Man self-applies medicine after being scratched by cat, hospitalized with ulcerated arm

Patient's arm ulcerated due to self-medication after being scratched by a cat - Photo: Provided by the hospital

On June 13, the Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases announced that it had just received treatment for a patient with complications due to a cat scratch.

According to the patient, after being scratched by a cat, Mr. N. disinfected himself with hydrogen peroxide and bought Rifamycin (an antibiotic used to treat certain types of infections) to sprinkle on the wound.

Two days later, red hives appeared near the wound accompanied by itching and blisters. Mr. N. treated the wound at home for five days without improvement.

At the site of the cat scratch, the pain and swelling increased, spreading throughout the middle half of the forearm, and yellow fluid was oozing. The patient went to the clinic and was admitted to the general infectious disease department, Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases for treatment.

Here, he was diagnosed with post-cat scratch cellulitis with drug allergy in the left forearm/cirrhosis of the liver.

During the treatment, Dr. Tran Van Long, Department of General Infections, Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases, said that Mr. N. had a medical condition that was consistent with a drug allergy in a patient with cellulitis after a cat scratch.

"Therefore, we had to treat cellulitis and combine it with allergy treatment. After a period of treatment, the hand stopped oozing, the wounds healed, and the patient was discharged from the hospital.

Cellulitis is a fairly common disease that manifests as an acute infection of the skin and subcutaneous tissue.

The disease usually begins in an area of ​​skin that is swollen, hot, red, and painful.

It then spreads rapidly. It can occur anywhere on the body. Cellulitis usually appears on the surface of the skin but is harmless.

However, when encountering favorable conditions such as immunodeficiency, the elderly, cuts or scratches, cuts, cracks on the skin... these bacteria will penetrate the layers below the skin and cause inflammation and infection. If not treated, it can be life-threatening," Dr. Long shared.

Do not take medicine without permission

Pharmacist CKII Khuat Thi Oanh - Deputy Head of Pharmacy Department, Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases - said: "Rifamycin is an antibiotic used in the treatment of tuberculosis that is widely abused as a topical medicine, commonly known as "red medicine" because the powder is red.

Sprinkling antibiotic powder directly on open wounds irritates the skin, stimulates local inflammatory reactions, and can easily cause allergies or even anaphylactic shock. After a few hours of sprinkling, the antibiotic powder will dry, the concentration of antibiotics absorbed into damaged tissues is insignificant and has no meaning in preventing and fighting infections,…”.

Therefore, if there are open wounds or ulcers that could be a sign of infection, doctors recommend that you see a doctor soon. In addition, when bitten by a dog or cat, people should immediately go to the nearest medical facility to get tetanus and rabies shots and monitor the wound. They should not buy medicine to treat themselves.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/tu-boi-thuoc-sau-khi-bi-meo-cao-phai-nhap-vien-voi-canh-tay-lo-loet-2024061311282488.htm