• Hospitalization Is Frequent – Pneumonia rates as the second highest reason people are admitted to the hospital, second only to childbirth. Nearly one million adults are admitted to the hospital with Pneumonia each year, with 5% of these cases ending in the patient’s death.
• Bacterial Pneumonia Can Be Treated – When Pneumonia is the result of a bacterial infection, it’s easier to treat. Antibiotics are often effective in treating the condition and helping patients recover. Viral Pneumonia is much harder to treat.
• Some Pneumonia Can Be Vaccinated Against – Vaccinations can prevent some underlying causes of Pneumonia. This is one reason vulnerable patients should receive yearly flu vaccinations.
• Pneumonia Can Cause Lasting Symptoms – Those who develop Pneumonia can be at higher risk of developing chronic lung conditions. This is especially true for children who develop severe Pneumonia. There can be lasting cardiovascular impacts as well.

Staying Safe From Pneumonia Can Be Challenging

Pneumonia is a persistent condition that can hang on for a long time, even when treated actively. Some patients may struggle with it for as many as eight weeks before they recover fully. Further, the hospital is a common place to contract the condition. Those who are placed on ventilators have a higher risk of developing Pneumonia than those who are not. If you want to know how to protect yourself and your family from Pneumonia, reach out to your physician for guidance.

As health problems continue to rise, urgent care remains an important source of treatment for many non-life-threatening conditions. Nearly 70% of urgent care treatment involves care for the ears, nose, and throat for those who constantly suffer from ENT problems. Most patients under these circumstances will most likely make their first visit to an urgent care facility for excessive snoring, sinus infections, dizziness, and excessive allergies. Below, we will describe some of the various treatments performed for common ENT problems and help you decide whether you should see an urgent care facility or an ENT specialist for treatment.

Why Patients Often Choose Urgent Care For ENT Treatment

More often than not, people with ENT conditions are making more visits to their local urgent care than their primary physicians or ENT specialists. One of the main reasons people often see an urgent care doctor over their specialist is the time and effort it takes to get a referral to an ENT specialist, especially if their symptoms become so prominent to the point where waiting isn’t an option. In the pursuit of care, urgent care practices can treat immediate symptoms that, although not life-threatening, can severely impact one’s quality of life and present an immediate concern. So, what kinds of conditions can an urgent care facility treat? Some common ENT conditions that people see the Urgent Care for include:

• Acute sore throats within the last four weeks
• Acute sinus infection or cold within the last three weeks
• Acute nasal obstruction within the last three weeks
• Acute hoarseness within the last two weeks
• Sore throats
• Coughs and colds
• Allergies
• Lesions or painful sores in your mouth that can heal within a few weeks
• Dizziness with no ear pain or symptoms
• Ear pain with no hearing loss

The symptoms often associated with the conditions above can be a highly unpleasant experience, especially if they cannot be properly managed. What it takes to receive treatment from a specialist can be dauntingly long. Still, at an urgent care facility, patients can find immediate relief that allows them to wait for their specialist referral for an appointment. Urgent care in these circumstances can be an excellent first stop for your ENT concerns, but seeing a specialist for long-term problems such as cholesteatoma and dysphagia will need to be seen by a specialist as they can present health concerns that impact your life significantly.

Types of ENT Treatment Found At Urgent Care

ENT treatments at urgent care facilities are most often for acute cases. The symptoms come on suddenly or occur frequently enough to be treated as a one-time instance of the condition easily. However, chronic, reoccurring symptoms need to be seen by a specialist as they can properly diagnose the condition and help provide you with the treatment you need. Some common treatments found in urgent care for acute ENT conditions can include

• Hearing aids
• Sore throat prescriptions
• Sinus infection treatment
• Mild ear pain treatment
• Stronger allergy medication
• Prescriptions for vertigo
• and more!

If you are suffering from any symptoms associated with an ENT condition that present immediate but non-life-threatening circumstances to your health, make sure to visit your local urgent care facility for treatment. Through your local urgent care team, they’ll provide you with the care you need and help redirect you to a specialist if necessary.

There have been countless ongoing studies on its effectiveness since the COVID vaccine was introduced. One thing has become abundantly clear as a result. The vaccines have been proven to be effective and safe and the most important step anyone can take towards controlling the pandemic. Every newly vaccinated person counts as one less person likely to contract and spread the disease. With fewer people contracting COVID, there are also fewer opportunities for it to mutate. For nearly a year and a half, the vast majority of those being vaccinated have been adults or over the age of 12. Relatively recently, however, it has been declared safe for those aged five and over.

How To Create a Stress-Free Vaccination For Your Child

Many children express a general concern about seeing their medical practitioner. It’s not unusual for children to specifically be afraid of receiving an injection. Whether your child is one of those who are skittish about doctor visits or not, it can help to prepare them for their vaccination visit. There’s a lot of information out there about the shot itself, and the vaccine in particular. By preparing your child for their visit you can ensure that they know what to expect. Consider taking a few of the following steps prior to the day of their appointment:

• Communicate With Your Child: If your child is presently in school, they’ve likely been exposed to a lot of information about the vaccine. Unfortunately, not all of this information is likely to be true. Some of their encounters may have been encouraging them and trying to set their worries at ease. Others may have been less positive, with classmates sharing negative experiences or trying to get them riled for their visit. Sitting down and speaking frankly with your child can help soothe their worries and straighten out any confusion.
• Be Honest – It’s essential that your child knows they can trust the information you share with them. Even if you’re concerned about their reaction, it’s best to be honest with them about what to expect. This allows them to mentally prepare and builds an environment of trust and communication with your child. Let them know that they can expect to feel a quick poke that may sting a little. They may also feel some soreness afterward.
• Work With Them – Give your child choices when it comes to getting their vaccine. Ask them which arm they’d prefer to get the shot in. Let them pick out their clothes for the day and bring a favorite stuffie. They’ll learn they can share their opinions with their doctor in the future and to be an active patient.

Great Lessons For A Great Future

Beyond preparing them for their vaccination, these tips set a great precedent for the future. They’ll know they can speak to you about their concerns and expect honest answers. They’ll also learn to be engaged in their health care and that they have choices when it comes to treatment. Most of all, they’ll learn not to be afraid of doctor visits in years to come.

As summer arrives, more people will be going outside to enjoy the beautiful weather and sunshine, and with the Covid-19 pandemic turning into an endemic, many are beginning to make travel plans and explore the great outdoors without much worry. However, it is also a time when insects come out of hiding, and while most insects are harmless and may leave behind minor bites, some can be devastating and even deadly. Below, we’ll give you a quick summary of what to look for when identifying bug bites and help give you some ways to identify and take action if worse comes to worst. 

What To Look For From Biting and Stinging Bugs

During the spring and summer months, insects come out of their hibernation or diapause in search of food and restore back their energy reserves for their reproductive seasons. Because of this, high amounts of activity from insects such as mosquitos, horseflies, wasps, bees, and other insects come around to do their buggy business. For us, it often results in nasty bites, annoying buzzing, and just general irritation from these creatures. However, while many of these insects are important for the environment and their ecosystems, it’s important to be aware of any bites or irritations that occur after being outside. 

Most insects and bugs tend to leave bites that cause redness, swelling, some mild tenderness, and itching and can easily be treated with anti-itch creams and antibiotics. However, other insects such as wasps and bees need a little more consideration, as some can leave behind their stingers, which can continue to produce venom due to the leftover venom sack. People with allergic reactions to wasps and bees would need to pay attention to allergic reaction symptoms, including hives, breathing problems, nausea, abdominal cramps, and intense swelling. 

Dangerous Bugs To Watch Out For This Summer

In cases where allergic reactions happen, it’s important to call 911 and use EpiPens if you have one immediately. It’s also particularly important to look out for certain insects and arachnids out in the wild, especially if you plan on camping for long periods. These insects include: 

• Black Widow:  A fully developed black widow is approximately half an inch in length. Common markings include the iconic red hourglass on the belly, along with red spots located on the top and bottom of their abdomen. Bites from black widows can cause vomiting, fever, nausea, abdominal pain, and chills and can eventually lead to death if not treated.
• Brown Recluse:  Larger than the black widow, these spiders measure about 1 inch in length. They come in a scope of colors from yellowish-tan to a darker brown and typically have a violin marking on their abdomen. Their bites are insidious, starting to cause pain about 8 hours after the initial bite. These bites will then begin to blister, leaving an ulcer once they have cleared. These ulcers are vectors for infection and require cleaning and care to avoid their becoming infected.
• Ticks: Ticks are parasitic arachnids that feed on the blood of mammals, birds, and even reptiles. They’re about 3 to 5 mm in length and are often found in wooded areas. One of the biggest threats these insects pose is that when attached, they have the potential to spread Lyme disease, an incurable bacterial infection that can easily spread to the joints, heart, and nervous system. 
• Asian Giant Hornets: These wasp-looking creatures tend to murder hives of over 30,000 honeybees in mere hours due to their ferocity. In 2019, this type of hornet was spotted in North America and can sting dozen times if threatened. Their venom is more toxic than domestic bees and wasps and can be deadly if you’re allergic. 

If you’re ever experiencing rashes or severe reactions to an insect bite, call poison control immediately, and their emergency medical teams will be able to get you the treatment you need.

While it’s true that our memory can become less reliable as we age, severe memory loss isn’t inevitable. Every individual experiences gradual memory loss in a different way. Some have trouble remembering specific words; others experience momentary memory lapses, such as being unable to find their keys. However, these are generally harmless and short-lived inconveniences. Serious memory loss involves forgetting where you are, how you got there, or who the people around you are. Thankfully, the majority of memory lapses are harmless, so how do you stop them from getting worse?

Understanding Age-Related Memory Loss

There are numerous elements that can be involved with a worsening memory. The good news is some of them are treatable and even avoidable. The underlying causes in these cases can be as simple as sleep deprivation or needing more vitamin B-12. Taking certain types of medication may produce memory errors for as long as you take them. Alternatives to these medications are often available, and not every patient will experience the same memory problems. Overindulgence in alcohol or street drugs can also be a relevant factor in memory loss, with effects that are potentially reversible.

Some causes of memory loss may be permanent or difficult to recover from, such as:

• Cancer treatments
• Lack of oxygen to the brain, often due to brain damage
• Some forms of seizure
• Emotional trauma
• Thyroid Dysfunction
• Migraine
• Head injury

Each of these can potentially result in lasting memory problems or loss. Another thing to know about our memory is that it happens in two stages. Short-term memory, which tracks the last 30 seconds, and long-term memory, which commits anything past that mark to storage. It’s possible to experience health problems that affect one or both of these types of memory. There has even been a medical case where someone completely lost their long-term memory. While they remembered everything up to the point of the responsible event, they could never commit anything to memory after that.

Thankfully, cases like these are exceedingly rare. While our short and long-term memory can both become less reliable over time, there are ways to slow this process. A good diet, plenty of sleep, and moderation in our vices are good places to start. You can also commit to taking multivitamins on a daily basis.

How Can Multivitamins Help?

A three-year-long study was conducted where one set of participants was instructed to take a daily vitamin. The other set, the control set, did not take these vitamins. Over a period of three years, the results were staggering. Rather than a slight improvement in memory retention being found in those taking the multivitamin, there was an astounding 60% improvement. While more study is necessary to understand how it supports our ability to remember the past, this was an amazing breakthrough.

If you’d like to find more ways to preserve your memory for years to come, speak to your physician. They can suggest proper dietary and lifestyle changes that will help improve your overall health and your ability to remember events for years to come.

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.