Do you know what to do after being scratched by a cat?
How to handle the wound correctly after being scratched by the cat? Should I go to the hospital to take an injection? First, determine the condition of the cat that scratched you:
● It is the cat you are familiar with and keep at home.
● The cat is healthy.
● It lives indoors all the time.
● Vaccinated and dewormed on time
If the cat meets the above conditions, it can choose to treat the wound itself if the scratch is not serious.
If you are not familiar with stray cats, you should go to the hospital for bacterial infection treatment, tetanus injections, etc. In areas with a high incidence of rabies, preventive treatment of rabies is also needed according to the degree of wound exposure.
- Wound assessment
According to the severity of the wound, different treatment methods are needed, and the depth of the scratch determines the severity of the wound.
Superficial wound treatment
Superficial wounds involving superficial skin may be bruised, inflamed, or bleed a little. The treatment is as follows:
- Wash hands. Wash your hands with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds. Rinse them before treating the wound with your hands. If the wound is on your hand, you can go directly to the second step.
- Wash the wound. Wash the wound with plenty of tap water. Avoid using hot water, which can worsen the wound. Squeeze as much blood as possible from the injured area, which will reduce the bacteria that enter the body with scratches.
- Clean the wound. Wash the injured area extensively with soap and rinse thoroughly.
- Follow-up anti-inflammatory treatment. After the wound is dried, you can apply disinfectant, anti-inflammatory ointment, iodophor, Bactroban gel, etc. If there are many wounds, oral amoxicillin can be considered. PS: Hydrogen peroxide is not recommended, although the effect is good, but too painful and will leave scars, superficial wounds are not necessary.
- Wound recovery period. No need to bandage, keep the wound clean and ventilated, and it will soon scab and recover.
Deep wound treatment method
A deeper scratch punctured several layers of skin, causing more bleeding. Deeper wounds can lead to massive bleeding, and in the face of this situation, it is recommended to seek medical help as much as possible.
Before going to the doctor, you can do the following wound preparation at home:
- Stop the bleeding. If the wound is bleeding badly, you can use a clean towel to stop the bleeding. Press the towel hard on the bleeding area and keep it still until the bleeding stops. If necessary, you can raise the wound to the top of your head.
- Clean the injured area. After washing hands thoroughly, wash the injured area gently with soap and rinse with clean water.
- Dry the wound. Use a second clean towel to completely wipe the skin around the cut and abrasion.
- Bind up a scratch. Cover the deep wound area with a bandage or clean gauze, fix it with medical tape or cloth, and seek medical advice in time.
PS: If you haven’t had a tetanus shot in the last 10 years, you can get one just to be on the safe side.
