More than 4.5 million people are bitten by dogs every year in the United States. This statistic is painful to see but is important to consider whenever you interact with someone else’s beloved furry companion; just because they look cute doesn’t mean they’ll act that way.
The best thing to do is keep your distance, only pet a dog when the owner says it’s okay to, and always watch a dog’s body language for signs of aggression to prevent bites. However, you need to know how to handle them when all of these prevention tactics fail, and that’s what the information below will hopefully do.
Get it Clean
The first thing you should do when bitten by a dog is wash it under warm water and with mild soap. This will be a bit painful, yes, but it can help prevent an infection. There’s a myth that says a dog’s mouth is cleaner than a human’s mouth.
While this may be true when considering the words that come from them, in practical terms this is actually a dangerous myth, something dog owners would know as they spend time with their pets and see what they do in their spare time. The bacteria in a dog’s mouth is harmless as long as it stays there, which isn’t the case should the bite break the skin.
While washing the bite is important, it should only be done when the bite isn’t bleeding excessively. If it is, then wrap it in a clean cloth and seek medical attention immediately. This means the bite goes deeper and is therefore much worse than usual.
Apply Pressure and Medicine
Once clean or if there is a lot of bleeding, apply gentle pressure to the wound. This will help slow and even stop the bleeding which will make all future medical attention much easier. Once the bleeding stops and the wound is cleaned and dried, gently apply some antibacterial medication to the bite.
While washing will have removed some of the bacteria, it is still important to do everything you can to protect it from an infection, as they can be excruciating and escalate quickly. Once medicine is applied, cover the wound with a clean bandage or gauze and replace them every few hours to avoid getting infected from this dirty bandage.
If the bite didn’t break skin, this is obviously unnecessary. In this instance, focus instead on treating mild pain, bruises and any mental consequences of the bite. This could include heightened fear, panic, and an unhealthy avoidance of dogs. It’s okay to be shaken up by the experience, but it isn’t normal for it to become debilitating, so consider therapy if this occurs.
Seek Medical Attention
If the bite breaks the skin at all, then you should get medical attention. Sometimes bits require stitches, are worse than they look, are in a bad place like your hands or face, or may become severely infected if you have a weak or suppressed immune system. Some of the worst ones even include broken bones.
Obviously severe bites should be taken to a hospital then. Bites that appear to be less serious but that still broke the skin should also be seen by a health professional in case you need a shot of some kind or additional antibiotic medicine.
However, you shouldn’t rush to the hospital for these minor bites unless you have a condition that makes treatment tricky. Most of the time, a simple visit to a local urgent care clinic of some kind is all that you’ll need.
Watch for Infection
The care doesn’t end until your wound fully heals, so as it does so, you need to watch it to make sure it doesn’t get infected and to continue using whatever care plan your healthcare provider recommended. A healing wound will be inflamed and painful at first, but these will both ease and dissipate as time goes on.
An infected wound will become even more inflamed and painful, swell, release pus, start to get warm and more. If you suspect your wound is infected, get to a doctor as quickly as you can. Infections spread and worsen quickly and need to be treated as quickly as possible as a result.
When brought to a doctor, they’ll look it over and determine its severity. In extreme cases, you may be hooked up to an IV with antibiotics in it or even surgery. Most of the time, though, the wound will be thoroughly cleaned and covered in stronger antibiotic medicine and wrapped in clean bandages. You would also likely be prescribed antibiotic medicine as well.