4 Questions to Ask About Pediatric Urgent Care

When taking your child to a pediatric appointment, you are your child’s advocate there and will likely need to answer many vital questions to aid in your child’s medical care. Many of these questions will have to do with their development and what you notice daily, which means that it is recommended that you pay attention to specific developmental milestones that your child should be attaining. Be prepared to answer questions that have to do with your child’s behavior with other children and adults, how their appetite typically is, as well as their energy levels, and if they’re meeting their developmental milestones. The pediatrician is keeping an eye out for any developmental disorders or behavioral disorders so be sure to pay attention to your child between visits and take note of anything for which you might not be certain.

The three most common reasons children are brought to pediatric urgent care are to check out an upper respiratory infection, ear infections, and fevers. Upper respiratory infections include common illnesses such as colds, flu, and strep throat; essentially any infection that involves the sinuses, nose, throat, and/or larynx which is typically caused by a virus. Ear infections are widespread in young children as their ears are not yet developed so the tunnels are much shorter than those in adults, allowing more bacteria to gather in the middle ear and not escape. Since their bodies are still growing and developing, ear infections can also be more damaging to young children as the middle ear is near very important structures including the brain. They can often be treated with antibiotics if the wait-and-see approach is not working. Fevers can be an indication of infections, including respiratory and ear infections, or a less common infection such as something involving the skin or GI tract. For children under 6 months of age, developing a fever could be a minor illness or something much more serious, so having them checked out by a medical professional is always recommended to ensure that the fever is addressed swiftly.

Physicians Now Urgent Care offers pediatric urgent care services offer immediate care for pediatric patients who visit in search of immediate medical attention, eliminating the expected wait times that are typical with emergency rooms. Our clinic is child-friendly making them feel more comfortable and welcome, and ensuring the visit is a more positive experience for the entire family. We also offer extended weekday and weekend hours to make it easier to work around your busy lifestyle to come in for everyday services such as general check-ups and to maintain up-to-date immunizations. There is no need to take a day off of work and have the child miss school, or their after-school activities, to make sure that they can receive the best medical care that they deserve.

Physicians Now Urgent Care does not require any appointments to come in for a visit. If you are coming in for immunizations or having a physical report filled out for your child to go on a field trip, it is necessary to bring all required information and forms to ensure we can help get what is needed to be done in a timely matter. We understand that your life is busy and unpredictable, so with our extended weekday and weekend hours, we can accommodate even the busiest of families with our walk-in care that is available to all.

For more information, contact us or schedule an appointment online. We accept walk-ins and we are open 5 days a week. We serve patients from Rockville MD, Travilah MD, Lone Oak MD, Colesville Park MD, Redland MD, Darnestown MD, Anscroft MD, and Wheaton-Glenmont MD.