Guest: It's your hand, so don't risk it!!! If swelling has not gotten worse, you should be ok. But it if is more than 24 hours after the initial bite, get a 2nd opinion.
it's been LESS than a full month since my bite that I posted....But all I have to say is:
1) If you went to the ER and got IV antibiotics (PLUS THEY SHOULD GIVE YOU ORAL ANTIBIOTICS FOR ALL THOSE BITES!!)
Stick with that and get an rx for pain meds if at all possible.
2) After spending $250.00 last week to see a "hand specialist" because of my numbness/pain, I must say don't waste you time yet. If within 3 months of the bite you are having extreme pain and some numbness, it may be worth it. The specialist looked at my hands, my xrays, and said, "You will most likely have numbness forever, but if the pain lasts for 3 months, come back."
****BIGGEST LESSON LEARNED/TO LEARN:
IF you are on heavy antibiotics (Augmentin or IV antibiotics) Give it at least a month and get pain meds if possible.
ALSO...if you do NOT HAVE HEALTH INSURANCE...contact work, or the owner...because I owe $9,000.00 for 3 days of ER visits, antibiotics, and pain meds. That does NOT include the hand specialist. I have no intention of contacting the cat owner for payment considering they were jerks when we asked about vaccines....but JUST BE CAREFUL!!!!! a simple bite with swelling and pain could possibly leave you without function to that hand. so stay on top of symptoms early to avoid long term damage.
it's been LESS than a full month since my bite that I posted....But all I have to say is:
1) If you went to the ER and got IV antibiotics (PLUS THEY SHOULD GIVE YOU ORAL ANTIBIOTICS FOR ALL THOSE BITES!!)
Stick with that and get an rx for pain meds if at all possible.
2) After spending $250.00 last week to see a "hand specialist" because of my numbness/pain, I must say don't waste you time yet. If within 3 months of the bite you are having extreme pain and some numbness, it may be worth it. The specialist looked at my hands, my xrays, and said, "You will most likely have numbness forever, but if the pain lasts for 3 months, come back."
****BIGGEST LESSON LEARNED/TO LEARN:
IF you are on heavy antibiotics (Augmentin or IV antibiotics) Give it at least a month and get pain meds if possible.
ALSO...if you do NOT HAVE HEALTH INSURANCE...contact work, or the owner...because I owe $9,000.00 for 3 days of ER visits, antibiotics, and pain meds. That does NOT include the hand specialist. I have no intention of contacting the cat owner for payment considering they were jerks when we asked about vaccines....but JUST BE CAREFUL!!!!! a simple bite with swelling and pain could possibly leave you without function to that hand. so stay on top of symptoms early to avoid long term damage.
:'( I was bitten index finger right hand by my cat whilst at the vets. flushed area under the tap,went to A& E immediatly. finger dressed and antibiotic given and sent home.3 hours later I was in so much pain went back to hospital, they said pain was due to dressing too tight !! redressed and given co-codamol which made me feel faint and sick, was sent home. Saw my own G.P after one week was sent straight to another hospital told it was serious. admited to hospital on I.V antibiotic and operated on same day, in hospital for 4 days Ive been visiting hospital every week for 7 weeks now finger not healing have a open wound and 50-50 if I will have finger tip amputated this week. Cat bites are not to be ignored. go straight to hospital.
That's horrible! I can't believe amputation is a possibility now for you. Scary to think that even if you DO see a doctor, they might misdiagnose and cause even more harm.
My bite wounds still aren't healing very well. It's been EXACTLY 1 month today (and in about an hour exactly 1 month to the minute...lol) since the bite. The actual bite/puncture wounds just peel and scab over....scab flakes off and goes right back to being a small open wound. BUT the scratch marks are healed over have just left a nasty scar.
My finger is still very stiff and i've been using Tiger Balm which helps a little, but not significantly.
Diane: I hope things turn around quickly and you are able to avoid amputation! Did they give you Augmentin for 10days? Hardcore antibiotic and made me feel like c**p, but it cleared the infection quickly when used w/ IV antibiotics at the same time.
Good luck and keep me posted!
My bite wounds still aren't healing very well. It's been EXACTLY 1 month today (and in about an hour exactly 1 month to the minute...lol) since the bite. The actual bite/puncture wounds just peel and scab over....scab flakes off and goes right back to being a small open wound. BUT the scratch marks are healed over have just left a nasty scar.
My finger is still very stiff and i've been using Tiger Balm which helps a little, but not significantly.
Diane: I hope things turn around quickly and you are able to avoid amputation! Did they give you Augmentin for 10days? Hardcore antibiotic and made me feel like c**p, but it cleared the infection quickly when used w/ IV antibiotics at the same time.
Good luck and keep me posted!
:'( Hi there, when I went to first A&E 0n 3rd day a doctor mentioned Augentin but never gave me any!!! rx Metronitrizone and Amoxycilin.Im at hospital tuesday to discuss amputation crossing my fingers while I still have them. Diane.
Hmm...well Augmentin is a combination of amoxicillin and clavulanate. Obviously every situation is different though. I saw 4 different doctors through out my whole experience and they all said that Augmentin was their main choice for bite infections despite the horrible side effects :/ I wonder if going on it now (for you) would make a difference at all, hopefully the hospital will have an alternative to the amputation! Best wishes!
:-) Hi there my last visit to hospital was not as bad as I thought would be, the wound has a black scab which they say is heeling, so amputation has been put on hold, and to be patient, could take months and contiue with physio.Im not on any antibiotics now have not been for 6 weeks. all the best Diane.
Yay!! Glad it's getting better on it's own :-D Keep up the good healing!
I just read most all replies in this thread and have two comments:
1. It's amusing how most cat bite victims got bitten while actually rescuing a cat and without the human's help the cat likely could have died (like the swimming pool or 4 story fall post) but then again, cats are great at survival and it's often human intervention that can hurt them more than help them.
2. I have gotten puncture wounds from my cats at least in half a dozen places. I'ts not pleasant, but I can't figure out what you all are whining about and believe a lot of your are over-reacting. I liked the person's reply where they said they used dove soap and simple water and cleaning. For most injuries cleaning and disinfectant is all that's necessary. I abhor to death the people that respond to every situation with see the vet! see the doctor! Only on very very rare occasions (And genuinely less than 10% of the stores I read in this thread required actual medical attention) does an actual doctor need to be involved. Some people have money to waste and hypochondriasis to cure.
My cat bit me on the calf Thursday. (She wasn't being mean, she's young and rambunctious, and I don't think she meant to bite so hard, but I had been gone longer than normal and she was excited to see me.) I am 50, and have had cats my entire life. I am sure I have been bitten once or twice before, but apparently on any other occasions I was lucky. I woke up Friday, and there was a fire engine red circle around the puncture, my leg was swollen, and it was painful. I went to work, and figured I'd stop at the doc on my way home, thinking it was probably a staph infection, because the only topical infection I have ever had that was this reactive this quickly was a staph infection on a blister when I was a teen.
Let me tell you, I wish I had gone in the morning. The doctor told me that cat bites have a couple bacteria in them that are highly virulent. SHe prescribed augmentin. She also told me she has cats, and she keeps augmentin in her house. She also told me that she has treated people with cat bites and no sign of infection, and she still prescribes the augmentin because these bites can be so toxic. Who knew?! She also told me that cat bites to the hands or feet are often very difficult to treat, because there are so many joints and bones in those areas that a systemic antibiotic has a harder time reaching and curing the infection. She also told me (scaring the c**p out of me) that I was not out of the woods. She said it takes a full 24 hours for the augmentin to start working, and that in the meantime if I spike a high temp (I had a lowgrade fever in her office) or if I notice the redness getting blotchy and travelling up my leg I needed to go to the hospital where they would put me on IV antibiotics. Thankfully, this didn't occur. The redness has gotten a little lesss bright, so I feel the meds are working. That said, I still have a lump on my calf the size of a baseball. It's painful to walk--I'm limping-- and any movement is uncomfortable to the muscles, probably because of the inflammation. And this feels better than yesterday.
One of the other things she told me was to not bother with topical antibiotics, that they were useless, the infection is too deep.
I'm writing this because I read this whole thread, and I see a lot of misinformation. The first rule I took from my doc was if you are bitten by a cat, even with no signs of infection, you should still see the doctor. The second is that if you are having swelling, pain, redness, tingling, etc, as many in this thread wrote about, do not put betadine, or bactine or peroxide on it. GO TO A DOCTOR. I did some research after my doctor visit. Infected cat bites, untreated can give you sepsis, which is a systemic, whole body infection. It can give you meningitis. It can kill you.
Rabies, for the most part is NOT the biggest of your worries. Obviously if you are bitten by a strange animal, that you are unable to capture, the doctors may give you a rabies vaccine, but generally, most people are bitten by an animal in distress--often when they are trying to help.
Also, if you are bitten on the hand or foot, which is the most common place to be bitten, this can be worse (As I explained above). A long term infection in those areas, even when eventually successfully treated can still leave you with permanent joint damage, give you arthritis, can cause long term muscle and or nerve damage.
Finally, I hope that first poster went to the hospital. ANd John Kuczmarski? Your kind of idiocy can kill people. Most intelligent people are less interested in throwing around three dollar words like hypochondriasis, than in erring on the side of caution.
I was bit by my cat on a Sunday afternoon. By Monday morning, my hand was swollen and red up past my watch. Saw my doctor who sent me to ER. Said I was at risk of losing my hand if I didn't get IV antibiotics, because the infection spread so quickly. Very glad I listened to her. After 2 days in the hospital, it FINALLY started to feel better. Still have a bit of a bump on the top of my hand and a little pain in my fingers, after 4 weeks.
My house cat bit my left hand just a few days ago. Right when it happened it started to swell. Went to the ER the next morning and had an IV put in and was pumped with ibuprofen and antibiotics. They put ointment on my hand dressed up my wounds and gave me a cast. I had a follow up the next day and the swelling was worse. In my hands wrist and 3 fingers. I'm assuming my cat punctured a vein, hence the exsteam swelling situation. At my follow up appointment they gave me another IV of antibiotics, a different kind that they gave me the last time. I was also prescribed antibiotics and ibuprofen and have been taking them as directed. At the follow up they told me to put ice on it keep it elevated and to keep my hand moving. I have a follow up appointment tomorrow. I've been doing everything they Said and my hand is still swollen. My hand actually felt hot today. After I had taken the ice off, it burned, it was like pouring cold water on a burn. The only change is that I can carry a water bottle in my hands now, and I can move my hand a little more. Let see what they say tomorrow. Sigh.
I got bit by my car bad on my inner elbow all the way up to my shoulder 12 puncture wounds almost all very deep. Now my cat isn't the average cat he is a beast!! Pure muscle expecially his jaws. I am concerned he might have hit a tendend and would that heal or require surgery?
Two days ago I was bitten on my left calf by my sisters cat. It was my own fault as I didn't see it and nearly stood on it. It's bit be in a few different places on my calf but the area around some of the puncture wounds as become inflamed and extremely bruised. I'm worried it's getting infected as the area is hurting quite a lot, but is also extremely irritating and itchy. Is this normal in a cat bite? I've been feeling a bit sick and shakey today, but that could be unrelated. I'll make an appointment with the doctor tomorrow just to be on the safe side.
right on..I've been thru a lot of pain in my life but nothing what the hell I have been going thru the last 8 days with the back of my hand having 2 cat fang marks on it. Read my post and hope that everyone bitten sees a doctor immediately. Pasterurella, septic infections, strep, cat scratch fever, arthritis...unreal what the nice little kitty bite can do to you...this is not hypochondriasis...I had no insurance, no job and am 55 and was alone when it bit me...by the next day I drove myself to ER and they took me back immediately and started on IV and they could not understate how dangerous a cat bite is.
Right? I got bit about 3 weeks ago now by my kitty. He had gotten out and was scared..I lunged for him and he latched onto my right hand in several places, with deep punctures on my middle finger and back of my hand. within 2 hours my hand looked like a football! Went to doc, got Augmentin and pain killers....NEVER EVER felt worse pain in my life. EVER!!!! He popped a vein in my hand, and must have torn a tendon....3 weeks later the puncture wounds are hard little bumps. And if feels like I have arthritis in my right hand. I am amazed what my little angel could do...Can anybody tell me how long the pain on the hand will last? thanks...and I hope everyone feels better soon!!