It’s a scenario that every parent deals with all too often: a sick child. Whether a child wakes up in the middle of the night with a high fever, takes a bad tumble and breaks an arm or is coughing and sneezing, dealing with a sick child often means a trip to the emergency room or doctors office and a long wait.

Whether it’s a fever or nausea, a severe cold or broken bones, there are all sorts of bumps and scrapes and illness that children have to deal with. Being sick or being in pain is not a pleasant experience for a youngster and can often leave them wary about visiting a doctor’s office. Consider for a moment that:

• Every year American get approximately a billion colds.
• The average child catches between six and 10 colds every year.
• 8,4 percent of children suffer from hay fever, 110 percent from respiratory allergies, 5.4 percent from food allergies and 11.6 from skin allergies, according to data from the 2014 National Health Interview Survey (NIHS).
• Five out of six children will have at least one ear infection before they turn three and nearly 40 percent of kids will have three or more ear infections by that age.

With the cost of ER visits on the rise and long wait times, urgent care facilities offer patients many options when it comes to finding a quicker and more cost-effective way to be treated. According to the Urgent Care Association of America, an estimated three million patients visit an urgent care facility each week. Currently there are 20,000 physicians practicing urgent care medicine.

But what is pediatric urgent care and how do I find pediatric urgent care near me?

Urgent care facilities are essentially a bridge between a walk-in health clinic and the emergency room. In the case of children, urgent care is essentially a place where they can receive medical care after hours. There are several options for pediatric urgent care with some clinics offering after-hours care and some clinics that only deal with urgent care.

Additionally, urgent care facilities deal with non-severe issues and about 85 percent of them are open every day and often with extended hours. According to a Millman private study, anywhere from 44 to 65 percent of all ER episodes could be treated in urgent care settings. If your child is dealing with a high fever or severe cold after regular office hours, a pediatric urgent care facility is the ideal stop to help relieve your child’s pain.

An urgent care facility can help treat a wide range of symptoms that plague Americans on a day-to-day basis. The list of symptoms that can be treated for children at an urgent care is growing with facilities able to treat sports injuries, muscle strain and sprains, colds, fevers, asthma, ear infections, dizziness, nausea and many other ailments.

When it comes to pain and illness, child often require different treatment than adults do and it’s important for a pedi center to understand the needs of children. Many of them have a pediatrician on stuff to help understand how to treat your child and make them feel better.

Urgent care facilities offer less wait time, cost less and help for anyone who comes in. If you’re not able to visit a primary care doctor or pediatrician, a pedi center is a good option. A pedi center can treat children quickly and offer extended hours to provide children the care they need when it’s necessary.

You may be asking, how do I find pedi center near me? The answer is simple. To find an urgent care doctor in your area, visit UrgentCareCenter.org.