When you're out in nature or in direct contact with rats, you could be bitten and hurt. Rat bite wounds usually look like small puncture wounds that bleed and cause swelling. If the bite becomes infected, the wound may fester.
Rat bite wounds most commonly occur on the hands or face. Children less than 5 years of age experience this occurrence more often. Rat bites usually occur in bedrooms at night and are more common in the warmer months, between April and September.
Are Rat Bites Dangerous?
The thing to watch out for from rat bite wounds is the occurrence of infection. This dangerous infection is known as rat bite fever. rat bite fever ). This infection can result from being bitten by an infected rat, holding an infected rat, or consuming food or drink contaminated with rat droppings.
Rat-bite fever causes a rash that is flat or slightly raised, red or purple in color, and sometimes resembles bruising. There are 2 types of rat bite fever, namely rat bite fever streptobacillary (more common in North America) and rat-bite fever spirallary (happened in Asia).
The initial symptoms of rat bite fever are the same as the early symptoms of other infectious diseases. However, as the infection progresses, there are some differences in the symptoms of rat bite fever streptobacillary with symptoms of rat bite fever spirallary .
Rat bite symptoms streptobacillary
Symptoms of rat bite fever streptobacillary among others:
- Fever
- Throw up
- Headache
- Muscle ache
- Joint pain or swelling
- Rash
Symptoms usually appear 3–10 days after being bitten by a rat, but may appear later up to 3 weeks after the rat bite has healed. Within 2–4 days after the fever, a rash may appear on the hands and feet. This rash is red with small bumps. One or more joints then become swollen, red, or painful.
Symptoms of rat bite fever spirallary
Symptoms that appear in rat bite fever spirallary is:
- Fever may come and go or occur repeatedly
- Swelling or bite wounds turn into ulcers
- Swollen lymph nodes
- Rash all over the body or only in the area around the rat bite
Symptoms of rat bite fever spirallary It usually appears 7–21 days after being bitten by a rat.
If rat-bite fever is not given proper treatment, complications can occur in the form of pus formation in body cavities (including the abdominal cavity), infections of the liver, kidneys, lungs, heart, brain and nervous system. That is, this rat-bite fever can be very dangerous and can be life-threatening.
First Aid for Rat Bite Wounds
Before you start treating a rat bite, the first thing to do is make sure you're safe from mice. If the rat that bit you is a pet and the owner is nearby, ask the owner to keep the rat safe.
To protect yourself from rats, make sure you don't scare the rats, as rats will bite when they feel threatened.
First aid for rat bite wounds is as follows:
- Control bleeding by applying pressure to the wound.
- Wash and clean the wound with soap and warm water.
- Cover the wound with a clean, dry bandage. You can also smear the wound with an antibiotic ointment from the doctor before dressing it.
- If you have an injury to your finger, remove all rings from the injured finger to prevent the ring from not being removed if the finger swells.
If you are bitten by a rat, you should immediately consult a doctor. This is because sometimes doctors need to give tetanus immunizations. Rat bite wounds on the face and hands are locations that need further examination because of the risk of scarring and impairing movement.
You should also see a doctor immediately if there are signs of infection in the rat bite wound, such as a fever. The doctor may give antibiotics, such as: amoxicillin , penicillin , erythromycin , or doxycycline , to treat infections. This antibiotic can be given for 7-10 days.
In severe rat bite wounds, the doctor may give antibiotics by injection. If necessary, surgery to clean the infected wound will also be carried out by a doctor.
Written by:
dr. Sonny Seputra, M.Ked.Klin, Sp.B, FINACS
(Surgeon Specialist)