While You Need Medical Help Fast

In medical emergencies, it are often crucial to hunt facilitate quickly. As an RN, I’ve seen instances wherever obtaining immediate care will build all the distinction.

For some injuries and diseases, there is a short window of time during which medical treatment should be administered. Once that window closes, the chances of successful treatment shrinks. In medicine, it’s known as the “golden hour.”

Here area unit some tips on recognizing emergencies and obtaining facilitate quickly:

STROKE
Seek treatment within 3-4 hours

If the flow of oxygen-rich blood to a little of the brain is blocked, a stroke occurs—and brain cells can begin to die after just a few minutes. Sudden haemorrhage within the brain may additionally cause a stroke. Symptoms embody unforeseen weakness, paralysis or numbness of the face, arms or legs; trouble speaking or understanding speech; and trouble seeing. A stroke is a serious medical condition requiring emergency care. It will cause lasting brain harm, long-term disability or even death.

A drug called tissue plasminogen activator (or tPA) is injected into a vein in your arm, and can break up blood clots in the arteries of the brain. But it should be inside four hours to be effective. It should be given as soon as possible.

If you think you or some other person is experiencing the symptoms of a stroke, dial 911 right away. Don’t drive to the hospital or let somebody drive you—medical personnel in associate degree auto will begin this rescue treatment on the thanks to the hospital room.

BELL’S PALSY
Seek treatment within 72 hours

Symptoms of this temporary variety of facial dysfunction caused by a swollen, inflamed or compressed nerve that controls the facial muscles vary from person to person. They may include twitching, weakness or paralysis on one or both sides of the face (though the latter is rarer); drooping of the eyelid and corner of the mouth; drooling; impaired taste; or excessive tearing in one eye. Symptoms typically return on suddenly and reach their peak inside forty eight hours. Bell’s palsy will occur at any age however is a smaller amount common before age fifteen or once age sixty. Among the 40,000 Americans afflicted each year, Bell’s palsy is more common among those with diabetes or upper respiratory ailments like the flu or a cold.

Though the general public eventually recover, it will cause semipermanent facial disfigurement. That’s why it is important to hunt treatment (at associate degree urgent-care center or the hospital room of a hospital) fast—within seventy two hours of the onset of symptoms. Oral steroids will scale back inflammation and restore perform of the affected nerve.

TETANUS
Seek treatment within 72 hours

Tetanus is a serious bacterial disease and potentially lethal infection. The tetanus infection, which is fatal in one of every 10 cases, can cause painful muscle contractions, especially in your jaw and neck muscles, and can interfere with your ability to breathe. It’s commonly known as “lockjaw.”

The tetanus immunizing agent will defend you against developing the infection, that there’s no cure. You may develop tetanus if you have got been contaminated with dirt, animal body waste or manure through a deep cut or puncture wound. Seek facilitate inside seventy two hours if you haven’t had a recall dose inside ten years or are not certain of once you were last immunized against tetanus. Treatment includes an effort of tetanus gamma globulin in conjunction with a customary booster.

HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE
Seek treatment immediately if it suddenly rises and stays that way

If your force per unit area registers a pulsation reading (top number) of one hundred eighty millimeter of mercury or higher or a heartbeat reading (bottom number) of one hundred ten millimeter of mercury or higher for a lot of than a couple of minutes with continual checking, it’s thought of a hypertensive crisis and you must obtain immediate emergency medical treatment.

Symptoms embody hurting, shortness of breath, back pain, numbness or weakness, change in vision or difficulty speaking. When force per unit area rises quickly and severely, results will embody stroke, state of mind,heart attack, damage to the eyes and kidneys or loss of kidney function. To lower your force per unit area, you’ll most likely be treated with an adjustment of your oral medications.

SUDDEN AND RAPID VISION LOSS
Seek immediate treatment

Flashes of sunshine or floaters (small bits of detritus that appear as if spots, hairs or strings) in your eyes or darkness over a part of your visual view that occur suddenly or in nice numbers might signal a potential retinal tear or detachment, once the tissue layer pulls faraway from the layer of blood vessels it has to give it with gas and nourishment. Although it’s painless, it can lead to vision loss and requires immediate medical attention by an ophthalmologist.

You’re a lot of in danger if you have got a case history or vision defect, are older than 40 or have had a previous severe eye injury or trauma. Treatments embody surgery or a procedure that injects air or gas into your eye (known as gas retinopexy), draining and replacing the fluid in the eye, or cryopexy, where the medico applies a temperature reduction probe to the outer surface of the attention directly over the retinal defect.

What about non-emergency situations?
When it isn’t associate degree emergency, you have more options. For times once it should not be convenient to ascertain your doctor, but you don’t need emergency care, there’s LiveHealth Online. It’s a fast and straightforward thanks to see a doctor 24/7 for face-to-face video conferencing. What a great resource! In fact, we at HealthyWomen like it so much we’re offering a free coupon for your first visit.