A dog is a person’s best friend, but sometimes, ignorance of the basics of communicating with a pet, an unfriendly attitude to it or an animal’s disease can lead to the sad consequences of dog aggression - a bite.
But is a dog bite dangerous and how to treat it at home?
Why is a dog bite dangerous?
Many people don’t attach importance to a dog’s bite, be it a pet or a stray dog. In fact, dog bites are a big threat, as this is an open wound that can be infected or badly damaged.
The bite hazard is determined by the following factors:
1. A puncture or laceration
2. Damaged body part
3. Dog health
The duration of its healing and profuse bleeding depends on the strength of the bite and the condition of the wound. Puncture wounds do not pose a particular threat and heal quickly enough. Another thing is wounds of a ragged nature, since in this case the damage will be deep. Dog teeth can damage muscles, joints, and bones, causing severe bleeding. Torn wounds heal slowly, require treatment and first aid.
The damaged part of the body also plays a significant role in this matter. Most often, dogs bite adults by the ankles, hands and forearms. Children suffer more, because in the case of an attack on a child, the dog will bite the neck, head or face, and damage to these parts of the body is the most dangerous and can lead to death.
The most important factor in a life threatening bite is the health of the attacking dog, as the following infections can be transmitted through the bite:
• Rabies
• Tetanus
• Wound infection
These infections and viruses are dangerous to human health. Timely detection of infection can save the life of the affected person.
Rabies - A serious infectious disease of the nervous system, which is transmitted through the saliva of a sick animal. The carriers of this terrible disease can be not only dogs, but also cats, raccoons, badgers, jackals, wolves and foxes.
A sick animal suffers from 6-11 days, after which it dies in a coma. A dog with rabies can be recognized by the following symptoms:
• Profuse salivation and mouth foam
• strabismus
• Sagging lower jaw
• Vomiting
• Cramps
Awareness of the symptoms of rabies in animals will help to avoid contact with the carrier of a terrible disease. But if the rabid dog still managed to bite a person, then infection will be known only after a few months. That is why it is recommended immediately after the bite to pass all the necessary tests. It should be noted that in time undiagnosed rabies is incurable and ends in death.
Tetanus - An acute infectious disease characterized by the entry of a virus into a wound. The first symptoms of tetanus are: headache and bite pain. Tetanus is characterized by convulsions of all the muscles of the body.
If a person has noticed the first signs of tetanus after a dog bite, then you should immediately consult a doctor, as well as timely preventive measures - vaccination.
Wound infection - various inflammatory and purulent manifestations in the wound area. The process of inflammation of the wound occurs due to the penetration of microbes into it. The first signs are pain in the wound area, chills, swelling, redness, pus. To prevent the development of a wound infection, it is necessary to treat the wound with antiseptics immediately after a dog bite, and consult a doctor at the first signs of a disease.
Also, do not lose sight of the possibility of psychological trauma. People who have a psychological trauma from a dog’s bite will not be able to fight back the animal and risk serious damage.
Dog Bite: First Aid at Home
If the dog doesn’t bite the person strongly (doesn’t gnaw through the skin, there is no bleeding), then you should wash the bite area with soap, be sure to wash off the saliva and treat this place with any antiseptic. To prevent bruising and inflammation, ice can be applied.
But what if the dog's bite caused bleeding and an open wound?
It is necessary to adhere to the following algorithm of actions:
1. Call an ambulance. All further actions should be performed while the doctors are on the way;
2. Wash the wound with a solution of tap or boiled water, room temperature and laundry soap;
3. Relax the damaged part of the body so that the blood can flow freely, washing away the impurities;
4. The wound must be treated with a solution of hydrogen peroxide (3%), and its edges with any available antiseptic: iodine (5%), ethyl alcohol (70%), Miramistin, Chlorhexidene;
5. Bandage the wound with a bandage: bandage, gauze, napkin. If these products are not available, then a clean cotton cloth can be used;
6. Heavy bleeding should be stopped with a tourniquet. If it is not possible to put a tourniquet, then the damaged part of the body should be lifted up to prevent further blood loss.
It is strictly forbidden to burn wounds from a dog bite, tightly bandage, use ointments, apply napkins and bandages to the wound cavity.
Dog bite treatment at home
The severity of the injury determines further treatment. If the wound is punctured, then it is enough to treat it with any available antiseptic (you can bandage it with a bandage), but if the dog has caused severe damage and lacerations, then, as described above, it is necessary to call an ambulance and undergo a diagnosis.
If it was not possible to get to the hospital, then the treatment of lacerations at home is accompanied by the use of antibiotics. The bite area should be covered with a napkin, bandage or gauze. With severe pain and inflammation, it is recommended to take an anesthetic.
Also, be aware of the vaccination of a bitten dog. This is possible if the attack was made by your own dog or pet friend, neighbor, friend. In the event that the animal was completely vaccinated, then the victim needs to be vaccinated against tetanus only.
Treatment of a dog bite at home: folk methods
Quite a lot of people still resort to traditional medicine. A dog bite is no exception. The treatment of such an ailment at home with the help of folk remedies is still practiced. Past generations have invented thousands of decoctions, compresses and tinctures. The most popular are the following methods and tools:
• Salt solution
It is necessary to wash the wound with a solution of water with the addition of salt (a spoonful of salt per 1 liter of water).
• Solution with propolis
It is necessary to wash the wound with a solution of diluted propolis tincture in the proportions of 1: 1.
• Aloe juice
Apply a napkin moistened with fresh aloe juice to the wound.
• Therapeutic gruel from nettle
Apply a mixture of salt and ground nettle to the wound.
• Infusion of cloves
For an hour and a half, infuse dried clove buds in boiling water. Take three times daily before meals.
• Infusion of the immortelle
Insist 10 g of the plant in 250 ml. boiling water for an hour. Take three times a day half an hour before a meal.
• Garlic therapy
It is necessary to eat a few cloves of garlic daily to disinfect the body.
It is important to note that resorting to traditional medicine at home is possible only in the case of a satisfactory state of human health, minor damage and only as an additional treatment. The effectiveness of alternative methods of treatment is not recognized, and the means consist of components that can harm human health.
Why it is not recommended to treat a dog bite at home without consulting a doctor
Treating a dog bite at home can cause irreparable harm to human health.
A dog bite, as described above, carries many hidden threats that only a doctor can diagnose.
In case of any severe attack by the dog, even if it is a pet, you should immediately call an ambulance and undergo a complete diagnosis, including laboratory tests.
A professional approach to treatment and thorough diagnostic procedures will help to identify terrible diseases at the initial stage and begin effective treatment.
Dogs are loyal and human-friendly creatures, but like any animal controlled by instincts, they can harm human health. It is important to know the rules of first aid and the basics of treating bites at home so that the dog does not cause serious ailments.
