Bite of a human dog: risks and prevention of rabies

Dog, of course, is a friend of man, but even this does not guarantee complete safety to the latter.Regardless of whether a domestic dog has bitten or strayed, such trauma can present a real danger to human health and life.Therefore, doctors insist on carrying out preventive work - people need to know why the dog's bite is dangerous, what measures must be taken immediately and how to protect yourself from the attack of four-legged friends.

Table of contents: Types of bites Symptoms of infection after a dog bite Stroke of a rabid dog What to do after a dog bite Treatment of a dog bite

Types of bites

A dog can injure a person during play - especially often with large breeds of four-footed animalsChildren are involved in the game.A person can face the aggression of a stray dog ​​- it can be triggered by hunger or an embittered attitude towards all people. But in any case, for whatever reason, the bite did not occur, there are only two types of such wounds:

1. Superficial bite.In this case, the dog can only bite the skin on the human body, the doctors classify it as a stab wound.
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2. Ragged bite.In this case, the lesions are serious, the wound is deep, open and with uneven edges, usually characterized by severe bleeding.

Most often, a dog bites a man's ankles, palms, hips and forearms, the children suffer from shoulders and face.The most dangerous wounds are bites on the head and neck - a fracture of the skull bones may occur, important vessels may be damaged, which usually ends in the fatal outcome of the victim.

Symptoms of infection after bite of a dog

It is clear that the dog's bite can not be ignored, but in this section we will talk about the symptoms that develop when the wound is infected - the wound becomes swollen, red, and the blood drains from the wound with pus. General symptoms of infection of a dog bite include:

• fever and chills;
• enlarged lymph nodes;
• general weakness;
• headaches;
• increased drowsiness.

If local bacteria get to the affected area, then it can provoke the development of complex and dangerous infectious diseases - for example, meningitis or brain abscess.In the case of a dog bite in the limb and damage to bones or joints, arthritis and / or osteomyelitis may develop.

A bite of a rabid dog

If a person is bitten by a rabid dog, then medical attention must be given immediately.The fact is that the saliva of a sick animal is rapidly spreading through the human body - through the vessels it enters the brain.And in this case, any, even the most qualified, medical help will be in vain - the death of a person is inevitable.

Symptoms that occur after a bite of a rabid dog:

• sharp increase in body temperature to critical levels;
• appears and progresses a feeling of intense fear;
• is disturbed by a dream - a person practically does not sleep;
• marked increased irritability, until the attacks of aggression and hysteria.

If during this period, medical care is not provided to the bitten person, then his condition begins to develop and the following symptoms appear:

• intense headaches - they can not be removed by any medications;
• is allocated a lot of sweat - literally every hour and a half you need to change all clothes;
• begins muscle spasms, which result in paralysis;
• there are hallucinations - this, by the way, is the most characteristic sign of rabies.

Note: a person's life after a bite of a rabid dog depends only on how quickly medical assistance will be provided.

What to do after a dog bite

Immediately after the damage in question, the first medical aid must be provided to the victim.And, you need to do this before you go to a medical institution. What is included in the notion of compulsory actions when biting a dog:

1. The resulting wound should be washed immediately with warm water and soap.It is highly desirable to use for the procedure an ordinary household soap - it will destroy with its alkaline environment many bacteria and viruses that fall into the wound, eliminate the saliva of the animal and dirt from it.
2. Then the wound formed must be treated with any antiseptic agent - the best option will be green, iodine, manganese.If there is nothing like this at hand, then you can use hydrogen peroxide - the effect will not be so powerful, but still it will be.
3. On top, after the antiseptic has dried, any ointment with antibacterial effect is applied to the wound.It is advisable to keep Betaine in the medicine cabinet - an excellent tool, which is necessarily useful when there are children in the family.
4. Apply a sterile bandage to the ointment.Just do not need to bandage the wound too tightly - it's better to let blood drain out of it, because pathogens and dirt can be released from the wound along with it.

The next step is to seek immediate medical attention, because only a doctor can assess the severity of injury, correctly treat the wound and prescribe an effective treatment.

Please note: if the dog's bite occurred on the street, then do not rush about in search of a pharmacy or compassionate residents who will provide their first-aid kit - just call an ambulance and wait for the arrival of professionals.If there is a source of water nearby, then rinse the wound from dirt, saliva and blood.

If there is a suspicion that a rabid dog was bitten, then the following should be done:

1. It is necessary to cut the edges of the wound or strongly squeeze it - make sure that the wound bleeds.Such a specially provoked bleeding will help quickly remove from the wound the saliva of the sick animal, prevent its spread through the body.
2. Carry out disinfection with any antiseptic, you can simply fill the wound with alcohol-containing liquid.
3. On top of the wound, a dressing should be applied - it may not be sterile, but it should not be tight.

You should immediately seek medical help and tell your doctor that a dog that has bitten a person may be rabid.

Note: if a dog is bitten by a person, then the owner of the animal will be required to provide certificates from the veterinarian about the absence of rabies, the vaccination schedule.If the bite is carried out by a stray animal, then the victim is placed in a medical institution, observed and conducted a series of injections for the prevention of rabies.

Treatment of a dog bite

Therapy should be started no later than 8 hours after the bite. Usually the following assignments are made:

1. Antibacterial drugs.Most often used amoxicillin and clavulanate - these drugs prevent the spread of infection in the body and destroy pathogenic bacteria that could be in the dog's saliva and get into the wound.
2. Doxycycline and metronidazole may be prescribed instead of antibiotics, but only if the victim has an allergy.
3. Analgesics are prescribed only if the victim complains of severe pain in the place of injury.Usually, such medicines are prescribed once.
4. The patient must be injected with tetanus vaccine.If the bitten dog is rabid, additional injections are performed.
5. A bandage with antibacterial ointments is constantly applied to the wound.
6. If the wound is torn, it may require suturing - this, by the way, serves as an impetus to the rapid recovery of the victim.

A human dog's bite is not only terrible and painful, but also dangerous.Therefore, doctors recommend to watch out for stray animals, avoid visiting places where flocks of stray dogs usually walk, do not touch puppies, do not wave dogs with a stick and do not throw stones at them.These precautions also need to be taught to children, since only competent behavior with unfamiliar dogs can prevent the phenomenon under consideration.

Tsygankova Yana Aleksandrovna, medical reviewer, therapist of the highest qualification category