What is the difference between emergency and non-emergency for both injury and accident?

Answer 1

Emergency for both accident or injury requires immediate medical evaluation and treatment. Examples:

1. I trip, fall, and twist my ankle. I have immediate pain; my ankle is not in its correct position. I try to move it but can't.
2. A 50 year old woman becomes short of breath and has pain in her jaw and neck. She knows these can be symptoms of an impending heart attack.
3. A man just flew from New York to Los Angeles on a red-eye flight. He slept most of the way. When he stood, he had pain in his calf. At his hotel room, he noticed his leg was reddened and swollen. These are symptoms of a blood clot which can be deadly.
4. A young 23-year old rear-ended another car. She struck her head on the driver's side window. She has a lump on the side of her head. She could have a head or neck injury.
5. A 2-year old found a bottle of cleaning solution and drank a little. He started crying. His mom saw the skin near his mouth turning red, saw the open bottle, and suspected he drank cleaning solution.
6. A 4-year old fell against a door-jam. Her forehead was bleeding; there is a gaping gash. She needs stitches.

Using the same examples for non-emergency:

1. I trip, fall, twist my ankle. It hurts, but I can stand, bear weight on it, and walk. I might need to put ice on it and keep it elevated tonight, but it doesn't seem to need X-ray now.
2. A 50 year old woman becomes short of breath when yelling at her 25 year old "good for nothing" son. She knows she experiences anxiety which can cause breathlessness when she's upset. Her neck muscles are hurting because she was yelling so much. A toothache she had last night makes her jaw ache and the tooth is throbbing. She takes Tylenol for the toothache; asks her son to leave; and tries to calm down.
3. A man flew and fell asleep during the long flight. His calf slightly aches when he first stands, but he just ran a marathon yesterday. His leg never swells or gets red. After a couple hours, even the achiness is gone.
4. A young 23-year old rear-ended another car. She struck her head on the driver's side window but she knows it was only a slight tap.
5. A 2-year old found a bottle of cleaning solution but never got the lid off the bottle. The mother sees him and quickly intervenes. She checks him over but there's no signs he got any on him. She helps wash his hands and face to get any slight residual cleaner off him. But he's fine.
6. A 4-year old fell against a door-jam and bumped her head. She has a slight red mark on her head, but no wound. She appears fine. Within minutes, the red mark is gone.