CALL 9-1-1 if:

There are times you may feel like you are dying, yet it is nothing to be alarmed about. But there are times that you need professional help .. EMERGENCY ROOM help! I love to see people get well at home. I love to see them learn and become responsible and take care of health challenges without drugs or surgery, but there are some signs that may indicate the need for immediate professional help. The emergency room is the one time modern medicine is definitely well equipped and amazing! If you have a life threatening condition, please do not try to deal with it at home, call 911 or go to emergency room!

Please Consider The Emergency Room If:

Arm and leg weakness (unilateral)
Unilateral is muscle weakness on one side of the body. If it is not the result of your arm or leg falling asleep because you were sitting or laying on it, arm and leg weakness can be caused by malfunction of part of the brain, spinal cord, or spinal nerves..call 911!

Rectal bleeding
A person with rectal bleeding can see red blood in the toilet or on the toilet tissue. The most common causes of rectal bleeding are hemorrhoids and anal fissures. This should not be an emergency unless you are passing quite a bit of blood or the bleeding does not stop.

Coughing up blood
A person with hemoptysis is coughing up blood from the lungs. Many blood vessels lie under the inside surface of the lung tissue.  Causes of hemoptysis include injury, infection, or inflammation, or sometimes a tumor. If you cough up a lot of blood, a blood clot or a little bit of blood more than 3 times, call 911.

Vomiting blood
A person who is vomiting blood has bleeding in the esophagus, stomach, or upper part of the intestine. Bleeding from these structures is called upper gastrointestinal bleeding. Common causes of upper gastrointestinal bleeding include gastritis, esophagitis, esophageal varices, and peptic ulcer disease. If it is just a little bit of blood in the vomit with no pain you may not have an emergency. If you vomit blood and have pain, call 911.

Black stool
A person with melena has black stool, which is caused by digested blood in the stool. When blood enters the intestine, it is digested. The waste product of digested blood is black. The source of the bleeding is usually bleeding in the esophagus, stomach or small intestine. Some black spots in the stool are probably from dark foods you ate. If the majority of the stool is black, call 911!

Breathing difficulty
If the breathing difficulty is from a panic attack, breath into a paper bag and it should pass with no harm.  Breathing difficulty may be associated with exertion, which is also normal. If you are at rest and have breathing difficulty, especially if it comes on suddenly, it may be a severe allergy, a heart or lung malfunction, swelling or obstruction in the air passages .. call 911!

Severe abdominal pain
The location of the pain within the abdomen can be an important clue in determining the seriousness of the situation. The most common cause of abdominal pain is gas. This pain can feel like you have an emergency. If you can press in the abdomen where you feel the pain and it is not very tender, it probably is not an emergency. If you have pain and touching the area is also very painful, you may have a severe ulcer or advanced infection  and you should go to the emergency room.

Chest pain
Any organ in the chest can cause pain, including the heart, lungs, blood vessels, esophagus, ribs, nerves or muscles. Before you worry, consider a couple of things. If the pain is a temporary twinge, it may be one of the following: muscle strain after exertion, anxiety can cause chest pain, indigestion can feel like a heart attack, generally accompanied with some nausea. None of these tend to require medical attention. Your chest may feel tight if you have pneumonia or after severe coughing. Some infections can cause inflammation in the heart lining, which can cause pain when you move from one position to another, but these should not need medical attention either. ANGINA, which is when you do need attention, is when you get that tight feeling in your chest like someone tightened a belt around your chest. The discomfort can last several minutes and generally radiates into the left arm. Call 911.

Possible Stroke
Use the simple FAST test to check for signs of a stroke:
FACE: Ask your loved one to smile. Does one side of his or her face droop?
ARMS: Ask your loved one to raise both arms. Does one arm drift downward?
SPEECH: Ask your loved one to repeat a simple phrase. Does his or her speech sound slurred or strange?
TIME: If you observe any of these signs, call 911 right away!

Fainting -Sudden loss of consciousness
A person who faints has a brief loss of consciousness, followed by immediate recovery. Those who faint are unable to maintain posture: they fall to the floor or slump in a chair when they lose consciousness, and then they become alert again quickly. Fainting is caused by a sudden reduction in blood flow to the entire brain. The brain stops working when blood flow stops for more than a few seconds. Fainting is common. About 60 percent of teenagers will have an episode of fainting before they are 18 years old. You probably do not have a medical emergency.

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