Plain-language guides written and reviewed by the Arlington ER clinical team. What the symptoms mean, when to come in, and what happens when you do.
Most health information online is written for search engines. These guides are written for the person reading them at eleven at night, trying to decide whether something can wait until morning.
Every article is reviewed by Dr. Rahman Mohammed, MD, our Medical Director, and each one tells you plainly when an emergency room is the right choice and when it is not. We would rather give you the honest answer than take a visit you did not need.
Most people think RSV is something babies get. It is, and it is also one of the more common reasons older adults end up in a hospital bed each winter. The problem is that in adults it looks like a cold for the first few days, so it is rarely taken seriously until it stops
Most people work this out backwards. They feel terrible on Tuesday, think about who they saw on Monday, and realize the answer is everyone. That instinct is right. The flu has a head start on you, and the window where you are spreading it opens before you have any idea you are sick. How long
When you are on the bathroom floor at two in the morning, the only question that matters is when it stops. For most people the answer is sooner than it feels. The more useful question, though, is what the timing tells you, because when symptoms started relative to when you ate is the single biggest
Almost everyone asks this in the wrong order. They want to know how long the cough will last, and then halfway through the conversation they realize they have been at work all week. Both answers are worth having, and they are not the same answer. You stop being contagious long before you stop coughing. Is
A CAT scan and a CT scan are the same test. Same machine, same procedure, same images. The only thing that changed is the name, and both versions are still in everyday use, which is why the question comes up so often. If your doctor said CAT scan and the paperwork says CT, nothing has
Carbon monoxide poisoning symptoms look almost exactly like the flu. Headache, nausea, tiredness, dizziness, a dull ache behind the eyes. There’s one difference that matters more than any other, and it’s the one people miss at two in the morning when they’re trying to decide whether to go back to bed: carbon monoxide doesn’t cause
If you’re searching for a 24 hour urgent care near me at two in the morning, here’s the short answer: almost none exist. The overwhelming majority of urgent care clinics close somewhere between 7pm and 9pm, and the ones advertising extended hours usually mean nine at night rather than around the clock. What is actually
A CT scan with contrast and one without use the same scanner and take about the same amount of time. The difference is a liquid that makes certain things visible which would otherwise blend into everything around them. Whether you need it depends entirely on the question your physician is trying to answer. Contrast isn’t
Anyone who has had a kidney stone remembers the pain. It arrives without warning, comes in waves, and gets described as the worst thing the person has ever felt. What is less well known is that the scan is not looking for the pain. It’s looking for a number, and that number decides whether you
Your stomach hurts, someone says the word “scan,” and you nod along without really knowing what you just agreed to. Later you wonder whether it was the right one. It usually was, and there’s a clear reason behind the choice. Ultrasound goes first when the question is soft tissue, when you’re pregnant, or when the
If your symptoms are new, severe, or getting worse, we are at 1607 S Bowen Rd in Pantego, minutes from central Arlington. No appointment, and no referral.