“Animal bite & alcohol?”
A cat playfully (I think) attacked my leg. Not too long afterward, within maybe 20 minutes, I spritzed and wiped the area with a 91% isopropyl alcohol solution. The cat left my leg with 7 small wounds that broke the skin. That happened about two days ago. I was about to use the alcohol for another unrelated cleaning purpose today, when I read the Drug Facts on the bottle “ASK A DOCTOR BEFORE USE IF YOU HAVE deep or puncture wounds, animal bites, or serious burns.”, so I’m way late on the asking part but I figure I’ll ask anyway.
Please contact me at your convenience. Thank you and take care.
Please contact me at your convenience. Thank you and take care.
Male | 24 years old
Complaint duration: 2 days
Medications: Isopropyl alcohol
Conditions: Animal bite & scratch
3 Answers
VeterinarianVeterinarian
I cannot answer your question directly as I am not a human healthcare professional and you should consult with your human physician.
Having said that, I use isopropyl alcohol on all of my animal bites once. It has never caused me any issues and does clean the wound well. Good luck.
Having said that, I use isopropyl alcohol on all of my animal bites once. It has never caused me any issues and does clean the wound well. Good luck.
Please contact your primary care doctor about this question since this applies to you. I am a veterinarian and am not legally allowed to give advice for treating people.
Hi there! Great question! You took the proper precautionary steps with the supplies you had available. I would have also put on a triple antibiotic after using isopropyl alcohol if you had it (just in case it happens again ;) ). Based on your description, it sounds like the wounds broke skin but were not deep (you couldn't see muscle, fat or bone; just broken skin). The only thing I would be concerned of would be sepsis (i.e. Bartonella, "cat scratch fever"); however, if you don't have a fever and if swelling, redness and pain are decreasing, then you are more than likely a-okay. If you'd like to be sure, I would contact your physician to perform blood work and a blood culture.
