Need a little advice

Stitchthestitch

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Albie - Pineapple Green Cheek Conure - Hatch date 14 Dec 2019 - Gotcha date - 4 March 2020
Ive been prescribed a topical cortico steroid and antibiotic cream for a cat scratch (frankly feel very fobbed off by the advanvced practitioner who had no clue about the severity of cat scratches or bites ) and i asked her about how long i should wait between applying the cream and handling ablie. She had no idea.

So , i know you guys are not doctors , but how long do you think would be safe ?
 

HeatherG

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The steroid cream should absorb into the skin somewhat but I might cover the area so Albie canā€™t contact it at all. He is so small that residual steroid could be a very big dose for him.

The pharmacist may have an idea although they donā€™t seem to get how tiny birds are and the hugeness of a contact dose. I am supposed to use diclofenac gel on my hands and pharmacist says it will absorb and not hurt birds but I am afraid to take that chance.

Keep an eye on those scratches and if they look infected go to urgent care. Scratches are better than cat bites but still concerning. Iā€™m not sure HOW concerning relative to bites, though.
 

Cottonoid

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Like you I also don't know the answer so I'd be overly cautious and wash my hands completely before handling my parrots, then reapply.
 

HeatherG

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You could ask the pharmacist if you could tape gauze loosely over the treated areas to keep Albie from contacting them. Iā€™d was my hands very carefully before handling him.
 
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Stitchthestitch

Stitchthestitch

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The steroid cream should absorb into the skin somewhat but I might cover the area so Albie canā€™t contact it at all. He is so small that residual steroid could be a very big dose for him.

The pharmacist may have an idea although they donā€™t seem to get how tiny birds are and the hugeness of a contact dose. I am supposed to use diclofenac gel on my hands and pharmacist says it will absorb and not hurt birds but I am afraid to take that chance.

Keep an eye on those scratches and if they look infected go to urgent care. Scratches are better than cat bites but still concerning. Iā€™m not sure HOW concerning relative to bites, though.
Yeah cat scratches are better than a bite but there's still a risk of infection, especially with older house cats that use litter trays or cat that hunt outdoors. ,theres even an infection called cat scratch fever . Ive never had an issue with scratches until this one. Im so careful about it.

The injury its self is healed ,as in its closed up with a slight scar (to be expected after 3 weeks) the issue is its kinda achey ,and really really sore to put pressure (like changing gear stick type pressure)on the original site. Its red and raised which is why i went in the first place and i specifically asked for a doctor due to the natureof the injury,not an advanced practitioner who had no clue about how vile cat teeth and claws are . She did say go in a week if there no change .

I asked the pharmacist and they were also clueless šŸ˜

I have to apply it 2x a day so before bed is ideal ,but its the morning application thats worrying me with albie ,as you say , him being so tiny , even residual could be a big dosage . Ill seenif i can get some washing up gloves or something .
 

goalerjones

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theres even an infection called cat scratch fever .
I've taken care of patients medically placed into comas who were scratched by a cat. The claws retract, pulling anything like fungus, or other bacteria up into the warm moist area to grow unchecked. In microbiology class we did random testing samples, placed our undisclosed sample into a petri dish, then we placed them all into various communal boxes to incubate. One dish overgrew in 2 days, then was threatening all the other samples in their box and was removed. Source? Cat's paw.

As for the topicals, I'd do long sleeve shirts. If ur fid is anything like my little psycho (love my little psycho), cotton bandages would be a provocation/the devil, and instantly dismantled.
 

HeatherG

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If you donā€™t get better soon, continue to have pain or redness, go to urgent care or ER. Please. Deep infections are nothing to trifle with.
 
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Stitchthestitch

Stitchthestitch

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If you donā€™t get better soon, continue to have pain or redness, go to urgent care or ER. Please. Deep infections are nothing to trifle with.
Please dont worry , i absolutely will be doing if i dont see any improvement with the topical cream . Its why i went to my GP in the first place,when i noticed it hadnt healed right.

I expressed my concerns and ahe was literally clueless as to what to do about .
 

HeatherG

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Please dont worry , i absolutely will be doing if i dont see any improvement with the topical cream . Its why i went to my GP in the first place,when i noticed it hadnt healed right.

I expressed my concerns and ahe was literally clueless as to what to do about .
I donā€™t like this ā€œreally really sore though it appears mostly healedā€ description. And am an infectious disease person. You keep an eye on this and potential signs of infection. Claws and teeth ā€œinjectā€ bacteria and inside a wound is an oxygen free environment where some germs take off.
 

LeeC

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@Stitchthestitch, be sure to nourish yourself exceptionally well. Vitamin C is a good example of a helpful nutrient.

 
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Stitchthestitch

Stitchthestitch

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I donā€™t like this ā€œreally really sore though it appears mostly healedā€ description. And am an infectious disease person. You keep an eye on this and potential signs of infection. Claws and teeth ā€œinjectā€ bacteria and inside a wound is an oxygen free environment where some germs take off.
I showed my mum last night(she works as a care assistant in the hospital)and told her what happend, she said go back to the gp on tomorrow (monday) as it doesnt look great and its becoming more painful . Id have expected the cream to have started working by now if it was gonna do anything .
 

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