HEALTHY LIVING


Stay Out of BY FRANCES CHAMBERLAIN N


o one wants to end up in the emergency room. In some situations, such as a suspected heart attack,


the ER is the only choice. However, there are many ways


to avoid sitting in crowded waiting rooms when you feel really sick. And following some safety precautions might keep you from needing emergency care in the fi rst place. Arjun Venkatesh, M.D., chief of


emergency medicine at Yale New Haven Hospital in Connecticut, says there are a lot of ways around making that trip to the ER or emergency department, as it is sometimes known. On Yale’s website, says Venkatesh,


you can check the ER wait time and then decide if you instead want an immediate telehealth conference with an urgent care professional online. If you suff er a dog or cat bite,


it can be treated via a telehealth appointment, he says. A small abscess or some stitches


can usually be handled in urgent care. “Rural areas may not be as well


equipped,” he explains, “but you can research that ahead of time. Don’t


84 NEWSMAX MAXLIFE | SEPTEMBER 2025


Emergency Room These simple precautions will keep you safe. ::


wait until you are sick to fi gure out where you could go.” It’s important to know if the urgent


care near you has imaging, and the ability to do simple procedures.


WHEN THE ER IS BEST There are situations where the ER may be your best choice, says Venkatesh. He is also the principal


investigator for the American College of Emergency Physicians’ Emergency Quality Network, a quality improvement and learning network of more than 1,500 emergency departments. “If you have a cough, chest pain, dizziness, or lightheadedness, that might signal a heart attack,” he says. “If you have droopy eyes and a sagging face, consider a stroke.


“A high fever, high heart rate,


and trouble catching your breath might mean sepsis.” Sepsis, a life-threatening condition, is a serious infection that spreads throughout the body and can cause multiple organs to fail. “Treatment for stroke has to


be done within three hours. A heart attack patient needs cardiac catheterization in 90 minutes. This could be a life-or-death situation. “If you have something that needs


to be treated, get to the ER right away,” stresses Venkatesh. In addition, going to the ER may


be the safest choice for older adults. In many scenarios, the elderly require special attention. “Every single day there are


problems with falling,” says Ron Clark, M.D., associate chief of emergency medicine at The


Every single day there are problems with falling. If a person is on blood thinners, or if you hit your head, we


bring in the entire trauma team.” — Ron Clark, M.D.


©ISTOCK


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100