Cat bite

Skin | General Practice | Cat bite (Disease)


Description

Cat bites are common injuries, especially in children. The common characteristics associated with most cat bites include: puncture type wound, a cut or break in the skin with bleeding, bruising around the site of a cut or puncture wound, inflammation around the area of the bite, pain around the bite area, the skin around the area of the wound feels warm and appears red, infection with swelling and pus coming from the wound. The most deadly type of bite is typically a puncture wound.

Signs that might signal infection in your puncture bite include swelling, redness, puss from the puncture wound, fever or an increase in amount of pain or marked discomfort.

Causes and Risk factors

A cat bite is an injury that results from the action of a cat. Cat bites to humans are extremely infectious and should never be taken lightly.

Complications of cat bites include: cellulitis, abscess, lymphangitis and tenosynovitis.

Diagnosis and Treatment

Very important is to clean and flush the puncture wound with an antibacterial soap and warm water as quickly as possible. Deeply cleansing the bite for at least five minutes could lessen your chances of developing a serious infection. Betadine solution or Peroxide are used to kill and eradicate germs. Because of the multitude of bacteria in a cats mouth (Staff or the Pasteurella multocida), most puncture wounds will require a course of oral or intravenous antibiotics. ...