What Causes Bruising On The Hand And Hay Fever After An Animal Bite?

Posted on Sun, 12 Mar 2017

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Sun, 12 Mar 2017 Answered on

Tue, 4 Apr 2017 Last reviewed on

Question : I was bitten by my pet guinea pig close to 24 hours ago. He got my right middle finger with both sets of teeth. My finger was bent at the time, so I have to bite marks on top of my finger. My finger is swollen but of more concern to me is the fact the back of my hand is swollen as well, and feels somewhat bruised. I do suffer from hay fever and the guinea eats a lot of XXXXXXX hay as part of his diet. The finger doesn't look bad: not overly red or "angry" looking; no pus that I see; just swollen. Is this cause for alarm?

Answered by Dr. Ivo Ditah (35 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
I will recommend antibiotics!

Detailed Answer:
Hi and thanks so much for this query.

Animal bites require that you receive antibiotics for infection prevention. Augmentin is the recommended drug for a minimum of 5days. Unfortunately, this drug cannot be gotten over the counter. You would need to obtain a script from your doctor. If the pain is concerning to you, Ibuprofen 400mg every 8hours would be helpful.

I wish you well. Keep me posted on the progress. Am always available to address any further worries that you may have.

Kind regards!

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar