Everything You Need To Know About Dog Bites

Dog Bite

Dogs are men best friend, they have served us well over the centuries and will continue to do so for many more to come. Many times the temperament of a dog has to do with how the animal was grown. Yes, dogs are cute, precious and many are friendly, but there are some, both big and small that based upon their character can and will inflict wound upon you in the form of biting. Every Year, a little over  1,000 U.S. citizens seek emergency care treatment for dog bite injury.

There are however specific dog breeds which are most responsible for dog bites leading to death or dis-figuration. Statistics have shown that dogs such as, rottweilers, pit bulls, presa canarios, mastiffs cane corsos, dogo argentinos, boxers, fila brasieros, sharpeis and mixes of these animals inflict the following:

• 86% of attacks that induce bodily harm
• 81% of attacks to children
• 89% of attack to adults
• 76% of attacks that result in fatalities
• 86% that result in maiming
• Embody 9.2%+ of the total dog population

These statistic are startling and the fact is that each year, dog bites continue to rise, some due to reckless ness by owners as well as intended attacks on people.

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What To Do If Bitten By A Dog

If you are the victim of a dog bite, the first thing you should do if you are near a facility or your home is to  wash off the wound with fresh water. You must ensure that you visit the doctor so that they may examine the injury and administer the necessary medications and dressing if required. practicing good dog bite wound care is essential for the prevention of infections. People who get bitten by a dog normally worries about infections from the dog bite. Infection from a dog bite may occur if you left the wound untreated and allow bacteria to build. You may end up with sever infections which may call for more rigid medical treatment. The most common treatment that is administered for simple dog bites are:

1. Examining The Bite
   
2. cleaning the wound
3. Applied antibiotic
   
4. Dressing

If needs be and you require stitches to the area, the doctor will advise you accordingly.

There are however many persons who have been bitten by dogs with less severe injuries and choose to doctor themselves without visiting a licensed and experience doctor. So if you are one of those persons who want to treat the dog bite yourself you will need to do so immediately after the bite and simply apply these steps for proper dog bite wound care protocol.

• Clean the bitten area with clean water
• Then use antiseptic (hydrogen peroxide) to clean the wound.
• Apply Iodine to the affected areas. Iodine can kill fungus, bacteria, and other microorganisms such as amoebas.
• Dress wound and periodically redress and apply iodine after redressing.

Dog Bite Infections
These are some of the infections which may occur if the dog bite is left untreated.

• Chronic disease
• Chronic edema of the extremity
• Immunosuppression
• Liver dysfunction
• Previous mastectomy
• Prosthetic valve or joint
• Splenectomy
• Systemic lupus erythematosus

• Diabetes mellitus

These are very serious life threatening diseases that can occur due to a dog bite infection. Dog bites may also react differently on different persons depending on any allergies or medical conditions.

Dog Bite Wound

Dog Bite Antibiotics
Not all dog wounds may require antibiotics. Statistics shows that approximately 15 to 20 percent of dog bite wounds become infected.  Some dog bite wounds which are more prone to infection are: puncture wounds, crush injuries  and hand wounds have a greater chance of becoming infected than tears or scratches.  These infections carry bacterial orgasms called poly-microbial organisms. This infection is treated with prophylactic antibiotics. The treatment of the wound with antibiotics has an average antibiotic intake of three to seven days.