About this topic
Cat scratch disease is an illness that you get from a scratch or bite of an infected cat. You can also get this illness if an infected cat licks an open wound on your skin. The germ is carried in the cat saliva. ‚
Cat scratch disease may go away on its own after a few weeks. Other times, you have swollen lymph nodes. If they do not go away, it is important to get treatment. The infection may spread to your brain and can cause serious health problems. ‚
What care is needed at home?
- Ask your doctor what you need to do when you go home. Make sure you understand everything the doctor says. This way you will know what you need to do.
- Your doctor may give you drugs to treat the infection.
- Your doctor may clean your wound and cover it with bandages. Ask your doctor about:
- When you should change your bandages
- When you may take a bath or shower
- If you need to be careful with lifting things over 10 pounds
- When you may go back to your normal activities like work or driving
- If your wound is draining, you may change the bandage when it gets soaked or as needed.
- Be sure to wash your hands before touching your wound or dressing.
- Your doctor may tell you to use heat or ice to lower pain
- Put a heating pad on your painful part for no more than 20 minutes at a time. Never go to sleep with a heating pad on as this can cause burns.
- Place an ice pack or a bag of frozen peas wrapped in a towel over the painful part. Never put ice right on the skin. Do not leave the ice on more than 10 to 15 minutes at a time.
- You may put a warm compress on swollen lymph nodes to relieve the pain.
What follow-up care is needed?
Your doctor may ask you to make visits to the office to check on your progress. Be sure to keep these visits. ‚
What drugs may be needed?
Your doctor may give you drugs to: ‚
- Help with pain
- Fight an infection
- Keep your temperature normal
Will physical activity be limited?
- It may be painful to move the part where the scratch or wound is.
- If you have swollen lymph nodes, you may have problems moving the affected joints.
What problems could happen?
- Infection may spread to the bones
- Eye infection
- Swelling of the brain or seizures
What can be done to prevent this health problem?
- Avoid petting or touching cats you are not familiar with.
- Avoid rough play with your cat.
- Wash your hands after touching or playing with your cats.
- Keep your cat free from ticks and fleas.
- If you get scratched or bitten by a cat, wash the wound right away with running water and soap.
- Teach children to avoid stray animals.
When do I need to call the doctor?
- Signs of infection. These include a fever of 100.4 ‚ °F (38 ‚ °C) or higher, chills, wound that will not heal.
- Signs of wound infection. These include swelling, redness, warmth around the wound; too much pain when touched; yellowish, greenish, or bloody discharge; foul smell coming from the cut site; cut site opens up.
- Belly pain
- Groin, armpit, or neck pain
- You are not feeling better in 2 to 3 days or you are feeling worse
Teach Back: Helping You Understand
The Teach Back Method helps you understand the information we are giving you. The idea is simple. After talking with the staff, tell them in your own words what you were just told. This helps to make sure the staff has covered each thing clearly. It also helps to explain things that may have been a bit confusing. Before going home, make sure you are able to do these: ‚
- I can tell you about my condition.
- I can tell you how to care for my wound.
- I can tell you ways to help prevent this infection.
- I can tell you what I will do if I have a fever, belly pain, or signs of infection.
Where can I learn more?
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ‚
http://www.cdc.gov/healthypets/diseases/catscratch.htm ‚
KidsHealth ‚
http://kidshealth.org/parent/infections/bacterial_viral/cat_scratch.html ‚
Consumer Information Use and Disclaimer
This information is not specific medical advice and does not replace information you receive from your health care provider. This is only a brief summary of general information. It does NOT include all information about conditions, illnesses, injuries, tests, procedures, treatments, therapies, discharge instructions or life-style choices that may apply to you. You must talk with your health care provider for complete information about your health and treatment options. This information should not be used to decide whether or not to accept your health care providers advice, instructions or recommendations. Only your health care provider has the knowledge and training to provide advice that is right for you. ‚
Copyright
Copyright ‚ © 2015 Clinical Drug Information, LLC and Lexi-Comp, Inc. ‚