So I was being lazy cleaning a smallish hardhead catfish to feed to my chickens, while doing it the pectoral fin (i think; it was not the whisker) got me good.  About 1/4 " into my pointer finger.  No big deal I thought rinsed the blood off and continued, later I put neospoirin on it just for kicks.

This AM my finger is swiollen up and I cannot bend the knuckle...did some research online and got everything from "you are going to Die!" to suck it up wussy and keep fishing.  WOund looks clean but I did not expect the knuckle swelling as well as the entire finger...thoughts???? spend $$$ to get it checked out and then the CYA antibiotics (which I do not care for as I think they can cassue more harm than good) OR just wait, wait, wait...so far only my finger is swollen it has not spread so I am thinking just chill and wait for it to subside.

Anyone got expierince getting "stung" by a salt water cat?  How long until the swelling goes down?  1-2 days, 1 week, or more? Any home remedies that can be used a day after it occureed (i now know what I should have done immediately but that window has closed)

I ran a Wahoo fin through my hand, actually, the Wahoo ran it's fin through my hand and it looked like one of Mickey Mouse's hands in the morning.

I went to the doc and he said it was most likely an histamine reaction. He gave me a prescription of antibiotics just in case, but his original diagnosis was correct and the swelling was gone the next day.

If you aren't prone to nasty infections (Diabetic or the like), I'd give it a day or two.

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I was right.

This thread is useless without pictures!

If the swelling is really bad I would go to a walking in clinic if you can't see your regular doctor. It shouldn't run you more than $150 without insurance and many take insurance. They can give you an antibiotic shot and a script. You have to be really careful with stingray and catfish as they can give you a really nasty infection. The infection cann cause problems with the joints in finger that can bother you for a long time or even worse if you let it go too long. I have a nasty bump and added tension when bending the joint closest to my fingernail of one of my index fingers from waiting 2.5 days to go see a doctor once the swelling got really bad.  I'd go see a doctor just to be safe.

if sticklier with the $$$

keep close eye andwatch/wait it out...

worked at sunrise A WAYS back,got poked by a pinner,didnt think nothing of it..afew days later doc said if i waited longer,could of been serious TROUBLE,,,then again i was still dipping into those same nasty wells along with the shrimp wells...so never really got all that clean..just keep watch on it,,,

. cured overnight lessoned learned

Edited: 08/20/2015 at 10:36 AM by SurferMic

Well, if you cured it overnight you either peed on it, soaked in hot water as hot as you can
stand or rubbed catfish slime on it, or a combination of the above, or all three.

So, who peed on it, or did you pee on it?

(ps ~ the above works)


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Who is Keyser Soze?

Years ago I counted 60 Pin Fish holes in my hand after a night of Tarpon fishing. I soaked it in an Epsom Salts solution before bed and it was completely clear in the morning; no holes, no swelling...nada.

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I was right.

Puncture wounds are very dangerous because bacteria are deposited so deep in the wound; even if the superficial wound heals you can have an abscess develop and bad things can happen.

Glad this one turned out ok. In the olden days people died from infected cuts and scratches all the time.

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Capitalism is based on the ridiculous notion that you can enjoy limitless growth in a closed, finite system.

In biology, such behavior of cells is called "cancer".

These will help prevent it next time.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0036SHPWY?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00

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If I am not surfing then I must be dancing!

The spines in the cats have venom in them unlike alot of other fish that may tag you. This is why is can swell up and/or cause loss of joint mobility (like in a bee sting). Hot water (as hot as you can stand it) will break down the venom. In fact, if you are fishing on a boat with an outboard, you can use the hot water stream coming out the back if the engine has been running long enough.

 

Do that an some benadryl and you will be good to go.

Hey, I know this is an old post, but I have a question for you....

I also have chickens and like keeping their diet varied. It never occured to me to feed them fish that I catch but don't wish to keep. Do you just give them the fish raw? Seems like a great source of protein and other nutrients. I can keep the smallies and just give them to the chickens, which honestly, will eat virtually anything!

 

Hello PB Chuck, chickens are great! I have not bought gnarly store  eggs in a long time.  The taste is amazing; the yolk is such a brillant orange color..  What is really cool is knowing what they eat. organic feed and seed plus healthy table scraps,  OK rant over about how great backyard chickens are...now to the fish, I have been throwing the fish on the grill whole and quick sear them slice it open in giant pieces, they gobble up everything.  I guess you could feed it to them raw, the fish I keep for myself I feed them the guts/innards and they go nuts over it but since I treat them as pets I do not mind cooking the trash fish whole..only takes a few mins on high flame.

So stoked I live in Indialantic county zone area and can have 4 chickens legally, they really have their own personality and rule the yard..my cats and dogs will not mess with them, they are top of the chain which I thought would never happen.  So cool to see a cats, dogs plus chickens all hanging out together in harmony.  My chicken are free range and keep the backyard 100% bug free.

Even a slow day of fishing catching Hardnose cats, SailCats, small whiting or croakers still equals great chicken feed which means as long as I caught something it was a good day of beach fishing.

Edited: 01/07/2016 at 07:05 PM by SurferMic

Thats a cool story, I never have had chickens, but sounds like i need to check the city/county regs and maybe give it a try! Do they crow(rooster) in the morning? I always loved that

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I troll 2L.com to be a better person in real life

Hens only you can not have roosters, I had to farm out the one baby chick that grew up to be a rooster. The hens are quiet

Bump, was surf fishing yesterday pm and after the fourth sail cat was getting a little bold and lipped it like a bass. Well the little b-turd didn't fancy that and writhed in such a way that the starboard pec fin got me in the tip of my middle finger........just a poke but man it was throbbing hard worse than a bee sting.

Good news is Miker's hot water trick killed the pain instantly, after a couple mins of running under HOT water i was AOK, well so long as cleaning with Beta-dine keeps it from getting infuck-ted!



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I troll 2L.com to be a better person in real life