First Aid for Cat or Dog Bites

It was sweet of my dad to call me here at work today to check how I was feeling today. Well, I wasn't feeling catty or anything, but I did asked if my sister's spoiled, playful cat that bit me at my right thigh last weekend is looking funny or, is sick. Our household cat is ok, and still the same playful cat that ended my weekend with a trip to the hospital for an anti-tetanus shot. How did that happen? I was reading the Sunday paper and let my sister's cat play around in my lap, and read the paper with me, when all of a sudden, the cat accidentally sank her teeth on my legs. I was really upset, especially when I saw two pin-head holes on my skin. Because I was paranoid for infection, and worse, for rabies, I washed the wound with water and then tried to induce bleeding before cleaning it with alcohol. Well, I don't know what do anyway. So, I did went to see the doctor after waiting for about 8 hours (because I don't really like going to the hospital) and the doctor gave me an anti-tetanus shot.

The first aid tip when a cat or a dog has bitten you is just to wash the wound with soap and water (which I didn't exactly do right away), and then maybe see a doctor. In the provinces, there is an indigenous way of treating animal bites, which they call "tandok" and is just basically a practice where a healer uses an equipment to suck out the virus (which is in the blood) from wound. Usually, if there is no equipment, the healer just sucks out the blood from the wound using his/her mouth instead (like how they do for snake bites, etc.). Well, this is very risky, as one gets the risk of getting more infection from an equipment that may not be sterilized or of getting more virus transferred from another person. The DOH has issued an advisory about resorting to this kind of practice in treating animal bites, but some people still resort to this kind of practice.

Now it's back to work and I am still taking meds. As for my sister's cat, she seemed to apologize to me on Monday morning while I was reading the paper (which, by the way, carried the headline that Congress will not pass the budget this year and risks a reenacted budget for the second time - bummer!), she even took a nap next to me, and was her usual "makulit" self when she woke up.