Why Does My Skin Get Dry in the Winter? As winter approaches, Hickory residents might find themselves dealing with that dreaded dry, parched skin. Whether you’re checking out cool planes at the Hickory Aviation Museum, hunting for treasures at the Hickory Furniture Mart, or just trying to keep up with the daily chaos, dry skin can quickly go from a minor nuisance to a major irritation. This winter, be proactive and take some preventive ...
Is an Urgent Care Walk-In Clinic Like Going to the ER? If you find yourself with an emergency medical condition that needs to be dealt with, it can often become an overwhelming situation. Thoughts of long waits, expensive treatments, and procedures at a hospital emergency room (ER) may cross your mind. However, the ER isn't always your only option - have you ever considered visiting an urgent care walk-in clinic? Urgent care clinics like AFC ...
Oh, the holiday season. All of the delicious food, cozy nights on the couch and flowing drinks can make this a wonderful time of year to revel in another season of life surrounded by friends and family. However, all of this celebration can be hard on your body! Running around getting everything done ahead of time can put a strain on your immune system, and feeling sluggish after too many celebrations can end in a ...
Getting Strep Without Tonsils? Is It Possible? AFC Hickory NC Has Answers for You Is getting strep without tonsils possible? The short answer is yes. Strep throat is caused by a particular strain of bacteria, group A Streptococcus. These bacteria can live in the nose and mouth. The bacteria are spread through an infected person's saliva or mucus and contact with contaminated surfaces and objects. A person without tonsils can contract the infection if ...
Can Bronchitis Turn Into Pneumonia? Can bronchitis turn into pneumonia? In some cases, this happens when the inflammation of the bronchial tubes persists for some time and is not treated properly, leading to a bacterial or viral infection that can cause pneumonia. When bronchitis becomes severe, the tiny hair-like structures (cilia) that line the bronchi can become damaged, making it difficult for mucus to clear from the lungs. This trapped mucus creates a breeding ground ...
What Are the Degrees of Burns? A Guide to Identifying Burns So, what are the degrees of burns? If you’ve been wondering how to identify burns, we’ve got the answers for you. Burns are a common injury that can occur from various sources, including hot liquids, fire, chemicals, and sun exposure. Depending on the severity of the burn, it can range from a minor inconvenience to a life-threatening emergency. Therefore, it is crucial ...
RSV can seem like a scary virus for new parents to be aware of, and unfortunately, it sometimes is. RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus, can cause some serious breathing issues for your newborn or infant. While anyone can become infected with RSV, it disproportionately affects small children and older adults and can even be life-threatening in severe cases. Our AFC Urgent Care Hickory team wants you to be prepared as we head into RSV season ...
Being a parent during the height of the cold and flu season can be really challenging. Navigating sick kids, keeping a clean house and calling in to work yet again because your youngest spiked a fever in the middle of the night can have us all dreaming of the warmer months ahead. No one wants their children to get sick at this time of year, but it is incredibly common as so many different infections ...
As a prominent care provider of accessible primary care, urgent care, and occupational medicine services nationwide, American Family Care (AFC) is uniquely positioned to guide and educate the public on pertinent health issues, such as the FDA’s recent decisions on the effectiveness of oral phenylephrine. The FDA held a Non-Prescription Drug Advisory Committee meeting on September 11-12, 2023, to deliberate on the effectiveness of oral phenylephrine as an active ingredient in over-the-counter (OTC) cough ...
Why You Should See an Urgent Care Doctor for Wart Removal Home remedies for warts might not be as effective as you hope, so we recommend seeing an urgent care doctor for wart removal to treat these pesky growths at their source. Warts are caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV) and can appear almost anywhere on the body, causing both physical discomfort and self-consciousness. This article takes you through everything you need to know about ...
As we enter into the heart of cold and flu season, it is important to be on the lookout for any signs of illness for your entire family. A single cold or the flu could sneak in and spread throughout your household if you aren’t careful. While it is impossible to completely prevent illnesses, taking preventive steps can help you stay healthy. This is especially true when strep throat, the flu and COVID-19 cases ...
We can almost guarantee that if we asked you if you knew someone who had a serious or even deadly COVID-19 case over the past couple of years, you would say yes. It affected our entire country in ways we could have never imagined. We are so grateful that cases haven’t reached the peaks that they did back in 2020 and 2021, but COVID-19 is still out there and can still make you really ...
Now that the kids are back in the school rhythm once more, we hope you are, too! All of the homework, activities, sports and chores come back with a vengeance and life as a parent gets busier once again. It always seems like once you have your routine nailed down that someone in the household gets sick. While there are many different illnesses circulating about at any given time, one common symptom across those illnesses ...
Sports Physicals: Getting Ready to Go Back to School Before hitting the field, court, or track, there's a crucial checkpoint that ensures the well-being of our student-athletes: sports physicals. These check-ups are a proactive approach to safeguarding the health and performance of young athletes. They not only fulfill school and sports league requirements but also serve as a comprehensive assessment to detect and prevent potential health issues. Pre-Register The Importance of Sports Physicals Physicals ...
Getting sick can be a really big source of frustration, especially when you have a busy week ahead! It can be even more frustrating when you are feeling sick but have no idea what is causing your symptoms. Thankfully, we are here to help! Our team is dedicated to caring for you and we are grateful to have multiple different diagnostic tools, like a state-of-the-art lab, at our disposal to help us along the way ...
I Have an STD, But I'm Not Sexually Active If you have contracted a sexually transmitted disease (STD) but are not sexually active, there are a few reasons why this could be the case. "STD" refers to the constellation of diseases that result from a sexually transmitted infection (STI). For example, cervical cancer is an STD from the STI of HPV. Though it is possible to contract an STI even if you are not ...
Sure you can! You can do anything you set your mind to, though it may be a difficult thing to do. Quitting an addictive habit is hard work and takes determination, but you can do it. Smoking cigarettes and using other forms of tobacco are two of the most common addictions, so know that you are not alone and that there are other people out there wanting to quit as well. Our AFC Urgent Care ...
You never want to think about the possibility of getting sick. It’s never fun to feel unwell, but it can cause anxiety if you aren’t sure what is causing your symptoms. That is certainly true when it comes to STDs! Sexually transmitted diseases can not only make you feel uncomfortable, but they can have a significant impact on your health later in life if they aren’t treated properly. Our AFC Urgent Care ...
We love the summer season for many reasons, but not for the increase in bugs and creepy crawlies in the area. The summer temperatures make us crawl out of our homes and into the sun, and the same goes for mosquitoes and ticks! Ticks can be found at any point in the year in North Carolina, but they are more prevalent during the late spring to early fall. If you discover a tick on your ...
Accidents happen—there’s just no way around it! Whether you are running around the kitchen getting dinner ready and you trip over one of your kid’s toys again or misstep coming down a ladder and fall, injuries can occur at any point. If you ever wonder whether an injury is just a mild sprain or something more serious, that’s where we come in. Our team can evaluate the injury site, and we ...
