Dogs are furry, lovable creatures. We love them and we want our kids to also feel the companionship of a furry pet. But what happens when your dog or a dog who does not know your child bites them?
Why do dogs bite?
Biting is frequently seen in pups, especially when playing aggressively. Adult dogs’ biting or other aggressive tendencies may be caused by a variety of underlying factors.
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How Serious Are Dog Bite Wounds?
Skin and sensitive tissues can suffer serious damage as a result of dog attacks. Dogs have incredibly strong jaws and teeth, and the wounds they inflict can crush or tear muscles and skin, pierce through the chest wall and induce lung collapse, or seriously or fatally damage digestive organs.
Even a bite that does not split the skin might injure the underlying soft tissues by crushing or bruising them.
A dog bite can spread pathogens that infect humans by penetrating their tissues. Dog bite infections can be brought on by bacteria like Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, and Pasteurella.
The reason for the dog bite, however, cannot usually be entirely attributed to dogs.
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Rabies
The deadly rabies virus can infect humans when it contacts their saliva. Typically, a bite is how the rabies virus is spread.
Bats, coyotes, foxes, raccoons, and skunks are among the animals most likely to spread rabies. Stray dogs are most likely to infect people with rabies.
Does Every Dog Bite Cause Rabies?
No, not all dogs are responsible for spreading rabies. However, you need to get medical attention right once if a dog bit you. Since you can never be sure whether a dog has received a rabies vaccination or not, it is essentially a precaution to prevent rabies.
Rabies Symptoms
Several weeks after rabies has entered your body, you typically don’t experience any symptoms. You suffer flu-like symptoms when rabies reaches your central nervous system (prodromal phase). You get neurological (brain) symptoms in the latter phases.
Prodromal symptoms of Rabies
- fever
- weariness or fatigue
- burning, itching, tingling, pain, or numbness at the site of a bite.
- cough
- throat ache
- muscle aches
- vomiting and nausea
- diarrhoea
Acute Neurologic symptoms of Rabies
Both paralysis and rage are neurological signs of rabies. Rabies symptoms that cause rage may fluctuate in intensity with intervals of quiet (furious episodes).
Furious Rabies symptoms
- aggression and agitation
- restlessness
- seizures
- hallucinations
- tingle of muscles (fasciculations)
- fever
- rapid heartbeat (tachycardia)
- quick breathing (hyperventilation)
- uncontrollable salivation
- two pupils of various sizes (anisocoria)
- facial numbness (facial palsy)
- aversion to drinking or using the restroom (hydrophobia)
- aversion to draughts and air blowing in your face (aerophobia)
- delirium
Paralytic Rabies symptoms
- fever
- headache
- neck discomfort
- weakness, especially beginning with the area of the body that was bitten and spreading to other areas
- pins and needles, tingling, or other odd feelings
- paralysis
- coma
What To Do When Your Dog Bites Your Child
Image source: iStock
1. Prevent bleeding
You aim to limit bleeding as much as you can in children’s skin wounds. Apply little pressure to the wound with a clean washcloth or towel until the bleeding stops. Elevate the part that has been hurt if there is a lot of blood.
2. Wash the bite or scratch wound
After giving it a thorough cleaning with soap and water, place it briefly under running water to remove any remaining bacteria.
3. Cover it up
Dry the area gently, apply some antibiotic cream, and then cover it with a new bandage.
If you know the owner of the dog, be sure to inquire about Rover’s vaccination status.
Dog Bite Injection
When rabies begins to manifest in a person, the illness almost always results in death. For protection, rabies vaccinations should be given to anyone who could be at risk of catching the disease.
Rabies Vaccine
There are precautions you can take to avoid contracting rabies if a wild animal bites or scratches you.
If you have been exposed to rabies, drugs are used to prevent infection from spreading to your brain (post-exposure prophylaxis, or PEP). Combining these medications is common:
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- Rabies vaccine. Four shots will be administered by your doctor over the course of 14 days. You will only require two doses if you were previously immunised before exposure. The rabies vaccine prepares your body to kill the virus before it can infect your brain.
- Human rabies immune globulin (HRIG). You will receive shots around the wound from your doctor. You are given antibodies by HRIG, which are anti-infection molecules that will obliterate the virus close to the wound until your body takes over. If you received a vaccination before your exposure, HRIG shouldn’t occur.
Are there any side effects of the rabies vaccine?
You should be ready for certain rabies vaccine side effects to last for a few days after receiving a prescription for the course. These negative effects include a severe headache, nausea, and perhaps stomach pain, muscle pain, and dizziness.
Additionally, it is common to experience a 104-degree body temperature while receiving the rabies vaccine. Problems with swallowing, breathing, and eye movement are still some of the adverse effects of the dog bite vaccine.
How Long Does It Take For A Dog Bite To Heal?
Recovery is based on how severe the injury was. In the past, the rabies vaccine required 5 injections into the blood at regular intervals.
Currently, there are three doses of the updated and enhanced rabies vaccine. The first dose should be administered as soon as possible after the dog bite; the second dose should be administered after a 7-day interval, and the third dose must be administered after a 28-day delay.
When To Call A Doctor
Be sure to call for a doctor’s help when:
- You’re not familiar with the dog that bit your child (in which case, a rabies shot may be in order).
- If it’s on your child’s face, the cut appears to be quite deep (according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly two-thirds of animal-induced injuries among children four and younger are to the head or neck region).
- After ten minutes of exerting direct pressure, the bleeding cannot be stopped.
Dog bites on children are rarely stitched up by doctors since doing so increases the chance of infection. But if your child’s incision is on his or her face, stitches could be necessary to avoid scarring.
Even if the bite is not particularly deep and you were able to treat it yourself with basic first aid for dog bites, call your paediatrician if you are unsure that your kid has received her tetanus shots.
In the coming days, you should contact the doctor if you experience any infection-related symptoms including redness, swelling, warmth, or pus. Antibiotics may be recommended for your kid.
If a dog bite is not handled, it could get worse. Therefore, if the bite has broken your skin, it is best to get medical attention. Additionally, you must keep an eye on your incision for 24 hours to stop additional infections. Keep in mind that not all dog bites result in rabies. But following a dog bite, rapid medical attention is required.
Image Source: iStock
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