Details

Published: December 19 2013

WEST PALM BEACH, FL -- MD Now Medical Centers today announced increases in holiday injuries from accidents involved with cooking, and decorating in and around the house. Urgent care patient decreases are not expected, due to people rushing in with cold and flu like illness, as well as those who overindulge with eating and drinking.

"As the largest urgent care provider in South Florida, our physicians see every thing, from children who awake Christmas morning with pinkeye, to the pre-holiday meal carving accident," said Peter Lamelas, M.D., Medical Director of MD Now. "Rushing under stress during the holidays leaves people prone to injury, so MD Now Urgent Care Centers maintains normal 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. operating hours, even on holidays."

MD Now Urgent Care typically sees holiday increases of the following:

1. Falls – sprains and fractures of the leg, ankle and hip from decorating
2. Lacerations – sliced fingers that lead to postponed meals and urgent care trips
3. Burns – dangling sleeves over a hot stove or rushing to remove meals from the oven can also create nasty burns
4. Heartburn/indigestion – eating too much food, too fast can produce symptoms that mimic heart attack
5. Food poisoning – cooking meat below suggested temperatures or eating a bird before it has completely defrosted
6. Flu and colds – ignoring illness signs and attending a gathering can spread germs quickly
7. Depression – loneliness and isolation of individuals without friends and family nearby

To combat some of these, MD Now Urgent Care physicians recommend the following:

• Hire a professional, if the job puts you too far from the floor
• Use only sharp knives and in experienced carvers' hands
• Plan ahead, pre-cook dishes and freeze meals to prevent the rush that leads to injuries
• Eat, drink and be merry, but in moderation
• Check cooking temperatures with meat thermometers and prevent food spoilage
• Routinely use an "alcohol based" liquid hand sanitizer

Doctors offices are closed during the holidays and emergency rooms are crazy busy; remember most certified Urgent Care Centers, like MD Now, are open 7 days week, including holidays.

Urgent Care Centers can close the gap between the ER and primary care doctors. They manage acute and episodic illness and injury and can help manage chronic illness; giving medication and coordinating follow-up care with the patients' doctor when unavailable.

About MD Now Urgent Care Centers

MD NOW^® Urgent Care Walk-In Medical Centers, the leading provider of urgent care medical services in Palm Beach, Broward & Miami-Dade County, Florida, offering urgent care, primary care, occupational medicine, physical therapy and comprehensive healthcare services. MD NOW^® Urgent Care has multiple convenient locations, open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., 365 days/year. Call; 888-MDNow-911, online; www.MyMDNow.com.