You are probably going to get scratched by a cat at least once in your life, and there is not much you can do about it. It might even be the case that you do not own a cat, but someone you know does, and they were not feeling particularly friendly that day. Cat scratches are not usually dangerous and tend to heal on their own, but sometimes this is not the case, and you need all the information possible. That is what we are going to be looking at in this article, so keep reading if you want to find out more.
There is such a thing that is called cat scratch disease, and you can get it when you are scratched by a cat hard enough to break the skin. You will only get the disease if the cat is infected when it scratches you. Or, if the infected cat licks an open wound on your body. The infected area may appear swollen and red with round, raised lesions, and can have pus building inside this, but not always.
Some of the symptoms that you may also experience include a fever, headache, poor appetite, and exhaustion. Your lymph nodes near the original scratch or bite can become swollen, tender, or painful as well, but this does not tend to happen until later on. If you notice any of these symptoms and you know that a cat has scratched you recently, you should contact your doctor to get checked out.
You will not know if the cat is infected unless they have been tested because there will not be any signs on the cat. As such, if you experience some of these symptoms after a scratch or a lick on an open wound, seek medical help. You must not let the cat lick your wound, even if you think they are trying to help. They can make this worse and if the scratch did not give it to you, the lick very well may. Wash the affected area with soap and water to clean it.
When To See A Doctor
When you start experiencing symptoms, you have got to see a doctor. If you start to notice that the wound looks infected in any way, even if you do not think its cat scratch disease, you should see a doctor just to make sure. An infected cat scratch is going to hurt, and you might need some antibiotics to help the healing process go quicker.
It is important to understand that cat scratch disease is not usually serious, and only in extremely rare cases will there be any more complications than a mild infection. It might not be the most comfortable thing for you to experience, but you are going to be just fine.
We hope that you have found this article helpful, and now know more about cat scratches. You should now understand if you can get a disease, how to know if you have got an infected scratch and when you need to see the doctor!