Let’s get the disclaimer over first! I am not a doctor, nurse or medical professional, if you are experiencing life threatening illness you need to call your doctor and proceed to your nearest medical facility.
Boom! Done! While I am not a medical professional, I’m the daughter of someone who worked in the field for almost forty years and I do a crazy amount of research and because I find education important, I want to pass along my findings to you so that you can be better educated.
So, let’s jump into how you need to handle a variety of medical issues that may come at you whether the grid is up or down. I would highly recommend that you have a physician you see at least once a year just for a basic check-up.
Triage means to take stock of all the symptoms you or your family member are experiencing and determine the best course of action.
Is this..?
- Life Threatening (1): Patient is nonresponsive, or unconscious or experiencing any life threatening event
- An Emergency Situation (2): Patient showing signs of distress or experiencing something that can become life threatening that requires an evaluation by professional.
- An Urgent Situation (3): Patient is stable but requires continued monitoring, treatment and medical management.
- Less Urgent Situation (4): Patient is stable but has injuries that need medical attention.
- Non-Urgent Situation (5): Patient is stable, does NOT have any urgent medical concerns and is stable.
Home Treated:
- Mild Cold or Flu Symptoms
- Abrasions
- Headaches/Migraine
- Poison Ivy Exposure
- Minor Allergic Response
- Hayfever
- Nose Bleed (with no head trauma)
- Minor Burns
- Yeast Infection/Athlete’s Foot/Swamp Rash
- Minor viral, bacterial or fungal issues
- Prescription Refills or Mental Care Related
- Pink Eye
- Diarrhea or Nausea, minor
- Minor Fever
- Chicken Pox
- Mild Asthma Attack
Urgent Care:
- Severe Flu
- RSV
- Respiratory Complaints
- UTI
- Strep Throat
- Dehydration
- Broken Bone or Sprain
- Serious Burns
- Serious Viral, Bacterial or Fungal Maladies
- Any wound that has streaking around it
- Mild Allergic Reaction
- Minor Car Accident (more so for legal reason vs medical)
- Diarrhea or Nausea, severe
- Mental Care Related (Suicidal thoughts combined with depression, anxiety, etc.)
- Moderate Asthma Attack
- Any wounds involving stitches
Emergency Room
- Severe Allergic Reaction
- Stroke
- Heart Attack
- Major Car Accident
- Venomous Snake or Spider Bite
- Life Threatening Event
- Struck By Lightening
- Open Actively Bleeding Wound, despite attempted treatment (due to deep puncture or laceration)
- Severe Asthma Attack
- Intense Stomach Pains, Vomiting & Diarrhea
- Seizures
- Urgent onset of dizziness, confusion or lack of cognitive awareness
- Infant under the age of 2 with 100.4 or signs of dehydration
- Head Wound
In addition to these three options, you can call your local CVS and inquire whether they have a Crucial Care in their pharmacy and what type of diagnostic procedures they do in store, or you can contact your PCP and determine if he/she is able to prescribe a minor medication and do a tele-doc appointment over video or phone.
“New” to the scene is what is being marketed as ‘Hospital-At-Home’ care where a nurse or PA will directly come to your home up to twice a day to do check-ups, write up medical prescriptions, perform basic bloodwork and even give IV treatments. It’s not cheap by any means but some physicians and nurses are finding that removing themselves from the standard craziness of big hospitals is better for their mental health and the side benefit of their patient being happier is a wonderful perk. In reality, this style has been around for a very long time and due to changing times we seem to be returning to that style as many physicians find that it’s not financially lucrative for them to be in the larger facilities where they have a limited amount of time to treat patients.
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