Bone infection or soft tissue damage?

Question:

4 weeks ago I was bitten by a cat...I saw Doctors twice about it and thankfully the puncture wounds never became infected. When I showed the doc an area that was really swollen but with only a tiny puncture wound on top he told me not to worry, that it was only some soft tissue damage. 4 weeks later and there is a bump about the size of a pea on the bone? underneath.on the ulna, forearm, in the rigid region. It only really hurts when I bump it or if I put pressure on that forearm, the area around it isn't swollen or sore but I am getting increasingly concerned that it may be a bone infection. It doesn't seem to be getting much bigger, or smaller, but is starting to really concern me. I am in a new country and my health insurance doesn't kick in for another month, so don't want to go off for expensive testing unless necessary. Ideas? Thanks.

Answers:
Infections Developing in Damaged Skin.

Damage to skin as a result of animal or human bites predisposes patients to soft tissue infection. An estimated 50% of all Americans will be bitten by an animal or by another human being during their lifetime.25 Animal and human bites account for approximately 1% of all emergency department visits.25 Soft tissue infection is the most common complication of such bites. The risk of infection depends on the type of bite, the site of injury, the time elapsed from the bite until presentation, host factors, and the management of the wound.

Most animal and human bites produce minor injuries for which patients do not seek medical attention. The overall risk of infection after a bite is estimated to be 5% to 15%26; however, among the subset of patients who seek medical attention, estimated infection rates range from 2% to 20% for dog bites, from 30% to more than 50% for cat bites, and from 10% to 50% for human bites.27 Most patients with an infected bite can be managed on an outpatient basis with oral antibiotic therapy and elevation of the involved site.

Animal bites. In the United States, dog bites account for 80% to 90% of all animal bites, cat bites for 3% to 15%.27,28 Nondomestic animals are responsible for only 1% to 2% of all animal bites. Patients with infections resulting from animal bites typically present with significant pain, soft tissue swelling, and tenderness; they may also have associated injuries to nerves, tendons, bones, joints, or blood vessels. Bites involving the hand are associated with an increased risk of tenosynovitis, septic arthritis, and abscess formation.

Infections that occur after a dog or cat bite are usually polymicrobial, involving a mixture of aerobes and anaerobes. P. multocida is the major pathogen, isolated from 50% to 80% of infections related to cat bites and from 25% of those related to dog bites.25,27 Infection with P. multocida is characterized by the acute onset of severe pain, tenderness, and swelling, usually within 12 to 18 hours of the bite. In rare cases (usually involving immunocompromised patients), Capnocytophaga canimorsus causes soft tissue infection after a dog or cat bite. C. canimorsus infection can be quite serious, leading to overwhelming sepsis; the associated mortality is 25% to 30%.27–29

Wounds resulting from animal bites should immediately be washed with soap and water. When seen early, dog bites should be copiously irrigated, debrided, and, in most circumstances, closed. Infected wounds, wounds older than 12 hours, cat bites, and bites on the hand should be left open. In all cases of infection related to an animal bite, aerobic and anaerobic cultures should be obtained from the site of infection. Tetanus immune status should be determined, and immunization against tetanus should be provided when appropriate. In cases of bites from nondomestic carnivores (e.g., bats, skunks, raccoons, foxes, or coyotes), wounds should be irrigated with povidone-iodine to reduce the transmission of rabies, and immunization against rabies should be provided.

Patients with established soft tissue infection and patients with noninfected bites who have risk factors for infection should receive antibiotic therapy. A broad-spectrum antibiotic effective against aerobic and anaerobic organisms should be chosen. Amoxicillin-clavulanate is the antibiotic of choice because of its broad spectrum of activity against common pathogens; trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, doxycycline, and ciprofloxacin are also used Infections secondary to P. multocida respond to oral treatment with penicillin V, amoxicillin, cefuroxime, or ciprofloxacin.27 Infections secondary to C. canimorsus respond to penicillin, ampicillin, ciprofloxacin, erythromycin, or doxycycline. Whether antibiotics are indicated for a fresh animal bite in a patient with a low risk of infection is controversial. Because it is difficult to predict which bite wounds will become infected, some experts advocate routine antibiotic treatment of all dog bites for at least 3 to 5 days.

I had a wound and then got a bone infection but it took half a year for them to relize i had osteomylitus(Bone Infection) but the only way they can be sure if it is infected is an xray they found mine with an MRI best of luck to you

have you had any bloodwork done sometime they can do A CBC(white blood cell count) to tell if yu have an infection or a sedrate
watch you temputer if you have a bone infection it may cause fevor

is it possible maybe u have cellulitus which is softissue infection if so it would be very red and swallon and painfull and some times if you get cellulitus (soft tissue infection) it causes blood clots

The website i gave u is for teens and kids but it will give you really good infromation and symtoms on bone infection

And the website about cellulitus tells how you can get it from a cat bite

PlZ check out the sites i have given you and i hope you start feeling better soon

Bone infection or soft tissue damage?

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