I was bit...

...and now I'm wondering if I should head in to the doctor.

Monday night at work I was giving medications. One stupid little idiot of an Aussie needed to take pills for her heart problem, so I put them in a meatball and gave them to her...she spat one out, so I scooped it up went to pill her like I've done 1000 other times with other dogs and she bit me. I had one tiny little puncture wound on my pinky - my own animals have bit/scratched me worse. I washed it, bandaged it because it was bleeding a bit, and went about my business.

Yesterday it was a little bit swollen and painful. Today, it is still swollen (not so painful). I, like an idiot, didn't fill out an injury report form at work when I was bit - I have given myself scratches from kennel doors worse than this thing and I didn't think anything of it. I'm under my dad's insurance so if I need to go to a doctor I can, but it is still going to cost me.

How do I know when a doctor is needed? It is a little red around the bite wound, but other than that it looks fine (besides being swollen). The wound itself has almost healed. Do I wait it out, maybe soak it, maybe keep dousing it with peroxide and hope it gets better, or do I need to be put on antibiotics? There is no pus, no streaking, slight pain to touch, some redness around the initial bite wound, it does feel slightly warm...

I'm thinking doctor. But I don't want to. Bah humbug.

Try a sea salt/hot water soak and then douse it with betadine. Lots of vitamin C.

I would keep doing what you're doing and if it gets worse, go in. That's just me though. I hate doctors and only go in when I can't stand it anymore and need medicine.

I've heard you shouldn't use peroxide anymore - an antibiotic cream should be fine. I'd keep an eye on it but it sounds pretty normal. Puncture wounds are stupid about healing IME. And they stay swollen for far longer than I think they should.

EDIT: From Reader's Digest (first thing I came across lol).

Be careful with antibiotic cream - you want it to breathe, and the petroleum based Neosporin can clog it up. Renee's suggestion of the saltwater and Betadine soak is excellent.

It doesn't sound like it's infected, sounds like you're just sore from the bite compression. It's going to be a bit hot and red - anymore than "a bit", though, and you'll want to go in. I also would make every effort to let it breathe (and drain) if it wants to. That's within reason, of course - if you have to bandage it to keep it clean, then do so.

I've pilled a LOT of cats :rofl1:

When I was bit I just made sure the dog was UTD on his vaccinations, and then made sure it was clean. I was bit on either side of my palm, and then I went and played volleyball afterwards, which shows just how brilliant I am.

Oh yeah, and once you make sure that it's completely clean, you could rub some DMSO onto it. I forget what it does, but it's good for deep wounds.

At FOHA, I learned that pill shooters were my friends. Never got bitten using one of those! And I'm phenomenal at getting pills in cats. (pill pockets are very useful for a small subset of cats).

Thought I updated, but apparently not.

I ended up going to the doctor. My manger hadn't been in the office since Sunday, so I just filled out my workman's comp form as if I had done it Monday. (Shhhh!)

Shortly after I made my post, my finger was very swollen, very red, throbbing, and then the pain transferred to my entire hand. For as insignificant of a bite wound as it was (it literally barely punctured - Chloe's left worse marks on me), it was being nasty. Went to urgent care and got my antibiotics and now I'm much better. Still a bit of swelling immediate to the puncture wound, but you can only tell if you really look at it. No more pain/redness.

I'll have to remember the betadine next time around.