Five Things You Didn't Know CityMD Can Treat

Raise your hand if you enjoy going to the doctor’s office. Anyone? You sure? Bueller...Bueller...?

Between finding that precious window of time when your schedule aligns with your doctor’s calendar, running to a neighborhood that might be far from your apartment or office, and with the looming fear of “what if I need to see someone right away,” the logistics of health care can be mildly frustrating to say the least. (And hey, we’re not even talking about insurance companies here.)

The good news is that a trusted neighborhood doctor is never far out of reach—and in this case, there’s no appointment required. CityMD, New York’s premiere network of walk-in clinics, operates 70 locations across the NY Metro Area. Patients are seen pretty quickly too—typically within around eight minutes of walking in, to be precise. If you’ve ever decided to pop on over to an ER, you know their wait times are… a bit different.

But what exactly can CityMD treat? Well, the answer is quite a lot of things. Below, we’ve rounded up a few of the less common services for those of you that don’t want to schlep to a hospital or wait days or weeks until your primary care doctor has an opening.

Travel Vaccines and Preparation
If you haven’t noticed, it’s currently vacation season. If you’re staying local, you probably don’t have much to worry about beyond mosquito bites or ticks, but some international destinations come with more of a warning sticker. So, while you’re rummaging around for your passport, consider doing a little medical prep work too—CityMD has you covered for most vaccines or medications you might need before hopping on a flight.

Exhibit A: yellow fever is common in South America and Africa, and some countries even require proof of vaccine to enter. (Don’t worry, CityMD has your documentation covered.) Typhoid is another big one, commonly contracted in South America and Asia. There’s also Hep A and tetanus to think about too. Bleh. (So seriously, go get your shots.)

CityMD also has your back while you’re traveling, providing prescriptions for medications you can throw in your suitcase that help with everything from altitude-induced nausea to malaria. And, of course, if you’re feeling under the weather when you return to the city, pop over to one of their locations for a quick diagnosis.

STD Testing
Not to echo too much of your high school health classes, but STDs are a very real and very common part of living a sexually active lifestyle. But unfortunately, the whole subject can feel taboo and stigmatized—and despite city-wide efforts to normalize living with and treating STDs, not everyone has access to the same knowledge or resources. CityMD wants to change that.

CityMD provides comprehensive and confidential treatment for a number of STDs including chlamydia, syphilis, herpes, and gonorrhea. You’ll get your results in about 3-7 days, depending on the type of testing done, and CityMD will empower you with the medications, tools and resources you need to bounce back. Don’t worry—you’re in good hands there.

OB/GYN
Okay ladies, here we go: obviously CityMD shouldn’t be replacing your OB/GYN, but they’re available if you’re in a pinch, especially if your doctor isn’t around to see you on the fly. They’ll diagnose and treat everything from UTIs (cue the sound of a thousand women sighing and muttering ugh), to yeast infections and irregular vaginal bleeding. CityMD also offers blood and urine pregnancy testing—so while you can opt for the over-the-counter-comes-in-a-box method, blood tests ensure more accurate results. They can also help out with morning sickness, treated with fluids and anti-nausea medicine, as well as any urgent pregnancy-related issues that develop out of the blue.

Food Poisoning
Remember that one time that you ate that weird thing that you knew you shouldn’t have eaten but you did it anyway because you were starving? Yeah, we’ve all been there. Barf, literally.

Foods likely to give you food poisoning are, in no particular order: potato salad, fried rice, lettuce, chicken, eggs, and deli meats. So, um, like most things in life, you can basically get food poisoning from most anywhere—sometimes it’s the luck of the draw, or sometimes, unfortunately, the chef just didn’t wash his or her hands properly. Sorry!

CityMD can help you out with IV fluids, antibiotics, and nausea medications, depending on your symptoms and diagnosis. In more serious cases, their doctors can evaluate for common bacteria, viruses and parasites that cause gastroenteritis. (Translation: stomach flu.)

Foreign Body Removal
Or, to put it more simply, “getting rid of stuff in your body that shouldn’t be there.” We’re talking about weird things up your toddler’s nose, splinters, glass, and even condoms. (Yeah, it happens.) CityMD will clean it, stitch it (if necessary), prescribe antibiotics (again, if necessary), administer a tetanus shot if you did something like step on a nail (ahhhh!), and refer you to a specialist if the situation is more serious. Frankly, this is NYC: there’s a lot of gross things floating around this beautiful concrete jungle that definitely do not belong in your body. Go to the professionals to get this junk out.

To learn more about CityMD’s network of walk-in clinics and to find your nearest location, visit their website here.

This post is a sponsored collaboration between CityMD and Gothamist staff.