Live Life Team
The bite any mammal, with the inclusion humans, is very dangerous. The bite causes not only physical damage, but it also causes infections because the germs present in the mammal saliva spreads through the bite.
The most popular bites are due to cats, dogs as well as human beings.
The most commonly found complication due to bite is an infection. Many of the time, infections are mild. In such cases antibiotics can be used for treatment. But there are chances of a person developing rabies or tetanus from animal bites. There is high risk of blood borne infections like hepatitis C, HIV or Hepatitis B due to human bites.
Symptoms
Normally dog bites and cat bites result in puncture wounds. But they can also result in an abrasion and laceration.
Human bites, in most cases, happen due to closed fist injury, in which the hand of one person gets cut in the process of punching another person on his teeth. This leads to cuts in hand as well as swollen, red, painful skin.
The symptoms of infection come up only after a week of the biting. The popular symptoms are:
- Swelling of the wound
- Redness of the wound
- wounds becoming more painful
- discharge from wound
- swollen glands
- fever
- chills
- shivers
Treatment
First aid
Clean the wound as soon as one is bitten.
Allow the warm water to run on the wound fro 10 minutes to remove the foreign bodies
Squeeze the wound gently to allow the flow of blood.
Over the counter analgesics like paracetamol or ibuprofen can be used if there is pain.
Need for Medical Attention
Go to a doctor as soon as the dog or cat bite is incurred, even if it is a minor bite.
As soon as a human bite is incurred, go to the doctor because human bites can result in high level of infections such as HIV.
Go to a doctor if the bite is on:
- the feet
- joint, ligament or tendon
- hands
- face
- scalp
- nose
- ears
In cases of severe injuries where any tissue has been torn off, a reconstructive surgery is advisable.
For a clenched fist injury, the patient may be advised to undergo an X-ray to diagnose the presence of small dental pieces or fractures of the bone.
If the doctor notices infection, antibiotics for a course of seven days will be prescribed. If the infection does not get cleared or if he or she feels unwell, the doctor must be consulted immediately.
Antibiotics are not advised in cases where the wound is seventy hours old or older than that and one has not developed any infection.
Complications resulting from bites are:
- Stiffening and swelling in joints
- Damage of the tissues
- blood poisoning
- rabies
- tetanus
The complications resulting from human bites are:
- HIV
- Hepatitis B
- Hepatitis C
