Bitten by a cat - what to do at home?

Cats have sharp teeth, if the animal is angry, the cat can seriously bite. The wounds after such bites are not very big, but rather deep. As a rule, in the oral cavity of animals contains a huge number of bacteria and microbes that can become a source of infection. In this article we will talk about cat bites - how and why a pet bites, how dangerous such injuries are and what to do if you are bitten by a cat.

What are dangerous cat bites?

Despite the fact that the cat eventually becomes a pet, it is still an animal that obeys instincts. A cat may bite a stranger as a defense. Cats often bite with jealousy, if the owner brought another animal into the house. A cat can bite if it hurts. This unpleasant surprise can be presented by a domestic cat,so what to say about street animals that are not accustomed to man at all? Street cats are also dangerous because they are not vaccinated against various deadly infections. What is dangerous cat bites, try to figure it out.

1. Pastorellosis. This is a disease that is transmitted to humans by the bite of an animal. Today, this disease is not widespread, but still occurs. Pasterellosa carrier animals have a huge amount of pathogenic bacteria in the oral cavity, which enter the wound, and infection begins. The disease is manifested by intoxication, the wound becomes painful, inflamed, swollen, the patient may have diarrhea, and sometimes the respiratory organs are affected. It is important to understand that bacteria can even get through the animal’s tongue if the cat licks an open wound.
2. Streptococcus and staphylococcus. These are common types of infections that can lead to painful swelling in the area of ​​the bite, high fever, skin infection, and even blood poisoning. With such infections at the site of the bite, suppuration begins immediately.
3. Sporotrichosis. It is a fungal disease that leads to non-healing wounds on the body of an animal.The incubation period of the disease is very long - up to several weeks. The first symptom of sporotrichosis is an open bite wound that does not heal for a long time.
4. Cat scratch fever. The disease often develops not after a bite, but after scratching, especially if the kitten was not the scratching adult cat. Bacterial infection in this case is not very serious, the body can easily cope on its own without the use of medications. If the immunity is weakened, the infection becomes severe, along with the affected skin, you can notice that the patient has enlarged lymph nodes.
5. Rabies. Dogs are more likely to suffer from rabies, but cats still suffer from the disease too. Especially the street ones, because they are without vaccinations. Rabies develops from a few days to 10-12 weeks after being bitten. In rabies, symptoms such as headache, fever, aching joints, sore throat, skin lesions in the area of ​​the bite, aggressiveness appear. The condition is very dangerous, necessarily requires medical intervention.
6. Tetanus. Infections with tetanus from animal bites are rare, but still happen. Tetanus is an acute and dangerous infectious disease that affects the nervous system.The first symptoms of tetanus are headache, sweating, twitching and muscle tension in the area of ​​the affected wound. To avoid serious and even fatal consequences, you need to make tetanus toxoid vaccination immediately after the bite.

These are the main, serious and really dangerous diseases that can be caused by a harmless feline bite. In addition to them, simple bacteria can get into the wound, which, nevertheless, will bring you a lot of discomfort. To avoid this, you need to properly provide first aid.

What to do if a cat bitten

A cat bite is dangerous because the infection, which is located in the mouth of the animal, immediately falls into the serious depth of the wound, to extract the bacteria from there much harder. Here are some recommendations that will not save you from infection by 100%, but reduce the likelihood of infection.

1. Immediately after the bite, you need to wash the wound under running water, thoroughly washing it with laundry soap. The composition of natural soap a lot of salicylic acid, which inhibits some bacteria and harmful microorganisms.
2. If blood flows from a wound, do not stop it. Together with the blood out all the germs.
3. After this, it is necessary to decontaminate the bite with what you have in the first-aid kit. This may be iodine, hydrogen peroxide, chlorophyllipt, alcohol, brilliant green, furatsilina solution, miramistin, etc. After some time, the wound can be treated with antibacterial solutions or an ointment, for example, chloramphenicol or tetracycline.
4. After treatment, apply a plaster or bandage on the wound, which will protect against additional infection.

Experts say that the wound from cat bites is inflamed much more often than other injuries. Not only can the cat itself be a carrier of a bacterial infection, it often gets infected from street food if it feeds on food waste, poultry, rats, etc.

When to see a doctor

The first few hours after the bite should be very carefully monitor the wound and the patient's condition. It is clear that after the bite the wound will hurt, but with strong painful sensations, intense redness, swelling, you should definitely see a doctor. Especially if it is accompanied by an increase in temperature. You should always seek medical help even with a slight bite, if it was a street cat.If you notice that the cat has foaming at the mouth, if drooling is active - this is rabies, you should go to the hospital immediately.

If you suspect rabies, a person is prescribed a course of anti-rabies immunization vaccinations. Protection from rabies is impossible for one injection, you need to do several injections at regular intervals. The number and frequency of vaccine is regulated by a doctor. By the way, the animal also undergoes research if it is not street and has not run away.

In other cases, when an animal vaccinated against rabies has bitten, antibiotics are prescribed to the patient, either orally, by injection or drip, depending on the severity of the infection. In addition, local processing is required. As a rule, treatment lasts 5-7 days, in difficult cases 10-14 days. You can not cancel antibiotics, if you feel better, the bacteria should be completely suppressed. Otherwise, they will not only restore the population, but also develop resistance - that is, they become resistant and insensitive to the drugs of this group.

At risk, people with reduced immunity are children, elderly, pregnant women, patients with post-organ transplantation or chemotherapy, diabetics,people with HIV and various blood pathologies. Such patients should immediately consult a doctor even with minor feline bites. After all, an infectious infection is very dangerous - a person may develop renal failure, sepsis. Especially dangerous if the cat is bitten by the hands - the tendons and bones are in close proximity to the skin, this is fraught with inflammation of the periosteum.

How to avoid cat bites

Cats are not only affection, tenderness and pleasant purring. This bites, vaccinations, additional concerns. Despite this, we love our pussies and become attached to animals with our whole soul.

Video: first aid and treatment for cat bites