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)
