4-yr-old gets bitten by wild otter and rushed to ER—doctor's google search leaves mom stunned
Even professionals might find themselves in situations that leave them baffled. Two parents witnessed such a scenario when they visited an emergency room after their son was bitten by an otter. The family had gone to a fishing spot close to their house when their son, Lee, was bitten. As they had no other option, they rushed him to the emergency room to get him checked. But then the parents noticed a curious thing on the doctor's computer screen. The mom, Lauren, who goes by @loash9 on TikTok, shared the incident with the platform. The video received 21.7 million views.
"When your son got bit by an otter and the doctors are Googling otters," the text overlay of the video read. The boy was lying on the examination bed as the doctor was Googling otters to understand what problems an otter bite can cause. The caption read, "Sometimes, I think about that one time Lee got bitten by a wild otter. We went to the hospital and the doctor was Googling what to do if you got bit by an otter." One could see several otter pictures on the screen as Lauren zoomed in while making a video. People in the comments section of the video backed up the doctor because many of them had not heard about otter bites before.
@loash9 Sometimes i think about that one time Lee got bit by a wild otter 🦦 , we went to the hospital and the doctor was Googling what to do if you got bit by an otter. 🤣 #doctorgoogle #otterbite #otter #florida ♬ Hell To Da Naw Naw Naw - Bishop Bullwinkle
@ramseysumner wrote, "As a provider at a pediatric urgent care with 15 years of ER experience, I would 100% have to Google otter bites. Where do wild otters even live?" @lindsayrae47 commented, "As a physician who works in a rural ER, I have had raccoon, cow, donkey, bat, fish, many bird and dog/cat bites, but never an otter. He is definitely looking up if he needs to be treated for rabies." @jaceyyroe remarked, "We had a patient come in with an otter bite. I also looked up otters at my desk to see their mouth and oh my god, it’s terrifying." @spaceepirate shared, "He's probably just checking to see if they carry any diseases or not, but it's funnier to imagine he just doesn't know what an otter is."
In a follow-up video, the mom shared the whole story behind the otter bite and its aftermath. Lee had been bitten by the otter two years ago when he was just 4 years old. The family from Florida had gone out for fishing, including the parents and their two boys. "We had never seen an otter in the wild before this," Lauren remarked. "So when we were fishing, it just showed up out of nowhere." Her husband really liked otters because his boss used to have some in his swimming pool. The family had steak as bait, so the otter refused to leave them alone. At that point, Lee put his hand out towards the water and the otter jumped up and bit him.
The boy had three puncture wounds from the bite and his mom was "freaking out." The incident happened on a Sunday night, so the health department and animal control were closed. Therefore, the parents had to take the boy to the emergency room. Lauren had Googled otter bites before they reached the ER and knew that they could carry rabies. The doctors asked Lauren if she wanted Lee to get rabies shots, as they were "absolutely horrible and so painful." The mom told her son, "Lee, you will have to deal with the pain and you will have to get the shot." Lee had to get shots straight to his wounds, but he recovered well after the incident.
@loash9 Replying to @Jasmine Barksdale<33333 #greenscreen get ready for an Otterly crazy story. Stay to the end for an otter viewing. TGFDG #thankgodfordoctorgoogle #ottertime ♬ original sound - Laur
You can follow Lauren (@loash9) on TikTok for more lifestyle content.