Urgent symptoms

Topics to discuss

• Back pain with new leg weakness, numbness in the groin or inner thighs, or loss of bladder or bowel control
• A hot, red, swollen joint with fever or chills
• Obvious deformity, inability to bear weight, or numbness after an injury
• Severe pain after a major fall, car crash, or other trauma
• Fever with spreading redness after a joint injection
• For any of these, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room.

Choosing the next step

Use the warning signs above to decide when emergency help is needed. This page cannot check your symptoms or tell you that it is safe to wait. If symptoms are severe, sudden, or getting worse quickly, seek urgent medical help. A routine appointment request is not an emergency service, and a message may not be read right away.

For a life-threatening emergency, call 911. Do not drive yourself if you feel faint, confused, or unable to travel safely. If possible, have someone stay with you while help arrives. Bring your medicine list and allergy information if they are easy to reach, but do not delay emergency care to collect records.

Sources

• Osteoarthritis — MedlinePlus (NIH)
• Back Pain — MedlinePlus (NIH)
• Tendinitis — MedlinePlus (NIH)
• Gout — NIAMS (NIH)
• Rheumatoid Arthritis — NIAMS (NIH)
• Fibromyalgia — MedlinePlus (NIH)