Rat:1 , Human: 0

So I go to get some rat weanlings, and daddy got defensive and *WAP* got my pointer fingerjust below the last joint.


No biggie - ive been nailed by rattie teeth before.

20 minutes later, i noticed some swelling. It's cool. Nothing a little ice wont help.

Yah, well, 5 hours later im sitting here looking like I have some form of elephantitis. My finger is so swollen it bearly bends, and half of the back of my hand looks like I just got the latest tennis ball implant that everyone is raving about. :rolleyes: And it hurts.


What gives??? Anyone have a bad experience with rat bites? Im about to go to the hossy.

been bitten before...but never swollen like that...it just made me a little happier to see my snake eat :)

Wow, nothing like that. Almost sounds like you are having an allergic reation. The hospital sounds like a good idea ... sorry you got bit ...:(

Neil

When I get scratched it itches and swells slightly. I also have to wear a mask when I clean the rats because if I dont, it aggitates my asthma hardcore.

So, I guess logically, an allergic reaction makes a heck of a lot of sense.

ever heard of "Rat" Scratch Fever?

Yeah I saw that - but the symptoms of that show up up to like 10 days after the rat bite.

Sorry about the bite, I hope it gets better! You keep dad in with the babies?

It sounds like how i am with cats. Im allergic to cat dander, and ive noticed rats clean themselves too, but i never had an allergic reaction to rats. I dont know if this helps but allergic reaction sounds right.

Oh that does sounds painful! Rats always seem to nail you on a joint of your fingers for some reason. Hope it heals properly, you may well need to see a doctor if you are having this sort of problem.

What I do for rat bites is immediately run the bite under water as hot as I can stand for a few minutes and let it bleed freely, then wipe it and squeeze it to bring more clean blood to the surface of the cut (my grandmother always taught me to do that, something about blood cleaning itself), then wipe that away, apply a good gob of triple antibiotic and a bandaid. So far I've never had a rat bite go nasty on me. Until it's fully healed you do want to wear a glove or finger protector when cleaning the rats or snakes....you do not want fecal matter getting into any exposed cut.

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Originally Posted by frankykeno

let it bleed freely, then wipe it and squeeze it to bring more clean blood to the surface of the cut (my grandmother always taught me to do that, something about blood cleaning itself),

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Good point. It brings white blood cells to the site. :D

Is that what it does! How neat! I never knew why my grandmother always made us squeeze cuts but heck I learned long ago that these older ladies had a whole lot of practical "old wives" cures for most things and they always seemed to work. :) I also always figured that the fresh blood welling up would push any little nasties and dirt back out with it...whatever the reason I've rarely had a cut go nasty in our house.

Another little trick of hers. For anything that did fester a bit...a very hot steeped tea bag applied a few times a day. Amazing how that heat acting as an old fashioned poltice and the natural tannic acid in tea just draws all the bad out and bingo...you've a nice clean healing area.

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Originally Posted by frankykeno

Is that what it does! How neat! I never knew why my grandmother always made us squeeze cuts but heck I learned long ago that these older ladies had a whole lot of practical "old wives" cures for most things and they always seemed to work. :) I also always figured that the fresh blood welling up would push any little nasties and dirt back out with it...whatever the reason I've rarely had a cut go nasty in our house.

Another little trick of hers. For anything that did fester a bit...a very hot steeped tea bag applied a few times a day. Amazing how that heat acting as an old fashioned poltice and the natural tannic acid in tea just draws all the bad out and bingo...you've a nice clean healing area.

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Yea not to get to off topic but yea we use to put chewed chewing tobacco on bee/wasp stings theres something about it that draws the venom out and dulls the pain. :D

LOL we need to start a thread about home remedies! One of my go to books is my Doctor's Home Remedies...invaluable! That plus what gran taught me really covers quite a lot of the normal bumps and bruises of daily life.

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Originally Posted by Freakie_frog

Yea not to get to off topic but yea we use to put chewed chewing tobacco on bee/wasp stings theres something about it that draws the venom out and dulls the pain. :D

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I think that was more so the content of the tobacco,[the calming affect from smoking... chewing] relaxes the hurt nerves more so than drawing out the poison.

I would avoid the hospital if it doesn't seem too serious, and if you do go don't tell them a pet bit you. Depending on your local ordinances you could be in for all kinds of hassle.

Soaking your hand in some epsom salt mixed with warm water for 30 minutes or so would be a good thing to do, or betadine mixed with water. Will bring the swelling down and keep the infection away.

I had to go a-googling over that chewing tobacco (or just wet tobacco) thing and it's listed as a common and very old folk medicine for stings. Oddly enough it's found in cultures from all over the world.

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Originally Posted by Flagg

I would avoid the hospital if it doesn't seem too serious, and if you do go don't tell them a pet bit you. Depending on your local ordinances you could be in for all kinds of hassle.

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Why would it be hassle over a pet bite?

This girl got bite too and its infected.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=qRiCPYlfvc8

Well, I didnt go to the hossy last night - it was just too late. I figured that if I started to have respiratory distress or something similar, I would go.

I woke up this morning and it looks a lot less swollen. The back of my hand is still indead swollen, and the joint next to the bite still kind of hurts to bend. But it's def. getting better!

And I second a home remedy thread ! I prefere anything natural over conventional medications :)