The wound is a deep puncture or youre not sure how serious it is.
The skin is badly torn, crushed or bleeding significantly — first apply pressure with a bandage or clean cloth to stop the bleeding.
You notice increasing swelling, redness, pain or oozing, which are warning signs of infection.
You have questions about your risk of rabies or about rabies prevention. If the bite was caused by a cat or a dog, try to confirm that the animals rabies vaccination is up to date. If the bite was caused by a wild animal, seek advice from your doctor about which animals are most likely to carry rabies. Bats often carry rabies and can infect humans without leaving obvious signs of a bite. This is why the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that people in contact with bats — or even those who are sleeping and awaken to find a bat in the bedroom — seek medical advice about rabies shots, even if they dont think theyve been bitten.
You havent had a tetanus shot in the past 10 years — or five years if the wound is deep or dirty. You may need a booster shot.
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What is a Dog Bite?
A dog bite is a bite wound inflicted by a dog. It is hard to predict the possibility of a dog bite; it is even harder to know when a dog is about to bite. Some dogs will only bark after the bite, while some might show some aggression before the occurrence. Nevertheless, the speed at which they execute remains a mystery to most victims, and some take a few minutes before they know what to do. When it happens far from the hospital, you need a trained first aider to care for the injuries and control bleeding. Basic first aid training and certification are vital for people wishing to provide first aid in such instances.
First Aid for Minor Wounds:
For a minor injury, you are not likely to observe a major break on the skin as it involves a slight scratch on the surface, often from a dog immunized for rabies. Nonetheless, it would help if you still had first aid to support the healing process. Trained or not, you need to do the following:
Clean the injury with warm, soapy water or disinfect with antibacterial cleansing agents as soon as the bite occurs. It might call for you to visit the nearest pharmacy to get the disinfectants.
Smear the antibiotic ointment on the surface of the injured part to prevent killing bacteria that could come from the animal’s saliva.
After the treatment, a clean bandage comes in handy for covering the wound to prevent microbial attacks on the raw wound. In addition, it removes dirt and prevents the delicate wound from further injuries to lengthen the healing process.
Monitor the injury for possible infections that manifests in pus, pain, red fluid oozing out of the wound, and unpleasant odor. In the event of a bite on a joint, fingers, hand, and feet, consider immediate medical attention to get the right prescription.
Doctor explains how to assess and treat dog bites
A dog bite can lead to rabies or tetanus infection. If you’ve been bitten by a dog, it’s important to tend to the injury right away to reduce your risk of bacterial infection.