When to call the doctor about a cat bite?

When to call the doctor about a cat bite?

Watch the bite area over the next two days for any signs of infection. Never make the mistake of ignoring a bite wound. Clean it properly and call your family doctor about having the bite examined. Getting bitten by a cat is a fairly common occurrence, but you still need to protect your health. Was this page useful? Yes No Please help us improve.

How long does it take for a cat bite to heal?

Bacteria are introduced into the bite wound at the time of the fight, so infection is there from the start. Yet it usually takes two or three days for the bacteria to multiply enough for the infection to become apparent to owners. At this stage, the wound swells up, often oozing or leaking pus.

When does a cat bite become a serious infection?

While mild infections cause slight discomfort, serious ones can be life-threatening. Health Guide Info warns a cat bite infection can develop within 24 to 48 hours of being bitten.

Why are cat bites not something to take lightly?

Regardless of how a cat bite happens, it is not something to take lightly. Why cat bites can be dangerous Cat bites only account for 10-15% of animal bites reported by emergency rooms, but they pose a much greater risk of infection. Cat bites create narrow, deep puncture wounds.

How long does it take for a cat bite to show symptoms?

An infection from a cat bite may set in within a few hours, but it can take 10 days or more for some infections, like cat-scratch disease, to start showing symptoms.

Watch the bite area over the next two days for any signs of infection. Never make the mistake of ignoring a bite wound. Clean it properly and call your family doctor about having the bite examined. Getting bitten by a cat is a fairly common occurrence, but you still need to protect your health. Was this page useful? Yes No Please help us improve.

How long does it take to get rabies from a cat bite?

An infection from a cat bite may set in within a few hours, but it can take 10 days or more for some infections, like cat-scratch disease, to start showing symptoms. says that the incubation period for rabies (time between exposure and the appearance of symptoms) can be weeks to months.

How often does a child get a cat bite?

According to a 2018 research review, infection occurs in about 50 percent of cat bites in children. Roughly 400,000 cat bites occur in the United States each year. Cat bites with infections can become not only painful, but also red or discolored, and swollen.