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MaryG1959
Gold Member
USA
22 Posts |
 Posted - 01/17/2006 : 20:02:23
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One of my little stinkers got me good! It is one of my rescued b & g's ---Lucy----She's generally much sweeter than her sister Ethel, I was petting her head and WHAMMO! She hung on and wasn't letting go, I'm sure I dropped her on the floor---my husband came to her rescue while I fixed up my finger.
It is deep, but not bleeding a whole lot, swollen, sore....
Now, should I cook up Lucy for dinner w/ a nice orange sauce, or barbeque sauce????
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Gpsyps
Top Gold Member
USA
308 Posts |
Posted - 01/17/2006 : 22:17:08
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Mary sorry to hear you got bitten. Did you happen to notice her body language before you got bit. No-ones to blame, not even Lucy. Usually they will let us know or give us warning. Hope you feel better real soon. And give Lucy a big wing hug for she's probably wondering herself what went wrong.
Natalie & Girls |
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pbyeerts
Top Gold Member
USA
125 Posts |
Posted - 01/17/2006 : 23:47:27
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Hey Mary,
Oh boy Mary.....I sure know how terrible macaw bites can be. Deep animal bites are irrigated very thoroughly and an antibiotic prescribed to prevent infection. Animal bites are almost never stitched since it only seals the bacteria in the body. Soak it in warm water with peroxide or even better, betadine, and then if you wear contacts, squirt it real well with saline. Make sure you see your doctor tomorrow since animal bites to the hand are the most dangerous. Hugs, Pamela
Pamela & Nimo |
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macawdreams
Forum Admin
610 Posts |
Posted - 01/18/2006 : 00:21:38
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Pamela,
You are correct regarding saline but let me offer some information regarding bird bites. Certain animal bites may cause a bacteria infection AKA Pasteurella. Human bites are included. The source of the infection comes from the saliva carried by the teeth if the puncture is deep enough. Most dog bites are not.
Birds, however have very little saliva and the bird bite is not treated in the same manner as other animal bites. The risk of infection from the initial bird bite is slim to none. If the injury remains unclean and untreated of course the results could be infectious.
Also, Doctors will indeed stitch up a bird bite if it is deep enough so I don't want anyone avoiding the Emergency room thinking there is no treatment available.
If you're wondering why I know about this subject it's because I am speaking from experience. I suffered a bird bite to the bone that required 7 stitches. Luckily my brother-in-law is a hand and plastic surgeon. They did ask me if I had a tetanus shot only because of the needle, not the bite itself.
There are many remedies for bird bites and I bet money we each have several. The one I rely on the most is ice. If the bite does not puncture the skin ice reduces inflammation immediately. :)
Mary, this may work for you. When a bird bites and does not release, we instinctively pull our hand (or whatever part of our body) away which actually causes much more harm. Instead of pulling, push towards the bird's beak. It may sound rather counter productive but it is not. Pushing towards the beak causes the bird to release the bite. We don't need to push very hard, just enough pressure to force the release:)
Angie R.
Macaw Dreams Site Owner
"The future of Macaws starts here" |
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Toy
Top Gold Member
USA
390 Posts |
Posted - 01/18/2006 : 05:40:40
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Well being raised "old school, down on the farm sort of", LOL...you'd shudder at some of the things my Grandparents used back in the day & made themselves. We did run to the doctor or ER back then.
If it were me I would pass on the stitches unless the bone was hanging out. Stitches can & do let more scaring than natural healing. Good old fashioned soap & water to clean & then Neosporin (use the one that helps with pain too) & a bandage, only at night to keep fuz out of it. It's best to let injuries air some when possible. If it's swollen, like Angie said use ice. No more than 10 minutes at a time, as it can damage tissue if left on too long.
When in my late teens I ripped my little finger open on a car door. The tear was deep & ran from just past the first joint almost to the tip. I walked into the pharmacy & asked for a bandaid. I had a handful of blood. They went bonkers. My tendon was sticking out. They wanted to take me to the ER. I said look all I need is a papertowel & a bandaid...it'll be fine. Once home I stuffed the tendon back in place, slapped some good old horse salve on it, a bandage & let it go. 2 weeks later it was completely healed. Finger is fine, no damage & the scar is barely visable.
The best way to heal a bad burn is aloe. In the natural form just slice a leaf in half lengthwise, tape it in place with gel part on skin & let it there for a few hours. If you don't have any then use aloe gel. It will pull the pain out & heal a burn quicker than anything else on the planet. Ask me I know!! Wood stove use for years = many burns.
I still find many of the old ways are better to treat injuries or burns. However if these ways are not available to you then by all means go to the doc or ER.
Toy
Life is too short to sweat the small stuff. |
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pbyeerts
Top Gold Member
USA
125 Posts |
Posted - 01/18/2006 : 11:53:47
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Nimo bit me in the webbing between my ring and middle finger very deeply and there was actually connective tissue hanging out. Off to the ER we went and that's where I got my education in bird bites! I assumed they would stitch it because I had stuff haging out of my hand, but they wouldn't because of what I said earlier of sealing in potential infection.
Any serious wound to the hand can be very dangerous and in my opinon, always seen by a doctor. Better safe than sorry in my book! Pamela
Pamela & Nimo |
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macawdreams
Forum Admin
610 Posts |
Posted - 01/18/2006 : 15:46:29
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Pamela, that's terrible. That must have hurt like all ***! No wonder you didn't think you could get stitches. Did you at least get some good pain killers? 
You know this is an excellent topic! Not only do we need to have first aid available for our birds but what about US?
It seems to me that ER doctors follow basic guidelines for treating trauma, including domestic animal bites. But if they don't have an understanding of the anatomy of a wild bird they may be using guidelines that do not pertain to our parrots.
Since birds do not use their beaks as a fang and bite between mandibles there is no injection. You need a "fang" to inject bacteria. Even a dog bite doesn't always lead to Pasteurella unless the fang reaches very deeply, almost to the bone. Birds obviously don't have fangs and very little saliva to even carry the bacteria to inject.
Maybe we should carry Avian anatomy books to the ER with us, just in case.  When I stop by my brother-in-law's surgery center I'll collect a few opinions. It would be nice if we could be better prepared in case of our OWN emergency:) Good topic all.
And Toy, that one had me LOL, you're nuts! ROTFL.
Angie R.
Macaw Dreams Site Owner
"The future of Macaws starts here" |
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Gpsyps
Top Gold Member
USA
308 Posts |
Posted - 01/18/2006 : 16:10:12
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Mary hows the wound feeling today? Hope fully better!
Natalie & Girls |
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MaryG1959
Gold Member
USA
22 Posts |
Posted - 01/18/2006 : 18:05:14
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I'm a tough birdie mommy, it isn't bleeding too much so soap, water, some peroxide now and then---a little neosporin and my father's fav---iodine.
I'm sure i'll be fine-- |
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macawdreams
Forum Admin
610 Posts |
Posted - 01/18/2006 : 18:08:58
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Natalie, you're so sweet. Here I'm going on and on about technical/medical "stuff" and poor Mary is sitting over there injured.  I'm sorry Mary, I'm glad to hear you are OK!!! At least you're not alone, we've all been there.
Angie R.
Macaw Dreams Site Owner
"The future of Macaws starts here" |
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macawdreams
Forum Admin
610 Posts |
Posted - 01/18/2006 : 20:55:12
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OK, got the medical advice I was looking for. I consulted my brother-in-law (gotta love free medical advice) . Some of you may have seen him on the Discovery Channel, he's on there fairly often. Dr. Carl Williams, he's a triple board certified plastic surgeon and heads up our major Trauma center. He said there really is a "basic" manual on animal bites that ER doctors do follow. Bites such as dogs, humans and Iguanas are not stitched however bird bites are. The reason, he says, is that bird's beaks do not have the bacteria carried by the mouths of other animals. So if you have the need to go to an ER, and the doctor is not educated regarding bites caused by parrots, ask for another physician. Don't leave with an open flesh wound, it's not advised. Hope this helps!
Angie R.
Macaw Dreams Site Owner
"The future of Macaws starts here" |
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Gpsyps
Top Gold Member
USA
308 Posts |
Posted - 01/18/2006 : 21:01:17
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Thanks Angie that's helpful information and very good to know!
Natalie & Girls |
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pbyeerts
Top Gold Member
USA
125 Posts |
Posted - 01/18/2006 : 22:58:17
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Excellent information! I wasn't too worried about infection.... just the stuff hanging out of my hand LOL. Here's another medical fact my doctor told me: you can only get stitches within 8 hours of an injury. Doctors use 8 hours as the standard because after that amount of time, there's too much chance of bacteria getting in the wound and being sealed inside.
Found this one out the hard way cutting veggies in the kitchen......waited overnight to see my own doc rather than go to the ER because I didn't want to deal with the hassle of the hospital and was boarding a plane to Paris the next day. Pamela
Pamela & Nimo |
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macawdreams
Forum Admin
610 Posts |
Posted - 01/18/2006 : 23:58:19
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Boy oh boy do we have some tough cookies here.:) I cry like a baby when I get a paper cut. ROTFL! OOOOO, I didn't know about the time frame thanks for informing us!!!
Angie R.
Macaw Dreams Site Owner
"The future of Macaws starts here" |
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Toy
Top Gold Member
USA
390 Posts |
Posted - 01/19/2006 : 05:47:56
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Angie I cold write a book. You'd really like the one where I had a fish tank, full of water & fish land on my chest & break!! Several fingers injured in that one & not one trip to the doc. I um was trying to catch a lizard thing & sort of lost my balance & over it & me went. YIKES did I get in trouble. I wasn't worried blood was pouring out of me & my fingers was shredded. Nope I was worried about the fishies & was picking them up & getting them into water as quickly as possible. They all survived too :). I was only ever taken to the doc for those childhood shots we all had to have. Otherwise it was home doctoring.
Mary I hope your injury is better now & the pain isn't too bad.
Toy
Life is too short to sweat the small stuff. |
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MaryG1959
Gold Member
USA
22 Posts |
Posted - 01/21/2006 : 11:24:02
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It is still sore but very fine....I keep nursing the cut w/neosporin etc...and I'm sure it will heal like all the other ones did.
Thanks to everyone for their well wishes. |
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Bad Bird Bite!
