Dealing with cat bite without antibiotics

I would appreciate peoples advice on my latest injury...

I was bitten by the stray cat that hangs around the farm this morning. She's not very well and eats whatever she can find (rats/dead stuff) so her mouth is pretty dirty. She bit right the way through my thumb nail pretty deep into my finger. I went to the doctor to get a tetanus shot, and he also gave me a huge pack of penicillin to take.

I've had all sorts of trouble with antibiotics in the past, having had far too many for varied reasons throughout the years. I would really rather not take them, but don't want to risk a serious bacterial infection from the dirty cat mouth.

Does anyone know of any natural treatments that would prevent bacteria taking over my finger? My favourite remedy is soaking it in salt water a few times a day, but I don't know if that would cut it if there are potentially really bad things in there..

And if I do decided to take the antibiotics, what are the best ways to get over the massacre in my gut? I eat a lot of natural yoghurt, but I know that I'd need about 20 litres a day to replace my gut flora in a decent amount of time. Any things that I can make myself would be the best suggestions because I live on a conservative island where it's hard to buy 'hippy shit'.

Thanks

Can you afford to consult a physician? Western medicine tends to be good with acute problems like infections.

I've been to the doctor. He gave me penicillin, which is what I'd like to avoid.

Colloidal silver, usnea, echinacea, oregano oil, goldenseal (and other berberine containing plants like oregon grape, barberry, goldthread..) are all fantastic for dealing with various infections. These are all fairly common, but sounds like you may not be able to access any of those from where you're at.

A reasonable alternative that's served me well is "fire cider", which can be made from commonly available ingredients. I've stepped on a bunch of rusty nails out in the barn and had various run-ins with wild critters, and relied on it rather than doing the whole tetanus shot and antibiotic routine. I've had great success using it for other things as well.

There are lots of variations on this same theme floating around out there, but here's the basic recipe:

Apple Cider Vinegar (the good live stuff with the "mother")
Horseradish (a decent quantity grated up)
1 whole bulb of garlic
1 whole onion
1 large chunk of cayenne pepper (any good hot Capsicum will work - I use 1/4 of a ghost pepper)
Ginger root
Black Pepper
Basil
Oregano
Sumac berries

Blend it all up and chug a little at a time with water. Can be used topically also.

Seems to me that the bite will show sign of infection....swelling, redness, pus, pain; and you'll develop a fever. That will tell you that bacteria are at work in spite of your alternative treatments, and that it's time to break out the antibiotics. Be sure to take the full course, even after the infection seems to go down. As far as gut probiotics go, seems to me a wide variety of fermeted stuff is good....not just yogurt but cheeses, salami, tempeh, tamari, miso, unpasteurized beer and wine, sauerkraut, kombucha, and whatever else you can think of. Unwashed greens, fruits, and even some roots....provided they aren't grown around humanure....

Kath Percival wrote:I've been to the doctor. He gave me penicillin, which is what I'd like to avoid.

Most physicians will work with you, if you have a good reason. Or even if you don't have a good reason. And allergic or other reaction to a medication is usually something that's taken seriously. Otherwise, see another physician who will work with you. MDs tend to be less flexible than DOs. Different training, different thinking.

It's fine and dandy to try things out for chronic issues that are not life threatening, but colloidal silver, eye of newt, etc for a serious infection is not a great plan.

Take your chances if you must but I recommend that you find someone who is legally liable for the advice given rather than someone on the internet.

can you get the doc to give you the sulfadiazone combination they give for toxoplasmosis ?

I would get some actual antibiotics for this. injection under a nail is gonna be hard to stifle infection without.

Would also try soaking whole nail with colloidal silver to try and have a long term topical effect.

The problem with catbites is that the surfacewound is small and will heal over quickly, creating a possible anaerobic environment for malignant bacteria to grow. Local infection might be a problem, but another risk might be getting a strain of bacteria that might cause bloodpoisoning or total collapse. My kittens (indoorsy beasties)bit me several times but I just disinfected the rather shallow bites and went on with my life. When my dad got a really deep bite from our old cat while holding her at the vets, the vet freaked out though, and started treating the wound with (veterinary) topical antibiotics right away.

If you don't want to take oral antibiotics, maybe combine daily soaks in epsomsalts with a topical antibiotic ointment. Also, you might (if your brave enough) open the skit a bit more so it can bleed clean by widening the surfacewound. Keep the wound open so it can heal from the inside out, and you should be fine (if you have a decent immune system to start with).

Tea tree oil (M. alternifolia) is highly antibacterial, antifungal and even antiviral.
My mother produces the stuff and has had lots of lab testing done. It even deals to antibiotic-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)
I'd apply it topically and drink some in water too.
Yip, eat fermented everything. Make sure they're live cultures. It's very common for commercial producers to pasteurise products after fermentation, killing the cultures.

Hi
I read your question and went to webmd to make sure I was giving you the correct info. And I do not want to alarm you but.
Cats , especially outdoor/wild cats have a high rate of contracting rabies.
Therefore I would consult your md again and possibly your vet, I do not believe there are signs to watch for on the cat. But this virus/disease is nothing to mess around with!
Best wishes
Jon

Leila Rich wrote:
I'd apply it topically and drink some in water too.
Y

Drinking it might kill your own beneficial gutbacteria (since it's an antibiotic, same as chemical antibiotics) so I would strongly caution against that.
For internal use, you may try oil of oregano, but only highly diluted (1 drop per 500 ml water with a spoon of milk to work as an emulgent so that the oil doesn't seperate from the water).

Generally speaking though, for internal use I prefer whole herbs in tea or tinctured. Essential oils are something that require a lot of knowledge to use safely internally....

Kat deZwart wrote:

Leila Rich wrote:
I'd apply it topically and drink some in water too.
Y

Drinking it might kill your own beneficial gutbacteria (since it's an antibiotic, same as chemical antibiotics) so I would strongly caution against that.
For internal use, you may try oil of oregano, but only highly diluted (1 drop per 500 ml water with a spoon of milk to work as an emulgent so that the oil doesn't seperate from the water).

Generally speaking though, for internal use I prefer whole herbs in tea or tinctured. Essential oils are something that require a lot of knowledge to use safely internally....

How daft that I hadn't thought about that
Apologies for handing out bad information. Kat, do you think my advice to use it topically is ok?
I've finally got a reason not to ever drink the disgusting stuff ever again!

Teatreeoil is good for topical application. I use it straight, but people with sensitive skin might want to dilute it into a carrieroil.

It also makes a great mouthwash, but you just shouldn't swallow it...

If wanting to use teatree internally, one can opt for a raw manuka honey, since it contains a lot of the same volutile components, but in a natural edible form

Thank you very much! This seems to work. I tried it out on my infected cat bite but didn't have all the ingredients. Used onion, garlic, ginger, black pepper, chilies, fresh turmeric and cider vinegar, drank it (forgetting about the water, a bit tough on the stomach) and applied some  mixture to the wound with a bandage. I didn't take the antibiotic I was prescribed in ED and tried this instead. The infection has gone significantly in the last 15 hours.