What Should You Do If Your Dog Bites You(2020)? Treatment, Complications, and Prevention!

Dog bites are more common than you think and can be dangerous to your health and well - being. You can get bitten by your pet dog while playing with him or get attacked by a stray. Sometimes the attack is so vicious that people end up with deep wounds and multiple stitches. Besides inflammation, pain and bleeding in the bitten area, you can be infected with the bacteria present in the dog’s mouth. Rabies and Tetanus are two of the many debilitating conditions that are a result of dog bites. So, if you get bitten by a dog, the one thing you should not do is treat it like a trivial injury.

A dog bite can be followed by a series of health complications ranging from infection to even death. It is important that you know about them so as to properly fathom the dangers of a dog bite:

There are certain bacteria that live in a dog’s mouth, like Staphylococcus, Pasteurella and Capnocytophaga. These bacteria can cause infection after it enters your body through the skin breakage in the wound. People with low immunity or people with diabetes are at a high risk of contracting such infections.

A vicious bite can be deep enough to cause damage to the nerves, blood vessels and muscles under the skin. A deep bite, no matter how small the affected area is, punctures the skin and damages what lies underneath. This can lead to stitches, surgery, not to mention immense pain, inflammation and profuse bleeding. Sometimes a dog bite can even break your bones. A large dog’s bite can break, splinter or fracture your bones, especially in your hands and feet.

Rabies and Tetanus are two debilitating conditions that can happen as a result of a dog bite. Rabies is a viral infection that you can contract if the dog that bit you has rabies. Rabies is fatal for humans and can lead to death if left untreated. Post-exposure rabies vaccine can treat the infection. Tetanus is another serious bacterial infection that can occur as a result of a dog bite. Tetanus immunization lasts for about 10 years and if more than 5 years have passed between the last vaccine shot and the dog bite then the doctor would suggest a booster along with medicines and antibiotics.

We do not speak about mental health as much as we should. Every accident that we come across has an effect on our mental health besides physical damage. We do the mistake of undermining or completely ignoring this mental health angle of accidents and are concerned with only the physical ramifications. A dog attack is not only physically damaging but can cause immense mental trauma. The sight of an aggressive dog attacking you and the near-death experience of it can be traumatic to many.

Incubation period is the time between the dog bite and the appearance of symptoms of infection. This period is crucial as what you do in this time will determine how much will the dog bite affect you. There are certain steps to be followed during this incubation period to contain any infection. Following are the steps that you must follow after bitten by a dog:

The very first step you must take after a dog bite is to keep the wound clean. It prevents the affected area from turning septic and reduces the risk of contracting an infection. Run warm tap water over the fresh wound for 10 minutes washing it with a mild soap. Pat dry and slow the bleeding with a clean cloth. Apply antibiotic cream or powder and wrap the wound with sterile bandages. Visit a doctor to have the wound examined and follow his/her instructions thoroughly.

To treat the dog bite effectively, the doctor would need certain information. The very first thing that the doctor would need to know is when was the last time you took tetanus immunization. This information is required to determine the chances of you contracting tetanus from the bite. A tetanus booster usually lasts for about 10 years but the doctor will suggest a booster if it has been over 5 years after your last immunization.

The second information that the doctor needs is details about the dog that bit you. Was it a feral, stray dog? Was it your pet? If it's your pet then has your pet been vaccinated? Answer to these questions and more and the appearance of the wound are required by the doctor for proper diagnosis and treatment. So be updated on your immunization history and the details of the dog that bit you.

If the dog attack incident was psychologically traumatising to you then you must visit a therapist for redressal. Signs of mental trauma would be developing a mortal fear of dogs or even fear of going outside lest you get attacked again. Do not ignore your mental state after encountering an accident. Get help if needed.

Prevention is always better than cure. It is true that you cannot be in absolute control of situations and events but you sure take certain precautions for your safety. In case of a pet dog, give close attention to its behaviour as behaviour is an indicator of a dog’s health. If the dog looks sick or in pain then immediately contact a veterinary. Sick dogs can attack and so do dogs which are in pain. As for stray dogs, avoid going near them especially if you suspect them to have a disease. Avoid startling your dog or any dog in general. Animals attack when they feel unsafe and startling a dog is sure to make it feel unsafe. Bothering a dog when it is sleeping, eating or caring for puppies will also produce the same effect. It is important that you keep these in mind when around a dog.