5 Ways to Avoid the ER: Tips to Prevent Emergency Hospital Visits From Doctors and Experts

Closer shares five ways to avoid the ER — as told by doctors and experts. Following these simple steps can help prevent unwanted hospital visits!

Get Checkups to Avoid the ER

“Getting a yearly checkup gives your doctor the opportunity to do necessary screenings and to potentially identify problems that put you at risk for things like obesity and hypertension,” says Dr. Stephen Russell of the University of Alabama at Birmingham. “Your doctor may be able to help you keep preventable illnesses from becoming a health crisis.”

Get Treatments to Prevent Emergency Hospital Visits

“Be sure to treat high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol and other chronic conditions,” Dr. Leana Wen, an ER physician, told CNN. “It’s natural for people to become complacent and forget to take care of their chronic medical problems. People may forget to take their blood pressure pills, for example. It’s a major problem.”

Be Alert to Dangers to Stay Out of the Hospital

“Many household items can be dangerous when not kept in good working order or used improperly,” Becky Turpin, the former director of home and community safety for the National Safety Council, told The Healthy. In other words, a shaky bookshelf or germy showerhead can be more trouble than they are worth!

Read Labels to Prevent an ER Visit

Per experts at the financial website Money Talk News, “Many emergency visits result from dangerous drug interactions. Combining over-the-counter medications, supplements and prescriptions without consulting a doctor can lead to severe complications, including [but not limited to] internal bleeding or organ damage.”

Eat Right and Exercise to Avoid the Hospital

“The body you live in has to be taken care of just like your house, your car and any other possession you own,” Dr. Peter B. Craig, an emergency medicine physician operating in Austin, Texas, told Medium. “Not taking care of it is an open invitation to letting it break down. Your house will fall apart if you don’t make the effort to maintain it. Your body works the same way.”