Have you ever experienced having a good time with your fur baby? Playing catch, running around, your fur baby catching you, or you catching him, and then suddenly, all of a sudden, you just get bitten by him or by her?
Well, it sometimes happens. Maybe because your fur baby got all hyped with you and your bonding and just needed to release that ball of energy, got excited, or maybe got really annoyed at some point and just tried to warn you.
Either way, maybe sometimes they don’t really mean it the hard way.
Do you know that over 4.5 million people are getting bitten by dogs annually, and only about 885,000 go on to seek help from medical professionals?
And what’s quite alarming is knowing the fact that children are more likely to be victims of a dog bite than adults.
Sadly, it seems that there is no way to prepare for an animal bite because this usually happens so unexpectedly, citing the example that we have mentioned earlier.
Do you know what to do and what to consider once this happens? Especially to children? If not, then no worries because we will be there to guide and share with you vital information on taking care of those unexpected situations.
Remember that the key to these kinds of situations is to stay vigilant, especially when you are exploring outside and if you suspect that a neighborhood dog may be on the loose.
At the same time, when situations like these happen, it is always best to contact your doctor or an emergency room to seek help and that they may be able to provide proper treatment as soon as possible.
A Minor Animal Bite!
When a minor bite or a claw wound that has punctured your skin slightly happens, deal with it using home remedies as soon as possible.
This can be done while waiting for professional help or while contacting your doctor and the emergency response team for additional information as to how to deal with a minor animal bite.
First, bear in mind that you have to clean the area of the wound. Soap and clean water should be used to rinse and clean the wound.
Alcohol is usually not recommended to clean a fresh wound as this can further damage the skin. If ointment or some type of antibiotic cream is available, you may apply it over the wound gently after rinsing and cover with a clean bandage.
When Is It Needed to Seek Medical Assistance?
If some animal bite can be dealt with by rinsing using soap and clean water, antibiotic or ointment cream, when is it needed to seek medical assistance?
Well, bear in mind that if there is a lot of bleeding from the area or the skin is badly injured, torn, where the bite happened, the very first and most important thing that is needed to do is to apply pressure over the wound with a clean cloth.
As soon as you can, someone should find or provide a clean bandage or a cloth that can be set into place to help apply pressure, as this would help stop the bleeding. Assistance from the medical professional will surely be needed as soon as possible.
Other things that are needed to watch for that would determine that additional medical professional help is needed is when you notice that the bite causes a deep puncture wound but is not sure on how severe they are.
It is better if, even if you are not sure, proper treatment is already on standby. At the same time, if you notice a start of pain, redness, swelling, or oozing, these are the signs that an infection has already happened.
With regards to your tetanus shot, if you can recall that your last shot had already been over 10 years ago, you may want to get a booster for added protection.
If you have got bitten by a dog or a cat, it is better to try and find out whether the animal is up to date with their rabies shot if possible.
If this is something that you are not sure of, it is always better to go and get rabies shots and treatment for them just to make sure that they are safe.
Keep in mind that dogs are responsible for 95 percent of rabies transmissions to humans, but this number is substantially lower in the United States because most dogs are domesticated and do not roam freely.
If you’re unsure, seeking professional advice would be best.
You also have to be reminded that very few people actually survive rabies, so it is very important to get tested, and if once you have been found positive, you need to get a series of shots that would prevent the rabies infection from taking hold.
There will be two shots; the first one is the fast-acting shot given to the area close to where you were bitten, and the second shot is a series of four rabies vaccinations given through your arm over a 14 day period.
A Rodent Bite
Rodent bites are common in the United States as these bites are caused by rodents that have been taken in as pets.
It has been estimated that in about 10% of the bite cases, the bite will be infected and will be leading to what is usually known as rat-bite fever, an incubation period of less than 7 days.
What Are the Early Symptoms?
Be mindful of the early symptoms that may include headaches, fever, and pharyngitis. If these are left untreated, these symptoms may develop into a maculopapular rash and polyarthritis. In rarest of most cases, patients may even have meningitis.
Treatment
It is advisable to take penicillin or ceftriaxone as this would help alleviate the rat-bite fever. However, bear in mind that failing to treat it can lead to real health and serious complications.
For more serious infections or bites caused by rodents, you may be required to contact your doctor and take various antibiotics, including parenteral and oral antibiotics, for a longer period of time to alleviate the complication.
A Snake Bite
Most venomous snake bites incidents are reported in the southwest, and usually, these bites come from a family of rattlesnakes. Know that a snake bite can leave a single or double puncture wound.
The victim of the bite at the moment should remember to do their best to stay calm so that the people around him or her may be calm as well.
The person or spectators should also evaluate the victim’s body for a reaction to determine if the snake is venomous or not.
Observe a bloody wound discharge, excessive bleeding, and difficulty with clotting of blood, marks from fangs, swelling at the site of the bite, severe pain at the bite area, marks from fangs, selling of the bite area, severe pain, bruising;
Red coloration, and lymph nodes being enlarged, diarrhea, burning sensation, convulsions, dizziness, vision becoming blurry, excessive sweating, numbness, and more.
It is again important to wash the bite area with soap and rinse with clean water. Make sure that the affected area is also kept still and remains lower than the heart.
Covering the bite area using a clean, cool compress or a dressing that is moist is also recommended to help ease any swelling and discomfort.
Breathing and heart rate should also be monitored frequently, and as much as possible, try to identify what the snake looked like.
It is never recommended to apply a tourniquet or try to suck out the venom as this may be dangerous.
Antivenin can then be given to persons who have been bitten by a snake and have a moderate to severe venomous bite, which has greatly reduced the fatality rate from snake bites.
Final Thoughts
It is very important to know the basics of managing an animal bite, as this can save someone’s life, especially if you can’t reach out to a medical professional right away. It could be the difference between life and death.
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