# Stabbed deep by a cafish, do i need to go to the doctor?



## -- Saints Domination --

Well, I was fishing the Octagon by Sikes and needless to say, I learned my lesson about stepping on catfish to get a hold of me...One of the spines went straight through my shoe and into my foot, luckily, we got it pulled out right after it happened, and I squeezed and squeezed on the wound, I guess to squeeze out the poison? I cleaned it out with alcohol and read that I should soak my foot in hot water, and it's supposed to release the toxins, so I did that too. 
Anyways, do I need to go to the doctor? I don't wanna make a trip and waste 4 hours if it isn't required...
Thanks


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## John Becker

> *-- Saints Domination -- (5/22/2009)*Well i was fishing the Octagon by Sikes and needless to say i learned my lesson about stepping on catfish to get a hold of em...One of the spines went straight through my shoe and into my foot, luckily we got it pulled out right after it happened, and i squeezed and squeezed on the wound i guess to squeeze out the poison? Anyways i cleaned it out with alcohol and read that i should soak my foot in hot water and its supposed to release the toxins so i did that too. Anyways, do i need to go to the doctor? I dont wanna make a trip and waste 4 hours if it isnt needed...Thanks




http://orangebeachfishingforum.com/fishingforum/Topic344881-2-1.aspx



Like I told ya....it's a bone, not a fang. There's no poison. Gonna be REAL painful for about 3 days, plus the healing time but you'll be ok. =)


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## Capt.Eugene

I would just keep soaking it in warm/not hot salt water if it still hurts real bad and or get worse next three or four days go to the doc!


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## John Becker

so who left their rod behind?


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## -- Saints Domination --

It was me, i guess i thought my friend kenneth got it, Its a Shimano Sienna on some crappy rod


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## John Becker

> *-- Saints Domination -- (5/22/2009)*It was me, i guess i thought my friend kenneth got it, Its a Shimano Sienna on some crappy rod




Thought it looked Shimano but it was raining and I just grabbed it and stuck it in the truck.



Just yell when you want it



John

479-2486


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## -- Saints Domination --

Thanks man i appreciate it


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## Sam Roberts

while on the subject ive heard your suppose to place in cooler then get home to soak in warm water...anybody heard that? 

I've been there lol good luck.. does it hurt to walk??


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## John Becker

that "snot" is the problem...and doesn't wash away easily. A soak or even a flow of water doesn't get the "snot" out of the deep wound.



I seriously doubt an infection will start as I can't count the number of times I've seen someone pricked by a cat spine, or the number of times I've seen a buddy get smacked by another buddy with a cat....but I can say for sure the "cat" part of it lasts 3 days. It's just a cat's defense..and you're gonna hurt for 3 days. That 1" hole has to heal too....don't expect to dance for at least a week =)


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## sealark

Not one suggestion about keeping some antibiotic ointment on the wound after washing it. A good idea also. As for keeping it in a cooler, I once got hit buy a scorpion fish spine and thought it was correct to keep it cold to keep the poison from spreading. Every time I would put it into the cooler it would hurt intensley. I got home two hours later and called a friend that was a doctor. He told me to imeadiatley put it under hot water. When I did that it was better than getting a pain killer shot. The pain went away at once. Reason being to circulate blood and let you body remove the small amount of toxin.


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## inshorecatch

So Ive been thru this quite a bit. When wade fishing its hard to grab them just right and I get poked frequently, Ive always rubbed the poke spot with the fish slime and within a few minutes the pain has gone, no matter how deep. it does take a little long the deeper it goes just get as much slime on it as possible. hope this helps somebody in the future.


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## user8164

Here is my .02. I was hit in my index finger very bad one time. It's not that there are poisons but there is a great amount of nasty bacteria that can cause all kinds of problems. I actually was in so much pain, that I could only lay down on the floor in front of a fan due to sweating so bad. My wife called the pharmacist and they said I was having an allergic reaction & I needed liquid childrens benedryl. I sucked some of it sown & 30 min. later I was fine. 

It hurt like hell for a couple of days, then stopped. After about two weeks the pain came back. Remember index finger. I finally went to the doctor and they x-rayed it and there was still a piece of the fin lodged in my finger, all the way down next to the bone. They suggested surgery to remove. I never had it and eventually after about two weeks it quit hurting.

With this said, I would definitely keep it clean with peroxide and antibiotic ointment for @ least a few days.


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## FishingMedic

Hot water as hot as you can stand as soon as you can. Neutralizes the crap in the slime. keep it cleaned and keep antibiotic on it DAILY. Keep an eye on it and if any worse....see a Dr. one popular danger as mentioned is the spine breaking off deep inside and causing infection. ANY sign of it not healing.....SEE a DR


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## fishb8

Been there - done that. Stepped on a sailcat buried in the sand on Clearwater Beach. Went all the way through my foot. Went to ER. They just washed it out and gave me a Tetanus shot. Swelled up and I couldn't hardly walk on it for a couple of days.


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## Turtlebait

A coupla years ago, I got stuck by a juvenile catfish on my index finger. Nothing to it, went about my business of fishing and diving the rest of the day.

Two days later, my finger swelled up and hurt like hell! No oozing or redness, just swelling. It went away within a day. Two days later, the same thing, only worse. Again, no oozing or redness, just swelling and pain. Went to the ER to be told I had a "hydroid" infection. They had to lance my finger from knuckle to knuckle, irrigate it for what seemed forever, them stitched it up (12 total), gave me a script for antibiotics, and told me to return immediately if it swells again.

Never heard of a "hydroid" infection before, looked it up, one ugly critter under a microscope. 

Be on the look out for similar symptoms. - Ric


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## Caspr21

> *Cap'n Cade (5/22/2009)*Here is my .02. I was hit in my index finger very bad one time. It's not that there are poisons but there is a great amount of nasty bacteria that can cause all kinds of problems. I actually was in so much pain, that I could only lay down on the floor in front of a fan due to sweating so bad. My wife called the pharmacist and they said I was having an allergic reaction & I needed liquid childrens benedryl. I sucked some of it sown & 30 min. later I was fine.
> 
> It hurt like hell for a couple of days, then stopped. After about two weeks the pain came back. Remember index finger. I finally went to the doctor and they x-rayed it and there was still a piece of the fin lodged in my finger, all the way down next to the bone. They suggested surgery to remove. I never had it and eventually after about two weeks it quit hurting.
> 
> With this said, I would definitely keep it clean with peroxide and antibiotic ointment for @ least a few days.




he is right on. It is not toxins. Their fins are bone and they dont express anything through them. It is the bacteria that is the problem. It is a puncture wound, so soaking it in hot water will help for the surface bacteria, but not for the ones that are placed at the furtherest point of the wound. It will probably swell and hurt like the devil. You might wanna consider 1) if you have had a tetnius shot in the past 10 yrs. 2) definately topical antiboitic cream, neosporin has an anti inflammatory, antifungal, and antibiotic 3) if it does swell and get a "tight" feeling around the wound, or large circle of deep redness, then you need a broad spectrum antibiotic like cipro and or clindamycin. Puncture wounds are the toughest to treat, so keep an eye on it. Hope this helps.


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## angus_cow_doctor

I would be concerned about the long term effects on the tendons in the bottom of your foot. Plantar Fascitis is really painful, and can lead to long term pain. I would definitely be on antibiotics.


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## -- Saints Domination --

Thanks for all the responses guys. I had soaked it in hot water for 30 minutes and used rubbing alcohol / antibiotic ointment but my friends dad is a doctor and said he had seen someone who had to have there hand amputated from the same thing...:0 so he called in antibiotics for me and I'm getting a tetanus shot just to be safe. :letsdrink


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## johnsonbeachbum

> *Caspr21 (5/22/2009)*
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> 
> he is right on. It is not toxins. *Their fins are bone and they dont express anything through them.* It is the bacteria that is the problem. It is a puncture wound, so soaking it in hot water will help for the surface bacteria, but not for the ones that are placed at the furtherest point of the wound. It will probably swell and hurt like the devil. You might wanna consider 1) if you have had a tetnius shot in the past 10 yrs. 2) definately topical antiboitic cream, neosporin has an anti inflammatory, antifungal, and antibiotic 3) if it does swell and get a "tight" feeling around the wound, or large circle of deep redness, then you need a broad spectrum antibiotic like cipro and or clindamycin. Puncture wounds are the toughest to treat, so keep an eye on it. Hope this helps.




I absolutely disagree with you. The spikes (one on each side and on top do indeed express a fluid. I have personally held a saltwater catfish in my hand and had it express a stream of fluid five feet as if pissing. Five feet from a catfish no longer than a foot long.

I have also been surf fishing in a foot of water when a school of minnows comes by and while I am standing in the school of a million minnows I get nailed by a catfish. The only relief was to put the foot in a bucket of the hottest water I could stand.

Three years later there is still a brown scare right where I got nailed.



"Hand infections have been reported in association with catfish spine envenomations.3,4 Because *the venom is introduced by the fish through the spines of the fins*, the recipient of the insult is said to have been ?finned.? The injury usually manifests itself acutely as immediate throbbing pain, which may spread to involve the whole extremity. A variety of organisms not typically encountered have been implicated in the causation of acute and chronic infection." http://www.wemjournal.org/wmsonline...&issn=1080-6032&volume=014&issue=02&page=0101



http://www.ncemi.org/cse/cse1022.htm



"There are over 1000 species of fresh and saltwater catfish worldwide, many of them venomous. *Toxicity results from both the classically described venom, delivered when a spine punctures the victim,* and a more recently elucidated skin toxin found over the entire surface of the catfish. Although systemic sequelae including death have been reported, symptoms are usually limited to the involved extremity and respond within hours to supportive therapy.

http://www.wemjournal.org/wmsonline...&issn=0953-9859&volume=005&issue=01&page=0067


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## johnsonbeachbum

> *John Becker (5/22/2009)*
> 
> Like I told ya....it's a bone, not a fang. There's no poison. Gonna be REAL painful for about 3 days, plus the healing time but you'll be ok. =)




wrong


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