Guest Post by "A Neighbor"

 

Well here I am in the hospital with an infection that was preventable had I just stopped the chore I was doing to disinfect some minor cuts/scrapes I'd gotten - a lesson for your readers Joe:

I've gotten thousands upon thousands of minor cuts, scrapes, and contusions of all sorts growing up on a farm as a kid, and owning a farm now as an adult in my late 40s. My standard MO has always been that unless an injury is refusing to stop bleeding, I just carried on with the job/project at hand. If the cut was bad enough to make a mess, then I would stop and do proper first aid. Otherwise, the job got done and the cuts got cleaned out at the end of the day's shower.

Saturday while scooping/mucking out our livestock barn with the tractor, I happened to notice one of my daughters' favorite barn cats pinned down tight in a corner by my dogs, and it was likely to be killed by them if I did not intervene. So I stopped the tractor, shooed the dogs away, got the cat by the back of the neck and was extracting him to safety when one of the dogs lunged for him. I got some minor cuts/scrapes from the cat's claws on my left hand and forearm in the process, but I thought nothing of it as the cat scurried away to safety.

I returned to my work, got the barn fully mucked out, and put down 50 bales of straw for winter bedding in the pens for our cows, sheep, and goats. By now the sun was setting, I went inside, showered, and noticed that my wounds had already fully scabbed over. I then ate a large venison stew dinner before reading my self to sleep.

I awoke to my alarm at 5am Sunday, calling me to my tree stand (it's archery deer season here). I immediately noticed searing hot pain in my hand, which was now swollen and bright red. My golden sunny Sunday morning hunting would soon be spent waiting at urgent care. I have not been to one of these facilities in decades, nor have I participated in the healthcare system at all in my life in any meaningful way (luckily).

By mid morning at the urgent care, I had been given a massive shot of penicillin in my arse, and a script for an oral antibiotic. Also I was clearly warned about three scenarios under which to go to the ER immediately:

1.) Temp over 102F

2.) Vomiting repetitively

3.) Redness/swelling/pain continues up the arm beyond the elbow

 

 

I went to meet my family at what was left of church coffee hour, ate a hearty lunch, and spent the afternoon taking it easy (doc's orders not to physically stress the swollen hand, besides it hurt like hell). After a leisurely round of reading and board/card games with the kids, by mid evening I noticed hot pain in my bicep and armpit. Pulling my shirt off revealed a series of bright red lines like tiger stripes protruding up my forearm, across my bicep, and into my armpit. When pressed, these red lines elicited searing hot pain.

So here I am now admitted to the hospital, getting a barrage of IV antibiotics, and (hopefully) assuring that a Level 1 sepsis/infection, does not progress to Level 2 (organs). Thank goodness for modern antibiotics! I can't imagine the pain I'd be in without a modern means to attack the infection and swelling. It makes me wonder about the old days, and how even a minor wound could mean a slow, very painful, and yet very certain death.

Here are a few takeaways for me:

1.) I will keep small 1st aid kits in all the outbuildings and tractors, and I will never again fail to splash iodine/benzodine/peroxide on even the most minor cuts or scratches. These cuts from the cat episode were not deep, not painful, and easily stopped bleeding within a minute or so. I did not consider the scratches to be a threat in any way they were so minor.

2.) I need to build an inventory of on farm antibiotics to stave off infections especially if the hospital is no longer an option for whatever reason in the future.

3.) An ounce of prevention...mitigate risks no matter how small at every turn. Extracting the dogs vs the cat, or even donning a leather glove (readily available on the tractor) to grab the cat would have been wise, and would have saved me a ton time, pain, and $$$$$.

ERJ notes: "...scooping/mucking out our livestock barn..." and "...minor cuts/scrapes from the cat's claws...".

 

There was likely poop-dust with high bacterial loading on my neighbor's skin when the event happened due to what he was doing at the time. The cat lived in the barn and had high bacterial loading on its claws. 

Even a vigorous washing out with soap and clean water would have mitigated the risk of the infection happening.

A million thanks to my neighbor (who wants to remain anonymous) for sharing.