Is it safe to go to the emergency room during the COVID-19 pandemic?
It appears many people are hesitant to seek emergency medical care out of fear of contracting the coronavirus. Statistics show that, over a four-week period during the early days of the pandemic, the number of ER visits was 42% lower than during the same period in 2019.
So, are those concerns valid?
Fear not, says Justin Coomes, emergency department medical director at Mercy Health – Fairfield Hospital in Fairfield, OH, and a spokesperson for the American College of Emergency Physicians.
“In a lot of ways, coming to the emergency department is oftentimes safer than going to a restaurant or getting on a plane right now because we’re so hyperaware of COVID-19,” Coomes said. “If there’s one thing we’ve gotten really good at, it’s honing in on changing our process to fit the new reality of the pandemic.”
It’s another reality that has health care professionals like Ron Kraus, an ER nurse in Indianapolis and president of the Emergency Nurses Association, equally concerned.
“‘Where are the heart attacks? Where are the strokes?’” he said he and his colleagues were asking themselves as the pandemic went on. “People were delaying getting care, and that’s concerning.”
Does this include you or a loved one? If so, Kraus has a bit of advice: “What you went to the emergency department for pre-COVID, you should be going to the emergency department for during COVID. The longer you delay, the worse the outcome could possibly be.”
That’s especially true for the following health emergencies:
Heart attack
Experiencing shortness of breath; pressure or pain in your chest; lightheadedness; and/or pain in your arm, shoulder or neck? These are common symptoms of a heart attack, but they’re often dismissed by people experiencing them.
“Don’t discount your symptoms because you’ve always been healthy or you’ve never had something like this before,” Coomes said. “All emergency physicians can tell you they’ve had plenty of patients who don’t fit the typical picture and ended up having something very serious.”
Pain, Kraus added, is your body’s way of telling you that part of your heart has a blockage and is lacking oxygen.
“The longer you leave it blocked, the more tissue that dies and your heart, over a long period of time, becomes less effective and not as strong,” he said. “Intervening early, we can do a lot of amazing things and get you back on the course you need to be on.”
Stroke
As a stroke program director, Coomes is uniquely aware of how important time is when it comes to stroke symptoms: trouble speaking or walking, one side of the face drooping or becoming numb, and weakness in the arms.
“If you have a stroke, I’ve got a window of three to four-and-a-half hours to see you, do my evaluation and get you treatment to give you the medicine needed to reverse those symptoms,” he said.
This means any delay in care can be potentially devastating.
“If I can’t treat you in that window that I have, you could end up with those symptoms the rest of your life, which is really scary,” Coomes said.
Bleeding
Whether it’s a nosebleed or caused by a severe injury, persistent bleeding should concern you because it can have serious consequences.
“Even a nosebleed can be dangerous for some patients, depending on the situation,” Coomes said. “Any bleeding that is persistent can be dangerous. Sometimes it’s obvious right away if it’s a dangerous bleed, but sometimes it’s not.”
Severe pain
When it comes to experiencing pain, anything that’s persistent, you can’t explain or you’re having for the first time deserves attention.
“If it’s particularly bothersome or comes on acutely, coming to the emergency department is never the wrong decision,” Coomes said.
COVID-19
The same reason you might be staying away from the ER is the exact reason you should go. COVID-19 can advance rapidly, so seeking emergency care is important. The symptoms to pay special attention to, according to the ACEP, include fever, difficulty breathing, fatigue, loss of taste or smell, muscle or body aches, and sore throat.
“They probably think they’re walking into a petri dish,” Kraus said of anxious ER visitors. “But we go in and work every day, caring for patients with known COVID and take all the precautions. We’re going to take those same precautions for anybody who walks through our door.”
Coomes added: “If your instincts are telling you that you’re having a medical emergency, you should go.”
Some people fear embarrassment, thinking, “What if I go to the ER and my symptoms turn out to be nothing to worry about?” Don’t be concerned about that, Coomes said.
“Our job is to figure it out, and that’s what we’re trained for,” he said. “We’re not going to give you a hard time or tell you that you’re silly. I’m really glad when I can tell you everything’s OK and send you home.”
