Sidelined...again
I've been sidelined for a couple of days now, with the end *hopefully* in sight within the next week or two. The reason? Itty-Bitty, my smallest cat, REALLY didn't want a bath. He turned his head and sank his teeth into my right thumb joint. He's normally a very passive, mellow cat; he just freaked out and reacted.
It turns out that cat bites are one of the most dangerous (and painful!!!!!) bites. I have 5 puncture wounds on my thumb joint, and at least one of them went to the bone. Within minutes, my thumb had swollen to the size of a bratwurst. I went to the immediate care center, and they flushed my thumb for several minutes before wrapping it up. I have a course of Augmentin 875 and Vicodin.
Yesterday I was running a low-grade fever, and the swelling and redness were spreading down my thumb joint towards my wrist. I walked back over to the immediate care center (it's a 1-minute walk from my house; I'm looking at the building through my front window), and the doctor hemmed and hawed for a minute before deciding to give me a shot of stronger antibiotics. I have to go back for another one today. The doctor was actually trying to decide if he should give me the shots or send me to the hospital for IV antibiotics. If the shots don't work, I'm looking at a hospital stay. Ugh. I'm really hoping that the shots work!
Anyway, the redness at the base of my thumb seems to be receding this morning (hooray!), so hopefully that means that the antibiotics are kicking in. They said that it could be several days to a week or two before the swelling completely goes down; we're hoping for days and not weeks!
It turns out that cat bites are one of the most dangerous (and painful!!!!!) bites. I have 5 puncture wounds on my thumb joint, and at least one of them went to the bone. Within minutes, my thumb had swollen to the size of a bratwurst. I went to the immediate care center, and they flushed my thumb for several minutes before wrapping it up. I have a course of Augmentin 875 and Vicodin.
Yesterday I was running a low-grade fever, and the swelling and redness were spreading down my thumb joint towards my wrist. I walked back over to the immediate care center (it's a 1-minute walk from my house; I'm looking at the building through my front window), and the doctor hemmed and hawed for a minute before deciding to give me a shot of stronger antibiotics. I have to go back for another one today. The doctor was actually trying to decide if he should give me the shots or send me to the hospital for IV antibiotics. If the shots don't work, I'm looking at a hospital stay. Ugh. I'm really hoping that the shots work!
Anyway, the redness at the base of my thumb seems to be receding this morning (hooray!), so hopefully that means that the antibiotics are kicking in. They said that it could be several days to a week or two before the swelling completely goes down; we're hoping for days and not weeks!
posted by Kim at
7:06 AM
50% of every pattern sold will be donated to 
8 Comments:
Ouch!
I hope you feel better soon.....
Oh, no! Glad you're so close to treatment. Itty Bitty must feel terrible, too.
dear Kim, people have been known to die from cat bites. they have a ton of bacteria on their teeth and when they bite that deep it gets into the blood. When my daughter, Kim, worked at the local humane society, one of the workers lost part of her hand from a cat bite. I am so thankful that you don't have to go to the hospital! Molly
Oh Kim ... so sorry. DO heal quickly!
Cat Scratch Fever does indeed exist. It has its own bacteria that causes it. (don't ask how I know, it's way too boring) Hope you feel better soon but the question does beg to be asked....why were you giving a cat a bath? that's why they have tongues!
All of our cats get a bath a few times a year too to make sure that any fleas that might have sneaked into the house get killed before they can reproduce.
I have never been bitten by any of ours, but I have scratched by a few.
Yes, a cat bite or even a scratch is nothing to play with - I'm glad your being treated.
Kim, I found your blog through OhioSoapers and I am now following your blog with mine.
I hope you get better soon and make sure you are keeping a close eye on the area.
If you see any redness, especially streaks - get back to the doctor right away.
Take care !
Organically Yours,
Diana
By the way, are you on Twitter ?
Here's mine :
http://twitter.com/Relax_Naturally
The day I got a cat bite (trying to bring one of my escaped indoor kitties back inside), my vet told me to soak my hand in hot water with plenty of betadyne in it several times a day for several days, until the swelling goes down. It helped a lot. I got a tetanus shot to be safe, but didn't need antibiotics. Even with antibiotics, soaking can help.
This comment has been removed by the author.
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home