Your health savings account

If you've got some money left in your HSA you'll lose at the end of the year, you might take a look at your booster and vaccine record. Thursday when we were at our son's for Christmas, my husband went to pick up his cat Edy and move her over and she bit him--really chomped down hard. Edy was a feral kitten and although she seems quite loving and friendly, she occasionally returns to her wild behavior, and that hand apparently looked suspicious. Animal bites are very dangerous because you can't clean a puncture wound. Only a human's mouth is worse. This article in JAVMA about the danger of animal bites is a bit dated on dollars and stats, but accurate. All pets will bite, especially male dogs biting male children. Just never say never. My husband isn't threatening and likes cats, but the cat saw he was sitting on her territory (the couch) and she wasn't about to be moved. He had had his tetanus shots for Haiti, but that won't clear the bacteria from her mouth. The next day his hand and wrist started to swell and redden from fingers, heading for the elbow. Of course, it was a holiday week-end for the doctors. But we got a 10 day dose of an oral antibiotic called in and the cellulitis and inflammation are retreating. Get attention immediately if this happens to you or your children.

However, our daughter and son-in-law, during the discussion of options, apparently weren't up on their shots, so today they were both off to get boosters and vaccines to use up their HSA before they loose their 2008 balance. A good use of the money if you have any left in your account. You never know where an Edy might turn up.

Cat bite wounds