Urgent Care Clinics
Emergency or Urgent Care?
Use Urgent Care for illnesses and injuries that are not medical emergencies or life-threatening. If you’re not sure where to bring your child, use our guide below. If your child’s illness or injury is life-threatening, call 911.
Urgent Care does not provide:
- Ultrasounds
- CT scans
- MRI studies
If your child needs one of these listed above, they will be transferred to our Emergency Department.
We also do not provide:
- Well-child check-ups
- Return-to-play evaluations after a concussion
- Sports or camp physicals
- Referrals to other Seattle Children’s clinics
Talk with your primary care provider if your child needs one of these.
ILLNESS/INJURY | WHERE TO GO |
---|---|
Allergies | Urgent Care |
Asthma attack (minor) | Urgent Care |
Asthma attack (severe) | Emergency Department |
Bleeding that won’t stop | Emergency Department |
Broken bone (not bent) | Urgent Care |
Broken bone (bent, curved or looks deformed) | Emergency Department |
Bronchiolitis | Urgent Care |
Burn (minor) | Urgent Care |
Burn (severe) | Emergency Department |
Cast problems (wet or soiled) | Emergency Department |
Colds | Urgent Care |
Cough | Urgent Care |
Cut (minor) | Urgent Care |
Cut (severe) | Emergency Department |
Dehydration | Urgent Care |
Diarrhea | Urgent Care |
Dizziness | Urgent Care |
Earache and ear infection | Urgent Care |
Fainting | Emergency Department |
Fever (infants less than 2 months old) | Emergency Department |
Fever (children over 2 months old) | Urgent Care |
Headache | Urgent Care |
Head injury (minor and without loss of consciousness) | Urgent Care |
Head injury (with loss of consciousness or from extreme impact) | Emergency Department |
Insect or minor dog bite | Urgent Care |
Migraine headache | Emergency Department |
Nausea | Urgent Care |
Pink eye | Urgent Care |
Pneumonia | Emergency Department |
Poisoning | Emergency Department |
Rash | Urgent Care |
Seizure | Emergency Department |
Shock | Emergency Department |
Sore throat | Urgent Care |
Sprain or strain | Urgent Care |
Stitches (deep wound or needing sedation) | Emergency Department |
Stitches (minor stitches without sedation) | Urgent Care |
Stomach pain (mild) | Urgent Care |
Stomach pain (severe) | Emergency Department |
Swallowed object | Emergency Department |
Trouble breathing | Emergency Department |
Ultrasound, CT scans or MRI studies | Emergency Department |
Urinary tract infection | Urgent Care |
- In English: Emergency or Urgent Care? (PDF)
- In Spanish: ¿Mi niño necesita atención urgente o atención de emergencia? (PDF)
- In Arabic: كيف تختار ما بين قسم الطوارئ والرعاية الطارئة؟ (PDF)