TonyTsangHK, Flickr
While dog bites are relatively infrequent compared to other injuries, one in five dog bites is severe enough to warrant medical attention. If you are hurt, consider the following to help you avoid infection or scars.
When You Can Treat Yourself
If the dog has had its shots and you've had your shots (meaning a tetanus shot in the last ten years), you can probably take care of your own wound if:
It's just a scratch. If the bite isn't bleeding, wash gently with mild soap and hold it under running water for a few minutes, then pat dry with a clean towel and cover with sterile gauze, says Orlando emergency room physician Dale Birenbaum, M.D. who is also the program director of the Florida Hospital Emergency Medicine Residency Program. "At the minimum, a lot of soap and water is probably better than stronger antiseptics," advises Birenbaum.
Call a doctor if signs of infection appear over the next 24 to 48 hours, such as redness or swelling.
It's just a mild bruise. Ice and elevate the area. Icing constricts blood vessels, reduces swelling and can feel soothing.
It's a lightly bleeding puncture wound. Apply direct pressure with a clean towel, advises Birenbaum, and raise the area of the bite until bleeding stops.
When To Get Help Immediately
If you are unsure at all about the severity of the bite or concerned about how you should treat it, seek professional medical help. It's always better to be safe. Birenbaum also recommends that you get immediate medical treatment in these situations:
If you can't control the bleeding within the first minute or two. Especially if the bite is located on the neck or groin, where there are major blood vessels, Birenbaum says.
If you are bitten on the hand. "The hands are very sensitive and they're prone to infection more than any other areas," Birenbaum explains. Your doctor will evaluate the wound for possible nerve damage, tendon damage, or bone injury, and determine whether antibiotics or surgery is necessary.
If the dog bites your face. Bites above the neck, especially in children, are dangerous and can leave disfiguring scars if not treated.
You have other medical conditions. The elderly, diabetics and those with compromised immune systems are at greater risk of infection and may need antibiotics.
Your last tetanus shot was more than 10 years ago. Health-care experts typically recommend a tetanus shot within 24 hours of skin break.
You don't know the dog. Rabies from a dog bite is extremely rare in the U.S., but the doctor will evaluate you and ask more about the animal to assess whether shots are necessary, says Gaylord Lopez, M.D., a toxicologist and director of the Georgia Poison Center. "When the animal bit you, was it unusually aggressive? Did the dog look sickly? Was the dog dragging its hind legs? Was it salivating before it bit you? Those are the kind of questions we're going to be asking the patient," Lopez said.
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if its your own dog dont tell the doctor, he will call the cops and your dog will be in trouble maybe even destroyed if its a pitbull.
If the dog is a Pit Bull, it should be destroyed. Pit Bull dogs were bread to be vichous killers.
To the man who said the pitbull should be destroyed.. I have worked in the dog profession for 20 years... It is not the dog who is viscious.. it is the person controlling the animal that mkes them mean. They have a bad rap because yes, they are powerful and can harm or kill another dog or person but it is not in their nature to be aggressive toward people unless trained that way. Most are the most loyal, lovable, eager to please dogs a person can own,, a chihuah is more aggressive by nature than a pit. I have sharpeis which are also labeled aggressive and have a bad name because "they were bread as chinese fighting dogs" .. Mine play with my bird, cats, kids.. and all of the foster rescue animals I bring home, Its sad that people stereo type in a breed.. Strong men can hurt a person.. so if he ever gets into a fight and hits someone should he be shot because he can be aggressive,.. that is about how pathetic the comment is,
you have no clue what you are talking about and im getting really sick of people judging american pit bull terriors like killers! Did you know that more dog bites/attacks were caused by german shepards and dobermans then pitbulls in the last couple years?! Bet not, because you sound ignorant. Pit bulls are the most loyal and loving pets you can have and just because there are a few irrisponsible owners out there who give them a bad rap doesn't mean that you should judge the breed because of it. Learn the facts before you decide to open up a can of worms you know nothing about...
Pit Pulls are not breed for fighting! They come from an old breed that is no longer in exsistance. The orginal Pit Pull Terier was breed to kill RATS! Not to fight with another dog. The word pitt bull came from the sport of putting the dog in a pit full of rats and people would bet on how many rats the dog could kill in how much time. It is the Staffordshire from Staffordshire, England that was breed from fighting. Almost all terriers are what is known as Vermon Dogs, meaning breed to kill vermon. This is where thier prey mode comes from, and their tenacious personality comes from.
Clifford you are showing your ignorance, it's bred, not bread! It's the owners not the dogs that are to blame. Have you ever had a 60 lb pit jump in your lap so you could save her from a thunderstorm? She was a friend's dog and the biggest baby you've ever seen! Chow Chow's are considered "dangerous" too. I had one who lived to be 16 and never bit a soul even when provoked by a 17 year-old punk I used to know!!! Don't believe all the propaganda you hear!!
Pit Bulls seem to be more dangerous then most breeds.In Miami Fl they are outlawed as many attacks have taken place.Prior to outlawing them you had to have 300,000 home owners insurance to cover what usually are huge medical bills.I agree the owner has a lot to do with the disposition of an animal.
ok michell, i don't know where you got your information from, but they were not put in pits with rats. The are pit bulls because they were used for bull baiting. They would put a pack of them in a pen with a bull and have the dogs take the bull down. That said, the majority of pit bulls and like breeds i come into contact at the vet clinic i work at are well natured and friendly. However, those that bring them in obviously care enough to take them to a vet. It is the people who don't care and who abuse them or buy them to be agressive who are the problem. And just so you know, if you were to get a dog out of a pit bull line who has been bred for breeding you will have more problems, because fighting breeders will breed for agression. Just like fighting cocks, it is in their nature, if you are breeding for that and getting a dog from that lineage. But, if you take an ordinary bred pit bull, who is just bred for conformation and not for fighting, and raise it properly, you will end up with a very lovable dog. The reason pits, german shepherds, and rotts are listed as the dogs with the most bites isn't necessarily because they bite the most, but because when a 70+lb dog bites, you are more likely to seek medical help, and then the bite is recorded. If a little 3lb chihuahua or yorkie or poodle bites, you might not report it. From my experience, those are the ones to watch, they are very snappy if the owner hasn't raised them properly. Again, it comes down to training. (just because they are little doesn't make displaying dominant behavior any more acceptable than it would if the dog were large)
I am an owner of sibling pit-bulls and it breaks my heart everytime I hear someone (like Clifford) involve themselves in issues they have no idea about.The looks and reactions my husband and I receive from people is so hurtful. We have understood what we need to do as RESPONSIBLE Pit owners and still, people react and say obnoxious things like Clifford. We have even received "hate mail" from awful neighbors.
With that said, I would like to thank all of you other people that responded to negate and protest what is right. We are good people trying to raise good dogs. People like Clifford and Charlie are ignorant, hateful people and I hope they never have an animal or child under their care.
This reply is to the idiot who first replied Clifford J Klousia. Was your brother an only child?
ok first of all if you tell your doctor that your dog bit you he not going to call the cops. he going to call animal control, and he will ssuggest for you to take the dog there. the dog will be put on a 10 hold to see it agressiveness. o and if your dog attack you. then you screwing with the dog , some how that the dog does not like it for it to bit his owner.
As a nurse who works at an urgent care center, we do not wrap dog bites. Due to the bacteria, it is best to let the wound heal open.
Not all bites are from vicious dogs. Many are from careless pet owners with puppies or excitable doges.
One of my pitbulls bit my daughter last year. Because of the county we live in, they would not have put her down for this. My daughter cornered the dog with a bag (my dog is afraid of bags) and got bit. She did need medical attention the next day, but that night, they were best buds again. We are still very careful with all 3 of our pitbulls, but the vet where we board them when we are out of town can't get enough of them! They leave them out of their cages most of the time, which we have put a stop to now that they are older, we don't want any more mishaps. When the bite happened, we called the vet. They know our dogs really well and knew that they are not aggressive and they asked specific questions to find out how and why our dog bit my daughter. It was found that she was in a false pregnancy (it took about two weeks to figure it out) and that made her hormones out of whack. My daughter, who at the time was 9, cuddled with her that same night on our couch while watching TV with us. Since she was fixed, our dog is pretty different than before, I always say she came back to us a better dog (she has always been the grumpy old lady-even at 3 yrs old).
Pit Bulls don't automatically get put down for biting one person, except in very aggressive cases. A dog is a dog, and one is not more evil than another just because of it's breed. Pit Bulls were NEVER bred to be human aggressive, but some people have made them more likely to bite a person.
R
I agree with you
As soon as someone hears the name " Pit bull " The poor animal doesn't stand a chance !
However it turns out..the dog owner would not like to know me. I hate dogs and the people who own them. If a dog bites me..the owner is going to pay!!
What a shame Charlie. I have 115 lb German Shepard named Charlie. I don't think you two would get along. LOL.
Statistically, there has not been a documented case of a Pit Bull who has been
spayed or neutered and lives in a home (not tied outside) killing a human.
Those that have attacked humans severely have been found to have things like
pieces of tires in their stomachs on autopsy. Poor dogs.
Any dog attacks are automatically blamed on Pit Bulls by the media. The dog
could have been any breed. BTW STATISTICALLY the most dog bites in the US
are from Golden Retrievers! Well...I guess that's because there are alot of
Goldens out there.
The jerks who stand on the street corners acting tough could not handle a truly
dangerous dog. Pit Bulls are so good they make those idiot people look like
they know something.
My husband got me a dog on feb 14th, now the dog is 5 months old and wont listen to commands, he has destroy clothes, chair, and has chew bones, and also consist bark need help please asap
Your dog is still a baby. Treat it as so. It will be destructive for at least a year. Don't worry, the time will go by and then you will have a very loving and protective memeber of the family. Just give it LOTS and LOTS of love and patience. It will react how you do. You will be rewarded when he/she grows up.