Urgent Care for Common Cold Treatment Q&A

Yes, urgent care can treat a cold. If you’re feeling under the weather with a cold that’s just not letting up, popping into an urgent care clinic is recommended. These clinics are equipped to handle a wide range of minor illnesses, including the common cold, and can provide you with the relief you need. Urgent care providers can offer advice on over-the-counter medications to alleviate your symptoms, such as decongestants for a stuffy nose or pain relievers for aches and sore throats.
 
If you’re experiencing symptoms like a persistent cough, a sore throat, a runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headaches, or a low-grade fever, it’s important to get checked out by a doctor. These symptoms often overlap with those of other upper respiratory tract infections, and urgent care professionals can help differentiate a common cold from something more serious like the flu or strep throat. If needed, your urgent care provider will perform rapid tests to accurately diagnose the cause of your symptoms.

The common cold can cause a variety of symptoms, such as:
 
– Runny or stuffy nose
– Tickly, scratchy, or sore throat
– Congestion
– Cough
– Hoarseness
– Sneezing
– Mild body aches
– Low-grade fever
– Fatigue
– Watery eyes
– Swollen lymph nodes
 
Typically, the symptoms of the common cold are mild, but they can vary from person to person. While most people experience relatively mild symptoms, others may find the common cold quite uncomfortable, such as those with underlying health conditions and young children. The common cold does not usually lead to serious health problems and tends to resolve on its own within a week to ten days.
 
It’s important to differentiate the common cold from more severe conditions like the flu, strep throat, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), or COVID-19, which can present with similar symptoms. These conditions cause symptoms such as a high fever, intense body aches, painful swallowing, and weakness that last for several weeks. As these conditions may lead to serious health complications, especially in the elderly, young children, and those with chronic health issues, it’s beneficial to have symptoms checked out at urgent care.

When you catch a cold, you will experience four different stages of this acute condition:
 
– Incubation: In this stage, you are exposed to the virus but haven’t developed symptoms yet. The incubation stage can last one to three days.

– Symptoms: After the incubation period, you begin to notice the symptoms of the cold. This often starts with a sore throat, followed by sneezing, a runny nose, and congestion. Typically, symptoms are the worst on days four to seven.

– Remission: After about a week, you will enter the remission stage. In this stage, your symptoms will begin to improve gradually, although you may still feel fatigued and congested.

– Recovery: Your energy levels will return, and you’ll start feeling back to normal. This recovery phase can take a few days, and it’s important to continue resting and taking good care of yourself.

A common cold typically sticks around for about 7 to 10 days. That said, how long it lasts can vary a bit from person to person. Some people get over their cold quickly and start feeling better after just a few days, while others find their cold dragging on a bit longer. In addition, while your cold may mostly clear up after a week, it’s not unusual for some residual symptoms to continue bothering you for a little while. Furthermore, symptoms may last longer in people who smoke.
 
If your symptoms do not get better after 7 to 10 days or you notice that you are feeling worse, you should see a healthcare provider to determine if another upper respiratory tract infection is causing your discomfort. The dedicated team at Immediate Care of Oklahoma can assess your symptoms, perform rapid tests to establish an accurate diagnosis, and provide advice on how to alleviate your discomfort. For more details, contact us today. You can also book an appointment online or simply walk-in. We have convenient locations to serve in Oklahoma City, OK. We serve patients from West Moore OK, Norman (HealthPlex) OK, Norman (24th) OK, Edmond OK, Yukon OK, I-240 & Sooner RD OK, and Tecumseh OK.