The need for medical care is something few of us want to think about, but try as we might it can become necessary at various points in our lives. One place that can provide medical assistance for a variety of issues is the local urgent care. Urgent care is a medical clinic that can be visited without an appointment. There are many reasons to visit urgent care, and this article will take a look at a few of them.

• They Can Provide Important Vaccinations: One reason to visit urgent care is because they can provide important vaccinations. These include shots received in childhood, like the chicken pox vaccine and the measles vaccine, but it can also include the annual flu shot, which everyone should receive.
• They Can Treat Sports Injuries: Another reason to visit urgent care is because they can treat a range of sports injuries. Even when you’re being careful, it’s easy to get injured while playing sports. You should visit urgent care if you’ve developed shin splints, pulled muscles, or ankle sprains, just to name a few examples, while playing sports. Urgent care can diagnose and provide treatment for these injuries.
• They Can Do X-Rays: A third reason to visit urgent care is because they can do X-rays if you believe you have suffered a bone fracture. After any severe accident where you suspect you’ve fractured or broken a bone, no matter how small, it’s important to get it X-rayed to make sure the injury isn’t too serious. Plus, if there is a fracture or a break, the urgent care can begin to treat it as well.
• They Can Test for STDs and HIV: A fourth, and important reason, to visit urgent care is because they can provide vital testing for STDs and HIV. If you even suspect that you have any STD, or HIV, you must get tested for it right away and urgent care can provide these tests. This way, if any of the tests come back positive, you can begin a plan of treatment as soon as possible.
• They Can Diagnose and Treat Cold Symptoms: Finally, a fifth reason to visit urgent care is because they can diagnose and treat cold symptoms. It might seem a small thing to come down with a cold, but a cold can easily turn into something worse, like bronchitis or pneumonia, so if symptoms begin, it’s important to be seen right away and get treated before it becomes anything worse.

In conclusion, there are many reasons to go to urgent care. These reasons include, but are not limited to: receiving important vaccinations, receiving treatment for sports injuries, receiving X-rays if needed, testing for STDs or HIV, and diagnosing and treating cold symptoms. All of these are reasons to visit urgent care if needed.