Recent Blog Posts

Local urgent care centers in Dedham, or family walk-in clinics, offer patients convenient and affordable urgent healthcare services. When you visit a family walk-in clinic, you can expect quick, quality care at a fraction of the cost of your local emergency room.  Emergency rooms tend to be very busy and crowded and are associated with longer waiting times and higher fees. By going to a walk-in doctor’s office for a non-life-threatening illness or injury ...

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Is my sore throat from COVID-19 or from strep throat? What’s the difference?  For starters, COVID-19 is a viral infection and like the flu, colds or other viral infections, these often are accompanied by respiratory symptoms. Strep throat is an infection in the throat and tonsils caused by bacteria called group A Streptococcus (group A strep). Group A strep bacteria are very contagious. Generally, people spread the bacteria to others through respiratory droplets or ...

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What is an urgent care clinic? And how does it differ from the emergency room? When should you go to the emergency room, and when should you go to an urgent care center? Whatever questions you may have, AFC has the answers.    What Is An Urgent Care Clinic? Urgent care is the level of healthcare that lies between your primary care physician (PCP) and the emergency room. When you go to urgent care, you can ...

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With millions of Americans affected by some form of thyroid disease, it’s important to be aware of the symptoms, causes and treatments available. Thyroid disease is a common endocrine disorder, and can cause a wide range of symptoms, from fatigue and weight gain to depression and anxiety.  Fortunately, there are a variety of tests and treatments available to help with early diagnosis and management of the symptoms of thyroid disease. In light of Thyroid ...

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RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus, is a common virus that causes cold-like symptoms. It’s most harmful to infants and younger children because they’re still developing their immune systems. It can also affect adults and individuals with multiple comorbidities.   With the recent outbreak of RSV cases, some of you are probably worried about your infants or grandparents getting it. Afterall, there is more than just RSV going around. Thankfully, AFC Urgent Care Dedham is ...

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When you think about diabetes, a few common associations probably come to mind: blood sugar, insulin, and diet. But did you know that there are different types of diabetes? Or that it’s one of the fastest-growing diseases among adults in America? Or that it affects nearly 40 million people in the U.S. and cases of diabetes have almost doubled since 1990? Do we have your attention now? Maybe you haven’t thought about ...

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“Should I get the flu shot OR get the COVID-19 booster shot?”. Why is this still a question? If you look at what happened last year, many of you had gotten sick with either the Omicron variant, the flu or had both at the same time. This caused many of us to cancel our favorite holidays. Let’s not make the same mistake as this time around as we now have Monkeypox to deal with ...

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Ouch! I got stung by a bee! Summer is coming to an end and children want to spend outside as much as they can before the new school year begins. Unfortunately, there are some things we need to pay attention to when enjoying the outdoors, especially during the later half of summer into early fall.  Did you know that late summer into early fall is known as “angry bee” season? Have you noticed a lot ...

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Back to school means going back to the doctor. Why? Because school your child needs to prepare for the unexpected colds, flu, COVID-19, injuries and playing sports. Whether they decide to play a fall sport or they need to renew immunizations, a back to school physical will cover all of that. Your child’s health is important and getting this more comprehensive physical will help them (and us) get a better picture of what they ...

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Summer is here, which means it's time to get outside and enjoy the sunshine! But as we all know, too much sun can be harmful. So in honor of UV Safety Awareness Month, AFC Urgent Care Dedham is going to explain how the UV rays from the sun can be dangerous and how you should protect yourself from getting heat exhaustion or sunstroke this summer! Why Are UV Rays Harmful To The Body? Getting ...

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We want to believe that men have made some progress in the past decade to prioritize their health issues and risks, but there is still a “gender medical gap” between men and women when it comes to seeking medical advice, treatment and early diagnosis. There are many health issues that are specific to men that are often diagnosed when it’s too late. The fact is that most of these issues can be prevented with ...

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I spy with my little eye a small black legged deer tick on the back of your knee! Am I at risk for Lyme disease? Let’s find out together. AFC Urgent Care Dedham is currently seeing patients coming in for tick bites and lab work to determine if they have Lyme disease or not. Deer ticks are the ones that carry Lyme disease and they’re in abundance this time of year in the ...

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STD and STI testing should not be ignored or put off. Why? Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and sexually transmitted infections ( STIs)  are very common and are growing concern in the U.S. Over 26 million people are diagnosed each year with an STI or STD. The 2 fastest growing groups?  Ages 15 to 24, Seniors and the Elderly. “According to the Centers for Disease Control’s (CDC’s) annual Sexually Transmitted Disease Surveillance Report, cases ...

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Achew! We’re now approaching spring allergy season. Some of you are ready to enjoy the outdoors while the rest of you are going to have to prepare for a sudden explosion of pollen and other allergy triggers this spring. If you’re like the millions of Americans who suffer from allergies, you know it’s accompanied by watery and itchy eyes, sneezing, wheezing and more.  Where’s the relief?  At AFC Urgent Care Dedham ...

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Is my sore throat from COVID-19 or from strep throat? What’s the difference?  For starters, COVID-19 is a viral infection and like the flu, colds or other viral infections, these often are accompanied by respiratory symptoms. Strep throat is not like your common cold, flu or COVID-19. It’s actually caused by a bacterial infection to the throat and tonsils. We get that it’s confusing, but don’t always assume it’s COVID-19 ...

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  Getting a Rapid COVID-19 Test after the holidays? Which one should you get? Not all Rapid tests are the same. You may have heard of a Rapid PCR test and the Rapid Antigen test. Some of you may also have seen or bought an “at-home” rapid test as well. Using the right COVID test will help provide you with the “proof of test” needed to return to your normal routines. AFC Urgent Care Dedham will ...

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  December is going to go by quickly and before you know it we’ll be in 2022! We just made it through Thanksgiving, and that was exhausting, and here we are in Chanukah already. We hope that you are being safe and have been following COVID-19 safety precautions. After all, December has the most holidays in one and you’re probably going to have back-to-back holiday gatherings. The good thing about ending 2021 is that ...

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  Did you know there are millions of people affected by diabetes and millions who are not aware that they’re borderline diabetic. In light of Diabetes Awareness Month, AFC Urgent Care Dedham encourages people to take care of their heart health!   Some of you may not know the risks and symptoms which could lead to one of the more serious types of diabetes. For this reason, it’s important that you manage these symptoms now ...

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“Should I get the flu shot OR get the COVID-19 vaccine?” This shouldn’t be a question. Both vaccines protect against two entirely different viruses. Getting a flu vaccine will not protect you from COVID-19 and getting a COVID-19 vaccine will not protect you from any of the flu strains this winter. Hopefully in the future one will emerge, but for the time being, we need both vaccines. HOWEVER, if you get both a COVID-19 ...

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Ouch! Mom, I got stung by a bee!   Kids are going to be kids. It’s the end of summer and they want to be outside as much as they can before school starts. But, they’re still outdoor dangers to be aware about, especially during the later half of summer into early fall.   Did you know, the end of summer into early fall is known for “angry bee” season? It’s not your imagination ...

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