So I got fucked up by a cat yesterday. Not the one in the pic.
I was holding my mom's cat and she turned the vacuum on.
I woke up today with it swollen and throbbing.
Can't even bend it.
Should I go to the ER?
Forgot the part about it biting my knuckle to the bone
>>2122165
Oh yeah, you need to go to the doctor, brah.
Get a shot of antibiotics. Had this happen to me a year ago. It'll get super infected if you don't.
If you have good health insurance you might also want to get x-rays done.
>tfw it was cheaper for me to go to the doctor and get xrays, antibiotics, and see a specialist than it was to get antibiotics for my cat after it got bit.
:|
>>2122164
Cat bites usually get infected. It's basically a puncture would + a shit ton of bacteria
go to the hospital and get on ABC's
>>2122164
>Should I go to the ER?
TAKE IT TO THE VE--- ER!
>>2122164
OH FUCK OP SAY GOODBYE TO YOUR HAND
>>2122166
>If you have good health insurance you might also want to get x-rays done.
This is unnecesary.
>>2122171
Possible nerve damage if the cat bit all the way to the knuckle. You have lots of nerves in your hand, and it might be worth it.
Only cost me like $35 with my co-pay to see a specialist and get x-rays done.
>>2122174
>Only cost me like $35 with my co-pay to see a specialist and get x-rays done.
Again... unnecesarry.
You do realise you should have as few x-rays as you can.
Seriously, what would happen if you got scratched by your cat, had a hand x ray, got cancer that matastasiesed to your brain and died.
Surely that would be death too ironic to bare.
>>2122166
>>2122167
>>2122169
Oh fug.
I probably will. It seems to only be getting worse. It's a completely different color than my other fingers, and the swelling is pretty bad.
Would they give anything for pain, because ibuprofen isn't cutting it?
>>2122177
>Implying you're getting a full body x-ray and not just one of your hand.
He also didn't get scratched. He got a deep puncture wound right in his hand.
>>2122179
Meh, probably not. I remember mine hurt like a mother fucker and all they said to take was ibuprofen. But seriously, go to a clinic right now and get some antibiotics. That's what you need right now.
>>2122174
Also... you dont have nerves in your knuckle genius.
But the doctor will say; oh ohh yeah, i can see how the cat tooth just grazed your ulnar nurve. You'll need two weeks inside a virus proof bubble and regular daily rectal examinations.
>>2122182
And if he has good insurance it won't cost him much at all.
>Being poor and making compromises when it comes to your health.
>>2122181
>getting a full body x-ray
Cancers metastasize though. Even if it starts in your hand, it can move.
>>2122187
>Implying you wouldn't notice a lump in your fucking hand.
>>2122184
>>Being poor and making compromises when it comes to your health.
No, im actually Britfag and can get as many rectal examinations as i want free on the NHS.
This free healthcare, however, means that doctors make prescriptions in moderation, rather than over overcompensation. So i have a better idea of what is and is not an unnecessary procedure.
>>2122187
An x-ray that isn't full body adds like .001% cancer risk. You already have a 25% risk just from being human, so going up to 25.001% might be worth it to make sure everything is okay.
>>2122189
>Bragging about his shitty healthcare loaded with compromises
I swear /an/ is full of crazy cat women sometimes
OP, go to a regular clinic and tell them what happened. You'll get some antibacterials after draining your finger and they'll send to home
you dont need x-rays and shit for a cat bite
You can probably fix it yourself with some peroxide
Medfag here.
This isn't going away on it's own, see a doctor immediately (read: GO NOW). Do not see a clinic doc, you need to go to the emergency room. This kind of infection is not a joke, people die from this stuff, or have to have limbs removed.
RIP OP
>>2122196
You do not need an emergency room visit for a shot of antibiotics.
Stop wasting resources and money on shit that a GP can handle.
>>2122196
firstyear, huh?
>>2122164
Why do you people continue to own these dangerous wild animals?
Puncture wounds suck. I've been bitten by dogs and cats without any swelling but when a tooth goes just past a certain point only fuck do they swell like a motherfucker.
Antibiotics will take it right away. Ignore faggots against the ER unless you can get in with a doctor or clinic today, but you should really get the antibiotics ASAP.
I thought it was well known that cat scratches can end up with you getting your limb removed
>>2122200
>seeing a clinic doc for a cat bite
A third of patients with infections from cat bites who sought medical care had to be hospitalized, according to a three year Mayo study. Because of the shape of cat teeth, bacteria can get into the tendon sheath or into the joint where they can grow with relative protection from the blood and immune system. Clinic doctors and GP's see dozens of folks every day who think they have both AIDs and cancer- they're used to handing out bandaids, some antibiotics, and sending people home. Because they have less clinical experience with serious, life-threatening illness, they may not be so familiar with this variety of infection, and might be inclined to under-treat it, or may even misdiagnose and mistreat it. This kind of infection requires aggressive and immediate treatment, because when it's not tended to immediately, there's the risk that the patient could lose a finger, limb, or need multiple surgeries, as the bacteria in a cat's mouth are resistant to antibiotic treatment (14% failure rate in this study of just under 200 patients).
>wasting resources and money
I don't believe OP is in Canada.
>Spouting shit for the sake of being contrary when you have no idea what you're talking about.
>>2122238
I went to a cheapo clinic not knowing any different when I got a deep bite last year. It had all of my hand swelling up the next day. She gave me a tetanus shot and a shot of antibiotics in my ass. I was told to take ibuprofen and given a prescription for antibiotics as well. Also had a follow up call the next day and she scheduled an appointment for me with a hand specialist.
That's good immediate treatment that doesn't require an ER visit. Yeah, if OP can't get to a doctor today he should absolutely go to the ER since he does need immediate attention. The attention doesn't require an ER visit yet, however.
>>2122240
While it's wonderful that your particular doctor knew what to do and was responsible enough to schedule a follow-up, many don't. GPs are typically under-practiced in treating real illnesses, and miss the signs of serious illness and impending death all the time. They are also less liable if you die than an ER doctor, as GPs are supposed to be treating run of the mill, common stuff and have some legal defenses in that area. Because ER docs are the 'last stop' before death, they will go to greater lengths to make sure you're definitely going to be okay. Hospitals also are more likely to have more advanced equipment like an x-ray machine.
>>2122251
>Implying the ER is going to cut you open when all you need is antibiotics
You are the person most responsible for your health. If you're not feeling better it is your responsibility to bring it to a doctor's attention and then escalate the treatment course.
Wasting ER capacity for an infected animal bite when there are facilities just as well suited to treating the condition is irresponsible.
Are you guys serious?
I've been bitten by cats, dogs, ferrets, mink etc and never went to the doc, all the bites were much worse than OPs babby scratches. Some I glued shut and should have maybe have stitches. literally all you have to do is keep it clean, just use water and peroxide until it heals you
Do you guys go see doctor when you get the sniffles too?
>>2122164
Kill the fucking cat
>>2122258
>5 weeks later
Haul your stupid ass to the ER.
Now, lets talk prevention so this doesn't happen the next time you get mauled by a cat. The next time this happens, promptly go to the kitchen sink and get some dish soap and scrub the fuck out of your wounds. It's not working unless it fucking hurts. Not a little soap sting, but fucking hurts. You scrub and scrub and scrub. And then you very thoroughly rinse all the soap off and out of your wounds. And then you cover that shit up. Now that you have it nice and clean, you don't want it to get reinfected.
Of course for this to work, you have to not be a total fucking pansy bitch. You need to be able to scrub open, bleeding wounds that hurt like pain.
>>2122164
If you haven't gone to the ER or have died yet, go immediately
My cat bit my mother in the thumb knuckle and she went to sleep with it and woke up in bad pain> She went to the ER and the people said she would have been dead by morning
Cats carry REALLY bad shit in their mouths, there are hypothesis that it's evolutionary to aid in killing prey
>>2122258
I'm in same boat as you but unlike OP we aren't clinically retarded.
Anytime I've gotten bitten or scratched(hand taming a rowdy iguana had this go down alot)I'd go and either use hibiclens, hydrogen peroxide or both.
H2O2 is actually really bad for you. Same with rubbing alcohol. Don't use that shit on open wounds. Use Iodine or Betadine antiseptics instead. Alcohol and and H2O2 wont kill you or anything, but they do dry out and kill the skin around the wound which makes it take a lot longer to heal. If you want your wound to be very clean and heal a lot faster, Betadine and Iodine antiseptics are way better.
>>2122272
Im 2nd anon and got bit on the bottom/side of my knuckle by my friends dick ass cat who was hiding in the dish cabinet when I went to grab a pot. It was sore for a few days and I did have to drain it once but went fine either way.
This is just my anecdotal evidence though
>>2122164
yes before they might have to cut it off
>>2122272
Middle knuckle once by cat, thumb knuckle by a mink, and a dog tooth fractured my rib if that counts
Just keep it clean and it heals regardless
I'm waiting to see if rabies symptoms appear any day now, that's my only worry
>>2122281
Rubbing alcohol would hurt like a bitch right? Hydrogen peroxide is always my go to, not saying you're wrong about using other stuff, but always it has helped me heal and I also wash with water. I like watching the bubbles
>>2122238
>who sought medical care
hmmm....
>>2122269
it's insane how no one knows of the miracle that is peroxide
Peroxide kills everything
>>2122164
Maybe if you didn't have the immune system of a diabetic fat ass, you hand wouldn't have swollen. Also, if you hadn't been a brain dead retard, you would've washed your hands and poured some alcohol over it.
Seriously, antibiotics should only be used in emergencies. Use 'em now and the day the shit really hits the fans, doctors will go "can't help you lol" and leave you to die a slow, painful death by sepsis in a hospital bed.
>>2122332
Used to work at my grandma's ranch and volunteer at a vet clinic. I have been bitten and scratched by more species than most people have even seen in their lives. I've always just scrubbed the fuck out of any wound that bleeds with soap and water and then used betadine and bandages until it healed.
Like you, I've never had to see a Dr about any of it. Keep your shit clean folks. It works. Don't like shots? antibiotics? expensive trips the Dr? Keep your shit clean. It's easy. It's cheap. It works.
>>2122258
I've gotten bit lots of times but I never woke up barely able to move my hand either. If it were a self-resolving wound I'd probably leave it but his shit sounds like it could be bad.
>>2122268
>there are hypothesis that it's evolutionary to aid in killing prey
Huh? But if the prey dies 24-48 hours after the fact, isn't that useless from the cat's perspective?
>>2122179
You needed a hospital to clean that wound and provide antibiotics immediately, possibly also to surgically flush and remove infected tissue
Now you're looking at a hospital stay with IV antibiotics, possibly for several days if the infection is bad enough.
You don't fuck around with cat bites, anon. They're basically injecting your fucking bones with bacteria.
>>2122174
You can only see broken bones on xray. Nerve damage is a clinical diagnosis. Xray are unnecessary unless your hand was crushed by a massive cat's jaw.
Bye
>>2122164
there's already pus coming out of your knuckle, assuming that's your hand.
Is the OP dead yet?
>>2122179
post a pic
>>2122177
>imblygn that x-rays give you cancer
Did you forget that the daily average background radiation of a very populated city like New York is much greater than a single x-ray?
According to your logic, everyone in New York should be dead by the age of 2 from cancer
>>2123291
>Is the OP dead yet?
>>2122164
>replace cat with pussy
>ignore picture
God damn is everyone's immune systems completely fucked these days?
Literally every injury I've ever gotten short of broken bones has healed fine on its own with just proper home care
>>2122238
>Clinic doctors and GP's see dozens of folks every day who think they have both AIDs and cancer
So it's not just my wife?
>>2122238
>14% failure rate
jesus christ that's horrifying
PEOPLE. For crying out loud.
1.) Hydrogen Peroxide does, indeed, kill many things. Including healthy living tissue. So, while it does kill the nasties in your wound, it also kills the living edges of the tissue, making it harder for the wound to heal. Wash the wound with soap and water, irrigate with sterile saline, slather on antibiotic ointment, pushing it into the wound if you can.
2.) The reason OP's injury requires a doctor's visit, antibiotics, and quite likely an X-ray is because we are talking about a puncture wound on a joint. Cat bites USUALLY get infected (nasty bacteria in cats' mouths + puncture wound = anaerobic bacterial infection) and an infection in a joint is much worse than an infection in muscle tissue. It can quickly escalate to limb loss! The purpose of the X-ray would be to determine if the joint was punctured or damaged.
So, to re-cap. The important details of OP's wound are:
- puncture wound from cat bite
- on a joint
>>2124196
>usually
stop this shit.
>>2122164
>cats
There was your first mistake, op. Learn from it
>>2124208
>my anecdotal experience overrides medical fact!
>>2124208
Yes, usually. While your immune system can often fight off minor infections without antibiotics, deeper puncture wounds (less oxygen = more anaerobic activity) and puncture wounds involving joints are more likely to require a course of antibiotics to resolve.
>>2124211
It's medical fact that the majority of cat bites and scratches get effected?
Shut the fuck up retard.
>>2124216
INFECTED. Cat bites. Infected.
>>2124216
Cat bites that are also puncture wounds.
That time you were nipped by your cat during a play session is not relevant.
Man, I remember my first cat bite. My cat tried to worm its way into a drawer and ended up dangling by its foot with it wedged in. Fucker bit my hand hard. Bite happened at 3am and I woke up around 5am with swelling.
Watch out for tendons and drown the wound in peroxide. I had one on my foot that wasn't fun either.
>>2124187
That's because you've probably never had an injury which was analogous to someone piercing your knuckle/joint with a syringe filled with bacteria
>>2124187
Cat bites are serious. They are no joke. Upwards of 30% result in hospitalization.
>>2124222
I mentioned that I have been a few times, not just by cats but wild animals
The bites and scratches healed by being cleaned with water and peroxide, no doctors.
I wonder how many anons are trolling to make cats sound more dangerous than they are. Their saliva will fuck up prey but not a relatively healthy human
>>2122257
Clinics prescribe oral antibiotics, and send you home. Once you're home, you wait it out, and if it gets worse, you go to the ER. Which is fine if the wound can be easily irrigated and is at the surface level, and the antibiotics work (they have a 14% failure rate in this study). In a case where the infection is contained in a pocket of flesh unreachable by the vascular system (which isn't always immediately apparent, it doesn't have to be horrifyingly deep for this to happen, just situated in the right area), then the patient needs to be put on IV antibiotics and monitored to see how they respond to treatment. Just going a few hours too long without proper treatment can lead to the loss of an entire limb. With this type of aggressive infection in particular, waiting two days and then going back when there's been no improvement could be incredibly bad for your livelihood/limbs.
>>2122257
>Wasting ER capacity
again, op is not in canada
>>2122268
>>2122281
>>2122507
>>2124061
this
>>2124228
>roleplaying faggot guy
why do you even post here
>>2124265
how do IV antibiotics help if the bacteria are in a pocket unreachable by the vascular system?
>>2122172
Yeah, this isn't an emergency, you just need Antibiotics
>>2124328
>how do IV antibiotics help if the bacteria are in a pocket unreachable by the vascular system?
They kill any bacteria that have spread into your vascular system so you don't fucking die you retard
>>2124280
I love animals
>>2124228
It doesn't really matter the animal, bites where there is a bone or joint puncture should be accompanied by a hospital trip.
>>2122164
wow OP. the longest scar i have is from trying to grab a cat who was focused on a vacuum. as for your infection, i dont know. i've never had a doctor most of my life. saying that ive never had a cut get infected. did you rinse it out? disinfect? cover it?
>>2122189
It's good to see muslim countries stepping up their healthcare
>>2122177
I'm pretty sure you wouldn't get cancer from one x Ray
>tfw OP died in your life time
Anon
GO TO THE DOCTOR
Cat bites can get awfully fucked up by infection and it can result in amputation.
I was bit by our cat a few years back and didn't think anything of it, I nearly lost 2 fingers
GO TO THE FUCKING HOSPITAL
Don't worry lad, had this happened to me at least 50-60 times over the course 24years, just pour some antibacterial on it and leave it be. You will become more resistant each time it happens.
