You can get staph infections from treating bumblefoot.

[poult]

I was reading about bumblefoot on the Internet and read that bumblefoot is a type of staph infection and if the bacteria from your bird gets in a cut on you,you can get a staph infection.Isnt staph really really bad? Like deadly bad?

 

[Odelia]

Well it isn't good. The problem is that it tends to be resistant to most antibiotics. The other thing is that it is all over the place. You should always take care when treating an infection. Do you have a bird with bumble foot?

 

[poult]

No I don't but my mom said my aunt got a staph infection in her leg and if she hadn't gone to the hospital sooner her leg would have had to be amputated.

 

[Michael Apple]

It is important to wear latex/nitrile gloves when treating any bumblefoot wound, and dispose of any gauze, cotton, etc. used during the extraction of the plug/infection. Chlorhexadine is the best to use for cleaning up before/after surgeries. Surgical utensils are autoclaved in hospitals, but heat treating or submerging wiped steel utensils in a disinfectant solution for 10 minutes works. When applying Silvadene cream to wound, use a clean tongue depressor or similar object that is disposable. Bandaging should be changed daily and not applied so tight that air cannot get to the wound.

Staph is not the only concern with these wounds. Enterococcus and E. coli can also be a problem. All are resistant to neosporin, so I can't suggest that for wounds anymore. I can't recommend NFZ either since it dries out the wound, preventing regeneration of tissue. Quick treatment is necessary since you don't want the wound to get in the joint, where it will take months to heal. If the wound is deep, effective antibiotics will be required as directed by an avian vet.

 

[poult]

Thanks that's really helpful!