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Know when to get urgent help
Some symptoms need urgent care, rather than a message left for later.
Urgent-help sources checked September 17, 2026.
Severe allergy symptoms are an emergency
A severe allergic reaction is a threat to life, according to MedlinePlus, the patient information service of the National Library of Medicine. It can develop within seconds or minutes.
Signs can include trouble breathing, difficulty swallowing, swelling of the tongue or face, and passing out. These signs are reasons to seek help, not a way to diagnose yourself.
For severe allergy symptoms, call 911 or head to the nearest emergency room.
A severe response to infection also needs attention
When the body responds to an infection in an extreme way, that response is called sepsis. Sepsis is a medical emergency; this warning comes from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Its listed signs include clammy skin, confusion, extreme pain, a weak pulse or fast heartbeat, shortness of breath, and fever or feeling very cold.
A list of signs cannot tell you the cause. It explains why a possible emergency cannot wait for an ordinary follow-up reply.
A medicine error needs an answer
Poison Control offers free, private help with medicine errors at any hour. For a possible error, get help rather than guessing what to do.
FDA, the Food and Drug Administration, accepts patient reports through MedWatch, its medicine-problem reporting service. A report does not replace getting care.
FDA notes that reporting a problem cannot establish that it was caused by the medicine. These reports cannot tell us how often a problem occurs, either.
Find overdose help in MedlinePlus medicine information