“A dog is a friend of man,” reads the famous saying. But it is important to understand that communication with a dog, like with any other animal, is dangerous. First aid for a dog bite should be provided to the victim as soon as possible in order to avoid undesirable health effects.
What is an animal bite dangerous for a person
The danger to humans is not only stray, but also domestic animals. Dogs of fighting breeds are especially often attacked. First aid when a dog bites a domestic or stray dog depends on the nature of the injury and the degree of damage. Types of damage a bite can cause:
- shock state;
- bleeding;
- soft tissue damage;
- wound infection ;
- rabies infection.
After a bite, punctured or lacerated wounds may appear. A puncture wound is a point bite. In such cases, the depth of the wound exceeds its length. Torn wounds appear when the teeth glide over the skin with pressure. First aid for a dog bite should be carried out, taking into account these factors.
Psychological shock
Do not underestimate the psychological trauma that a dog attack can cause to a person. This is especially true when a child is injured. The children's psyche is less stable than in adults, so it is more susceptible to external influences.
If a dog has bitten a child, first of all, it is important not to create a panic so as not to frighten the baby even more. You need to act quickly and judiciously. First aid after a dog bite, that the child needs to be provided does not differ from the procedures performed with an adult victim. It is necessary to constantly talk with the child in a calm tone, while carefully treating the wound. You should also try to divert the attention of the child. After the bite heals, you may need to visit a child psychologist with the child.
Getting a psychological shock can also cause irreparable harm to people with impaired functioning of the cardiovascular system and with nervous disorders.
Bleeding
Any bite in case of violation of the integrity of the skin is accompanied by bleeding. Since dogs have very sharp teeth, the bite can be deep enough to damage important arteries. Capillary bleeding is the most minor, venous and arterial bleeding is a danger.
Arteries are located in tissues close to the bones. Arterial bleeding occurs with deep bite. The blood in the arteries flows under strong pressure, so bleeding from the arteries is dangerous with profuse blood loss in a short time. Arteries are enclosed in the muscle membrane and have the ability to contract. Due to this, arterial bleeding can stop on its own.
Venous bleeding is more common than arterial, as the veins are located closer to the skin. When a vein is damaged, blood flows continuously and abundantly.
Help with bleeding
In the presence of bleeding, first aid for a dog bite, in the first place, will be to stop blood loss. The easiest way to stop the bleeding is to clamp the wound with your fingers. If the artery is damaged, finger clamping is performed above the injured area.
Capillary bleeding occurs if, for example, a dog was bitten by a finger. First aid does not provide for an urgent stop of bleeding. It is recommended to let the blood go off a bit, this will avoid infection in the blood.
In case of arterial bleeding, a tourniquet must be applied above the damaged area. For venous bleeding, use a clean pressure dressing. In this case, it is important to observe one rule: the dressing is applied for no more than an hour, in warm time and no more than two hours, in cold time.
Bleeding after a dog bite threatens not only blood loss and, as a result, a serious disruption of the human body. With such injuries, the probability of blood poisoning is very high. To avoid undesirable consequences, it is necessary to contact a medical institution as soon as possible, where first aid will be provided with a dog bite.
Help with soft tissue damage
A dog bite, as a rule, is a punctured or lacerated wound. The laceration has uneven edges and heals for a long time. In addition, with deep damage, the likelihood of infection increases.
First aid for a dog bite and getting a wound is, first of all, to stop the bleeding. Next, disinfect the damaged skin area. To do this, the wound is first washed with soap and treated with an antiseptic. The use of hydrogen peroxide is recommended. After disinfection of the wound, ointment with an antibiotic in the composition should be applied and bandaged with a sterile dressing. After carrying out all these measures, you should consult a doctor.
Bite infection
When a dog bites a chance of infection. It should be understood that even in the case of a bite of a domesticated dog, vaccinated and healthy, many microbes accumulate on the animal’s teeth, which, when bitten, can enter the human body. The most common bacteria that can be infected after a bite:
- staphylococcus;
- streptococcus;
- Proteus;
- corinobacteria.
The most dangerous bacteria are causative agents of tetanus and rabies. Wound infection is accompanied by some symptoms. First, the skin around the bite turns red and inflamed. A rash and white discharge from the wound may also appear. If such symptoms appear, consult a doctor immediately.
Help bite infection
Help with a dog bite with infection is not possible at home. In order to avoid adverse effects on the body, the assistance of a qualified specialist should be provided. At home, you should only stop the bleeding by letting the blood drain for two minutes to reduce the risk of infection. You also need to treat the wound with an antiseptic.
First aid for a dog’s bite will consist of suturing, if the wound is lacerated, the introduction of a vaccine to prevent the development of infection, and the appointment of medications that ensure the bite will heal sooner.
Rabies
The greatest danger when attacking a dog is the risk of contracting rabies from a sick animal. Rabies is a viral disease that damages the central nervous system. Without proper treatment, it will inevitably be fatal. The disease is most often transmitted when saliva of an infected animal enters human blood.
The incubation period of the disease can last up to six months. That is, the disease can make itself felt after the bite wounds have healed. The person has the following symptoms of the disease:
- a slight increase in body temperature;
- fear of water;
- irritability, aggression, panic attacks;
- hallucinations.
It is important to understand that after the onset of symptoms of the disease, fighting the disease is useless. The disease lasts for about a week. At the last stage of the disease, paralysis of the extremities, eye muscles occurs, then the respiratory and cardiovascular systems of the body are disrupted, resulting in death.
Symptoms of rabies in dogs
Domestic dogs are less susceptible to rabies than stray dogs. However, the risk of contracting a healthy vaccinated pet still exists. If a person has been attacked by a stray animal, there is a practice of trapping such dogs for the purpose of subsequent observation and detection of signs of rabies. The following symptoms are observed in infected dogs:
- In the initial stages of the disease, such animals show lethargy, lack of appetite. Dogs shun people, do not go out in bright light.
- At the next stage, the animal shows unreasonable aggression, completely refuses food, painfully reacts to loud sounds and bright light.
- The later stages are accompanied by profuse salivation, apathy. The animal provokes abrupt sounds on aggressive behavior. Then paralysis occurs and the animal dies.
Often there is such a form of rabies when the animal behaves very friendly and affectionately. If you suspect an infection of the animal with rabies, you should contact the veterinary service, as the dog may pose a threat to others.
Rabies treatment
In the event of a dog attack, you should contact a medical institution as soon as possible, even if the animal does not show signs of rabies. There is no exact term for the incubation period of the disease, in each case it is individual. Therefore, do not wait for the time after the attack of the dog, you should immediately consult a doctor.
If the dog has been attacked and bitten, first aid (rabies vaccine can be prescribed by a doctor) should be provided as soon as possible. After the vaccine is administered, the body begins to produce antibodies that fight the infection after about ten days. The vaccine is administered to the victim in several stages, the last on the ninetieth day.
In addition to the vaccine, an immunoglobulin preparation is administered to the victim. These are antibodies that fight the virus until the body begins to produce its own. An immunoglobulin injection is effective only in the first three days after a possible infection. It is made at the site of the lesion and intramuscularly.
If after the bite it was possible to catch the attacked animal, they establish control over it over the next ten days. If during this period the dog has not died and has not shown signs of rabies, vaccination is allowed to be interrupted.
Causes of Dog Behavior
According to statistics, more than one hundred and fifty thousand people suffer from dog attacks in Russia annually. Especially often children and adolescents are attacked. This is due to the behavior of the child, he shows excessive activity, makes loud noises, can accidentally hurt the dog. The animal begins to get nervous when faced with such behavior, fears aggression from the person and, as a result, attacks first.
Very often, an animal attacks when a person next to it experiences intense fear. The dog reacts to strong emotions and feels its superiority. The dog attacks, protecting its territory, its puppies, as well as in response to aggressive human behavior.
From the foregoing, we can conclude that the cause of aggression of a healthy adequate animal in most cases is human behavior. Accordingly, it is usually possible to prevent an attack by a person. But if the attack did occur, first aid for a dog bite should be provided as soon as possible.