Animal and Human Bites

Overview

Animal and human bites may cause puncture wounds, cuts, scrapes, or crushing injuries. Most animal and human bites cause minor injuries. Home treatment is usually all that is needed to care for the wound.

Animal bites

Most animal bites occur in school-age children. The face, hands, arms, and legs are the most common sites for animal bites. Be sure to teach children to be careful around animals and that an animal could hurt them. Young children should always be supervised around animals.

• Dog bites occur more than any other animal bite. They happen most often in the summer months. The dog is usually known to the person. Most injuries result from the dog being teased or bothered while eating or sleeping. Boys are bitten about twice as often as girls. The arms, head, and neck are the most likely areas to be bitten in children.
• Cat bites usually cause deeper puncture wounds than dog bites. They have a high risk of bacterial infection because they can be hard to clean well.
• Exotic pet bites, such as from rats, mice, or gerbils, may carry illnesses. But rabies usually isn't a concern. The bites from some pets, such as iguanas, are at risk for infection. But they don't carry other serious risks.
• Livestock bites, such as from horses, cows, and sheep, can cause crushing injuries. These animals have powerful jaws. Infection, tetanus, and rabies are possible risks.
• Wild animal bites may occur while hunting, camping, or hiking. Infection, tetanus, and rabies are possible risks. Bats, raccoons, skunks, foxes, and coyotes are the animals most likely to have rabies in the U.S. and Canada. Small mammals, such as mice and squirrels, almost never have rabies.

Human bites

Adult bites that cause a wound to the hand can be serious. A clenched fist striking another person in the mouth and teeth can cut or puncture the skin over the knuckles. This is commonly called a "fight bite." Tissues under the skin may be damaged, and an infection can develop.

Bites from children are:

• Usually not very deep.
• Not as forceful as adult bites.
• Not too likely to become infected.
• Not damaging to tissue under the skin.

Self-Care

Minor animal and human bites usually can be treated at home. Some bites cause only bruising (contusions) at the bite site, but they don't break the skin. These bites usually don't get infected.

Try these tips for caring for a bite.

• Stop the bleeding.

  Apply direct pressure to the wound.

• Clean the bite as soon as you can.

  This may reduce the chance of infection and scarring.

  • Wash the wound for 5 minutes with large amounts of clean water.
  • Don't use rubbing alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, iodine, or Mercurochrome. These products can harm the tissue and slow healing.
• Check to see if other tissues have been injured.

  These tissues include blood vessels, nerves, tendons, ligaments, joints, bones, or internal organs.

• Apply a bandage, if needed.

  Most bites heal well and may not need a bandage. But you may need to protect the bite from dirt and irritation. Be sure to clean the bite thoroughly before you bandage it. This can reduce the risk of infection under the bandage.

  • Choose the bandage carefully. There are many products available. Don't use liquid skin bandages or moisture-enhancing bandages unless your doctor tells you to. These types of dressings may seal in bacteria that could cause an infection.
  • If you use a cloth-like bandage, apply a clean bandage when your bandage gets wet or dirty. If a bandage is stuck to a scab, soak it in warm water. This will soften the scab and make the bandage easier to remove. If available, use a nonstick dressing. There are many bandage products you can buy. Be sure to read the product label for correct use.
  • Watch for signs of infection. If an infection forms under a bandage, you may need to see your doctor.
  • Petroleum jelly, such as Vaseline, will keep the bandage from sticking to the wound. Apply a thin layer of petroleum jelly to the wound.
  • Use an adhesive strip to hold the edges of a wound together. The strip should always go across a wound to hold the edges together, not lengthwise. You can make a butterfly bandage at home or buy one to help hold the skin edges together.
• Treat pain.

  An ice or cold pack may help reduce swelling and bruising. Never apply ice directly to a wound or the skin. This could cause tissue damage.

  Prop up the injured area on pillows while you apply ice and anytime you sit or lie down. Try to keep the area at or above the level of your heart. This can reduce swelling.

If you are concerned that the injury is more serious, you may need to be checked by a doctor to see if you need stitches or a tetanus shot or to find out if you were exposed to rabies.

Call animal control

After an animal bite, notify animal control authorities. Even if the law in your area doesn't require you to report animal bites, you may wish to call animal control to report the bite. They can help you find out if the animal that bit you:

• Has been properly vaccinated.
• Needs to be observed for signs of illness. A healthy pet that has bitten someone should be confined and observed for 10 days to see whether it develops symptoms of rabies.
• Is a rabies carrier in your area and whether you need to be vaccinated to prevent rabies.
• Is a danger to others.

If you can't find a phone number for animal control, contact the police for the number.

Need for a tetanus shot

To decide if you need a tetanus shot after a wound, first decide if the object that caused the wound was dirty or clean. An object is dirty if it has dirt, soil, spit, or feces on it. A clean object does not have dirt, soil, spit, or feces on it.

You will need a tetanus shot if:

• Your wound was caused by something that was clean and your last tetanus shot was longer than 10 years ago.
• Your wound was caused by something that was dirty and your last tetanus shot was longer than 5 years ago.
• You are not sure if your wound was caused by something clean or dirty and your last tetanus shot was longer than 5 years ago.
• You are not sure when you had your last tetanus shot.
• You did not get the first series of tetanus shots (primary vaccination series).

If you need a tetanus shot, call your doctor to arrange for a shot.

Some people may need tetanus immunoglobulin (IG) for a wound that is at high risk for developing tetanus. The immunoglobulin is usually only needed if you have not (or do not know if you have) completed the tetanus primary vaccination series.

When to call for help during self-care

Call a doctor if any of the following occur during self-care at home:

• New or worse signs of infection, such as redness, warmth, swelling, pus, or a fever.
• New loss of function near the wound.
• Decreased blood flow, such as cool, pale skin near the wound.
• Pain gets worse.
• Symptoms occur more often or are more severe.

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