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What to Do If a Rat Bites You

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Rats are very common pests. They can be found anywhere, and as long as there are ample supplies of both water and food, they can make anything their home. Because rats are known carriers of diseases, it’s important that you get rid of them and control their population. You don’t want them scurrying around your home and contaminating your food, and you most definitely don’t want to increase the risk of rat bites.

The Dangers of Rat Bites

As mentioned earlier, rats are carriers of deadly bacteria, viruses, and other pathogenic organisms. These pathogenic organisms can be found not only in their feces, urine, and fur, but they can also be found in their blood and saliva. This is why it’s very important that you dispose of food and water that has been contaminated by rats. You don’t want to accidentally ingest something that a rat has contaminated.

Also, if you get bitten by a rat, you have to seek medical help immediately. Rat bites can cause a variety of problems, including but not limited to blood loss, infection, rabies, diseases, and illnesses, etc.

First Aid Treatment for Rat Bites

If you live in a place where there are rats, you have to know the first aid treatment for rat bites.

The first thing that you have to do is to wash the wound thoroughly with water and soap and rinse it under running water. If the wound is quite large and deep, you also need to clean the inside of the wound. You want to get rid of as many bacteria as you can. When rinsing the wound, see to it that you rinse away all the soap. Soap left inside the wound can cause irritation.

Of note though; if you’re not the rat-bite victim and you’re going to treat the wound, see to it that you’re wearing protective gloves. You don’t know if the rat that bit the victim is infected or not, so it’s better to be safe than sorry later. Wearing protective gloves is important if you have superficial wounds.

For wounds that are bleeding heavily, you can apply a tourniquet above the bitten site. This could help control the bleeding. A reminder though; don’t make the tourniquet too tight, lest it completely blocks blood circulation.

To prevent infection, cover the wound with a dry, sterile bandage. You can also put some topical antibiotics over the wound before covering it with a bandage.

Finally, go to the nearest hospital to receive appropriate medical attention. You will need to get shots to prevent possible rabies infection or rat-bite fever, and you will also need to get medications to prevent wound infection.

When you get home, you have to watch out for signs and symptoms of wound infection such as redness, inflammation, warmth, and pus. You also have to watch out for fever as well as headache and vomiting, body aches and pains, and malaise. If these symptoms occur, go to the hospital immediately.

Get rid of rats to prevent rat bites and the diseases they carry. If the population is already out of hand, be sure to give your local pest control company a call.