What does urgent care treat? Complete list of conditions and services

Most people think of urgent care as the place to go for a cold or a cut that needs stitches. But the scope of what urgent care can diagnose, treat, and test for is much broader than that — and for many patients, it replaces both the primary care office visit and, for minor emergencies, the ER. Here's a complete look at what urgent care handles and where its limits are.

Illnesses urgent care treats

Urgent care centers are equipped to evaluate, diagnose, and treat a wide range of acute illnesses. Most clinics run rapid tests for common infections on-site and can prescribe medications when indicated. Common illnesses treated include:

• Flu (influenza) and COVID-19
• Strep throat and tonsillitis
• Sinus infections (sinusitis)
• Ear infections (otitis media and otitis externa)
• Bronchitis and upper respiratory infections
• Mild to moderate pneumonia
• Urinary tract infections (UTIs) and bladder infections
• Pink eye (conjunctivitis)
• Skin infections including cellulitis and impetigo
• Fever in adults and children over 3 months old
• Nausea, vomiting, and stomach infections
• Mild to moderate allergic reactions
• Shingles (early stage)
• Sexually transmitted infections — many urgent care clinics offer testing and treatment

Injuries urgent care treats

Beyond illness, urgent care handles a wide range of traumatic injuries that would otherwise mean a long wait in the ER. Most urgent care centers have on-site X-ray and trained staff to perform minor procedures:

• Cuts and lacerations requiring stitches or staples
• Sprains and strains (ankle, wrist, knee)
• Non-displaced fractures and suspected fractures
• Minor burns (first and second degree, limited surface area)
• Bruises, contusions, and minor blunt trauma
• Insect bites and stings
• Animal bites — evaluation, wound care, and rabies risk assessment
• Superficial foreign body removal (splinters, debris)
• Minor eye injuries, such as a foreign body on the surface of the eye
• Sports injuries

Diagnostic services and preventive care

Urgent care is not just reactive. Many clinics offer a growing menu of diagnostic and preventive services that make them a practical substitute for a primary care visit when your regular doctor isn't available:

• Rapid diagnostic testing: flu, strep, COVID-19, RSV, mono, UTI
• On-site X-ray and basic imaging
• Blood tests and lab work (processed on-site or sent to an external lab)
• EKGs at select clinics
• Blood pressure monitoring and evaluation
• Vaccinations: flu shots, tetanus boosters, hepatitis, and others
• Physical exams: sports physicals, school physicals, and pre-employment physicals
• Occupational health services including drug testing and work-related injury evaluation
• Travel medicine consultations and travel vaccinations at some clinics

What urgent care doesn't treat

Urgent care is not equipped to handle life-threatening emergencies, complex chronic conditions requiring specialist management, or situations needing surgery or hospital admission. Go to an emergency room or call 911 for:

• Chest pain or suspected heart attack
• Signs of stroke: sudden facial drooping, arm weakness, or slurred speech
• Severe difficulty breathing or respiratory distress
• Loss of consciousness or altered mental status
• Severe head injuries or suspected spinal injuries
• Uncontrolled or severe bleeding
• Suspected poisoning or drug overdose
• Fever in an infant under 3 months old
• Compound fractures (bone breaking through the skin)
• Severe burns covering a large surface area

Urgent care clinics also typically don't manage complex chronic conditions (such as adjusting long-term diabetes or heart failure medications) or perform procedures requiring general anesthesia.

When to visit urgent care

For most non-emergency illnesses and injuries, urgent care offers same-day treatment with far shorter waits and lower costs than an emergency room. Use Solv to find an urgent care clinic near you, check real-time wait times, and book online before you leave home.