Cat scratch treatment anyone?

[Another_Poster]

On me not on the kitty.

Friends house cat got me yesterday. Thankfully I know that the cat is utd on all vaccines and never goes outside. However, she got my arm quite good.

Didn’t hurt all day yesterday or today until I put triple antibiotic ointment on then it swelled and turned red around all the scratches. I’ve been putting peroxide on and I kept it covered while I was showing yesterday.

So, it’s pretty painful now. :no:

What is the best treatment for this? Going to try neosporin or bacitracin tonight but when should I go to doc? Not really big on doctors or abx for every scratch or cold.

BUT my friend was telling me how a vet got scratched by cat, infection went to his brain and he was dead 2 weeks later. :eek: I know that is quite extreme but still.

[Bluey]

Yes, a friend was bitten by a feral cat she was feeding, washed it good, put some stuff on it.

That evening her hand was swelling a bit, she went to emergency and they said she would have been dead by morning if she had waited until then to see about it.

They kept her there a few days on intravenous antibiotics and she almost lost her hand.

Animal control caught the cat, that tested positive for rabies.

She had to go thru the series of shots, on top of almost losing the hand.

Don’t mess with it, the bacteria in cats can be deadly to people in a hurry.

Yes, it is scary, take care and don’t wait if it starts to feel funny or swell.

[S1969]

Assuming you are POSITIVE that the cat is UTD on vaccines, I’d call your doctor or urgent care in the a.m. It’s likely to need oral antibiotics, whether you like it or not. Cat scratches and bites can be really nasty. There isn’t really any other “treatment” for infections except to wait it out and hope it doesn’t get worse…so I’d probably not try that.

[MistyBlue]

Most definitely get it checked by a doctor ASAP.

Vaccines don’t prevent whatever a cat can get on it’s paws. And considering how they cover their waste…and how it’s warned to keep pregnant or other at-risk people away from feline feces…

Also watch tonight for fever, any rashes and feel under your armpits for any lumps for cat-scratch fever. Bartonellosis (cat scratch disease) doesn’t have a vaccine, it can’t be vaccinated against.

Any infection from a cat scratch or bite needs to be seen by a doctor. If you develop any other symptoms tonight, go to an ER or walk-in medical center.

[GraceLikeRain]

I guess I’ve always gotten lucky. Working at a clinic, having multiple feral fosters, personal cats, etc. means that I’ve handled hundreds of cats. I once got bitten over a dozen times on one hand in an emergency situation. Things get puffy and red, pour on some hydrogen peroxide, slap on some antibiotic cream, and it always takes care of itself.

OP i’m not telling you that you should do this, but I do think that it usually works out. Oral antibiotics may not be a bad idea.

[shiloh]

Have been a victim of this more times than I care to count - bleah.

How red is your hand? Just around the scratches or is the whole hand red? If just around the scratches, you’re probably okay. Might be an idea to soak your hand in some betadine solution (NOT scrub - too harsh). Back off the peroxide, leave the ointment off for day or so. Keep it clean and if it persists more than another day, go see MD. Just MHO.

I remember I got scratched by one of my outside kittehs and who knows what was on his claws - the chemicals they use on the crops and orchard, whatever animal ick was in the dirt - yikes. I just gave my hand a quick wash with regular hand soap but within a matter of hours my hand was completely red and swollen like a clown hand. I called one of my nurses, she told me to see if I could get it to drain and then soak my hand in Betadine and every time I got scratched or bitten to wash very very thoroughly with Betadine. Hand got better (whew!) and since then - taking her advice - I have never had another problem. And I handle a lot of goofy cats.

[Zu_Zu]

Get to ER or Dr. In a box tonight !! NOW !

[B]

• get to dr tonight !

DO NOT FOOL AROUND WITH THIS !

oral antibiotics !

Please believe the posters !

You don’t want to end up in ICU !

Jingles & AO ![/B]

[Laurierace]

I am recovering from a bout of cellulitis brought on by a bee sting. It felt fine after a couple of hours but I woke up the next morning to a disaster. I almost ended up being hospitalized for IV antibiotics but thankfully it responded to the second antibiotic they added. Anything that breaks the skin sets you up for a possible infection, getting worse, not better is a bad sign. Good luck!

[Raymundo]

You should go to urgent care TONIGHT. My mother was bitten on the hand by her own cat, treated it with hydrogen peroxide and ointment overnight, went in to see her doc in the morning who immediately sent her to the ER where she was admitted on an emergency basis for IV antibiotics–hospitalized for 2 days. Don’t mess around with this. Be well!

[Bicoastal]

[QUOTE=GraceLikeRain;8295557]
Working at a clinic, having multiple feral fosters, personal cats, etc. means that I’ve handled hundreds of cats. I once got bitten over a dozen times on one hand in an emergency situation. Things get puffy and red, pour on some hydrogen peroxide, slap on some antibiotic cream, and it always takes care of itself.[/QUOTE]

You are lucky! I’m surprised the vet practice doesn’t mandate you head straight to the ER for treatment. Cat bites, especially, are dangerous. Our protocol was iodine scrub then head to ER, where they did…iodine scrub :lol: and abx if necessary.

[BuddyRoo]

Cat scratches and bites are notorious for creating massive infections in humans even when it’s a pretty minor injury. If you have not already, please go to the doctor. You can get very very ill from these infections.

Hydrogen peroxide kills healthy tissue and doesn’t do much for infection control. It is contraindicated by lots and lots of research for wound healing. I realize it’s still popular. But the only thing we ever used it for in a vet clinic was to get blood stains out of lab coats and white animal hair. Aside from that, it’s pretty useless.

[Another_Poster]

I am sure that cat is UTD on vaccines thankfully since I saw the receipt from when she got them. Yes arm is now swelling so I will be going to urgent care after work.

Darn cat!:mad:

[tabula_rashah]

Too late now- but I use Vetericyn gel on pretty much everything. I know it’s for animals but it works better than any people med I’ve ever tried.

[hoopoe]

wash arm with soap stop putting anything on it.

take a dose of antihistamine. Both cat scratches and the 3xcream may be producing a local histamine reaction

continue to doctor apointment

[Bluey]

[QUOTE=Another Poster;8296062]
I am sure that cat is UTD on vaccines thankfully since I saw the receipt from when she got them. Yes arm is now swelling so I will be going to urgent care after work.

Darn cat!:mad:[/QUOTE]

What did the Dr tell you?

You ok?

[cayuse]

Hope you got seen and are OK.

[jen-s]

Google “peroxide and wounds.” You’ll find article after article talking about how H2O2 is plus/minus on debridement, but poor for microbial inhibition to potentially the cause of delay of healing. As someone who has worked in a microbiology lab as well has sustained many, many minor wounds over the years, I only keep H2O2 on hand to induce vomiting if the dog eats anything bad.

Betadine can be good, but many people are allergic to iodine. My preference is chlorhexadine, easily found in Hibiclens. It’s used most often in hospital scrubs because it’s highly microbicidal and well-tolerated.

Keep us posted, OP! I hope it’s looking much better today.

[stargzng386]

I hope you are ok! Cat scratches and bites can go bad really fast. I was bit by my cat when I was 12. She was being attacked by a dog loose in the neighborhood and I was trying to break it up and she got me instead of the dog. My parents washed it, put antibiotic cream on it and I went to bed. Woke up in the morning and my hand was so swollen I couldn’t move my fingers. Went to the ER immediately they put me straight on IV antibiotics. You could see the red infection travelling up my veins in my arm. They actually drew a line on my arm and said if it got past that point they might have to amputate my hand. Luckily the antibiotics stopped it and I was fine but it could have been a different story a few hours later.

[Another_Poster]

Thank you everyone for the advice! Went to the urgent care place last night after work. Apparently I am allergic to peroxide. The cuts are not infected but my arm was swelling due to the allergic reaction. They cleaned it very well and gave me a new scrub.

It’s the chlorhexadine scrub mentioned earlier. No abx but told me to come back if it worsens AT ALL or call and they will call in script for abx.

It is feeling SO much better already and the swelling is already reducing. The peace of mind for going was well worth it too.

[Bluey]

Thanks for the update, your situation was worrisome.
Glad you are under good care now.

Who would have thought about it.
That is not one of the standard allergens.
Hoping that will be all and you feel better soon.

Careful with those cranky cats, they don’t take prisoners.