Cats have sharp claws, and occasionally they scratch the humans around them. If you've gotten scratched, here are some tips for handing it.


Steps

1. Wash the area with soap and water. If you have anti-bacterial soap, that is great, otherwise any soap will do.
2. Apply an antibiotic ointment and a bandage to the areas of the wound that were deep enough to bleed. Depending on the size of the scratch, this could be a band-aid or two - or a piece of gauze held in place with an ace-bandage or rolled gauze.
3. Watch the wound for signs of infection. These include swelling, redness, tenderness and oozing. If these signs appear - consult your doctor.
4. Watch for signs of cat scratch fever, especially in children. If you note these symptoms, consult a doctor.
5. Consider a visit to your doctor for an evaluation and more thorough cleaning if the wound is very deep and has a skin flap or ragged edges. It is more likely to get infected and leave a scar.
6. Consider a visit to the doctor if the wound is on your face.

Tips

• If bleeding is minor, allow it to bleed a bit before applying a bandage - the bleeding will help clean any foreign particles out of the wound.
• Cat scratch fever presents with tender regional lymph nodes, papules at the site of the scratch, slight fever, headache, chills, backache, abdominal pain, malaise and sometimes more severe symptoms. It may take 7 to 14 days, or as long as two months, before symptoms appear.

Warnings

• If infected badly, get to a doctor
• Peroxide can damage healthy tissue as well as damaged tissue, so don't go over board!