Robin was trying to be a helpful neighbor and got a mouse out of a window well next door (trying to impress their cute, 14yo dd???). It bit him on the thumb. It was probably a field mouse. How concerned should I be? I had him wash it really good with antibacterial soap and we put a band aide on it. He current on his tetanus shot. Do I need to call a doc? We don't have the mouse. He let it go after lecturing it on not biting! lol *sigh* That kid...

By Tink on Thursday, June 29, 2006 - 07:21 pm:

I think it would be a good idea for him to have it checked and probably get a rabies shot. As much as the shot is a PITB, it's better than taking your chances.

Boy, life's never boring with Robin around, is it?

By Ginny~moderator on Thursday, June 29, 2006 - 09:03 pm:

Cat, if it were me, I'd call the pediatrician, and maybe the Health Department, to see what they say.

Here's a fact sheet from the Cleveland Clinic which covers all the information you might need and a lot more:

http://www.clevelandclinic.org/health/health-info/docs/1100/1170.asp?index=5906

While the shots are a pain (though not in the butt), they are not as awful as they used to be. But definitely call your doctor - I googled and every page that came up said you should call your doctor, within 12-24 hours.

By Sandysmom on Thursday, June 29, 2006 - 09:18 pm:

Ewww. I'd definitely call the pediatrician. Mice are so dirty. Let us know what you find out.

By Hol on Thursday, June 29, 2006 - 11:30 pm:

I rescued a mole from one of my cats about fifteen years ago. It was frightened and bit me. I called the base hospital emergency room and they told me to come in. After waiting three hours (urghh) they washed it with antibacterial soap and sent me home. I could have done that! They did ask me if my tetanus shot was up to date, and it was.
The next day, I called a physician friend for advice. He said that there was almost no possibility of my contracting rabies. That if anything had bitten the mole, it would have died from the injury itself. Also, he said, rabies travels an inch in 24 hours in the body, so the mole would almost certainly have died quickly.
I wouldn't worry about it. It was a good deed, and you let little "Mickey" get away to live his/her life.

By Crystal915 on Friday, June 30, 2006 - 12:00 am:

Ditto the others, at least let the ped know, and see if he should be seen.

By Kaye on Friday, June 30, 2006 - 08:03 am:

At least call your doc. A boy here in houston recently died from rabies from a bat.

By Cat on Friday, June 30, 2006 - 11:06 am:

I called the ped clinic this morning and am waiting for a nurse to call me back.

By Cat on Friday, June 30, 2006 - 08:22 pm:

Well I got tired of waiting for the nurse to call me back and we were in the area anyway so I stopped by the peds clinic. The nurse took a look at it and said he'd have to check with the immunization tech to see exactly what the protocal for mouse bites was. She was at lunch and would be back in about 30 minutes. So the kids and I went up to the base exchange and went back about 40 minutes later. Then we waited another hour before she finally came out. She said basically the only thing they'd be able to do there was clean it and give him a tetnus shot (he informed her he was current on that! lol). She said to watch it for signs of infection--swelling, redness, oozing, red streaks, warmth--and go to the ER if they happen over the weekend. She also said if anything like this ever happens again, no matter what kind of animal, go to the ER. She said they say rodents in Colorado aren't rabid, but when she lived in Alaska they were so it can happen. Robin's doing fine and the bite looks fine so we'll just watch it. He said it bit him once, he scolded it (like a mouse would understand "No! You don't bite! lol) and then when he went to put it down (in the dirt where cute neighbor girl told him to so it wouldn't die) it bit him again in the same spot and hung from his thumb! He had to shake it a little to get it to let go! I'm sure this isn't the last adventure we'll have...

By Pamt on Friday, June 30, 2006 - 10:47 pm:

Cat, your life is never boring is it?

By Cat on Saturday, July 1, 2006 - 08:52 pm:

Boring? No. Never.