First aid with a dog bite: what should I do?

"A dog is a man's friend," says the famous statement. But it is important to understand that communication with the dog, like with any other animal, carries a danger. First aid with a dog bite should be provided to the victim in the shortest possible time to avoid undesirable health effects.

The more dangerous for a person the bite of an animal

The danger to humans is not only vagrants, but also domestic animals. Especially often attack dogs fighting breeds. The first help in biting a domestic dog or a stray dog depends on the nature of the injury and the degree of damage. Types of damage that can cause a bite:

• Shock state;
• bleeding;
• Damage to soft tissues;
• Infection of the wound;
• Infection with rabies.

After a bite, puncture or laceration can occur. A stab wound is a point bite. In such cases, the depth of the wound exceeds its length. Lacerations appear when teeth slide over the skin with pressure. First aid should be given when biting a dog, taking into account these factors.

Psychological shock

Do not underestimate the psychological trauma that a dog can attack a dog. In particular, this refers to the child's injury. The child's psyche is less stable than in adults, so it is more susceptible to external influences.

If a dog bites a child, in the first place, it is important not to create a panic, so as not to frighten the baby even more. Act quickly and judiciously. First aid after a dog bite, Which should be provided to the child, does not differ from the procedures performed with the adult victim. With the child it is necessary to constantly talk in a calm tone, while carefully treating the wound. Also, try to distract the child's attention. After the healing of the bite, it may be necessary to visit the child psychologist with the child.

Getting a psychological shock can also cause irreparable harm to people with disruption of the cardiovascular system and with nervous disorders.

Bleeding

Any bite in case of breach 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 insignificant, venous and arterial hemorrhages are a danger.

Arteries are located in the tissues close to the bones. Arterial bleeding occurs with profound bite. Blood in the arteries flows under strong pressure, so bleeding from the arteries is dangerous with copious loss of blood in a short time. Arteries are enclosed in the muscular membrane and have the ability to contract. Due to this, arterial bleeding can stop on its own.

Venous bleeding occurs more often than the arterial bleeding, since the veins are located closer to the skin. When the veins are damaged, blood flows continuously and abundantly.

Help with bleeding

In the presence of bleeding, first aid with a dog bite, first of all, will consist in stopping blood loss. The easiest way to stop 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's bite was forced by the finger forcibly. First aid does not provide an emergency stop of bleeding. It is recommended to give blood a little to get off, this will avoid getting into the bloodstream infection.

In case of arterial bleeding, a tourniquet should be placed above the damaged area. With venous bleeding, you need to use a clean pressure bandage. It is important to observe one rule: the dressing is applied for no more than an hour, in a warm time and no more than two hours, in cold weather.

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 infection of the blood is very high. To avoid undesirable consequences, it is necessary to contact the medical institution as soon as possible, where the first medical aid will be provided with a dog bite.

Help with soft tissue damage

The dog's bite, as a rule, is a puncture or lacerated wound. The lacerated wound has uneven edges and heals quite a long time. In addition, with deep damage, the likelihood of infection increases.

First aid with a dog bite And getting a wound is, first of all, stopping bleeding. Next, disinfect the damaged skin area. To do this, the wound is first washed with soap and treated with an antiseptic. It is recommended to use hydrogen peroxide. After disinfection of the wound, ointment with an antibiotic in the composition should be applied and bandaged with a sterile dressing. After all these activities should consult a doctor.

Infection of the bite

When a dog bites, the probability of infection is high. It should be understood that even in the case of the bite of a domestic dog, grafted and healthy, many microbes accumulate on the teeth of the animal, which, if bitten, can enter the human body. The most common bacteria that can catch after a bite:

• Staphylococci;
• streptococcus;
• Proteus;
• Corynobacteria.

The most dangerous are bacterium-causing tetanus and rabies. Infection of the wound is accompanied by some symptoms. First, the skin around the bite turns red and inflames. There may also appear a rash and white discharge from the wound. If such symptoms occur, seek medical attention immediately.

Help with bite infection

Help with biting the dog with infection is impossible at home. To avoid adverse consequences for the body, the victim should be assisted by a qualified specialist. At home, you should only stop bleeding by giving blood to drain for two minutes to reduce the risk of infection. You also need to treat the wound with an antiseptic.

The first medical aid with a dog bite will consist of suturing if the wound is torn, introducing a vaccine that prevents the development of infection, and prescribing medications that ensure an early healing of the bite.

Rabies

The greatest danger when attacking a dog is the risk of catching rabies from a sick animal. Rabies is a viral disease that damages the central nervous system. Without proper treatment, it will inevitably lead to a fatal outcome. The disease is most often transmitted when the saliva of an infected animal hits the human blood.

The incubation period of the disease can last up to six months. That is, the disease can make itself felt even after the wounds from the bite have healed. The following symptoms are observed in a person:

• Slight increase in body temperature;
• Fear of water;
• Irritability, aggression, panic attacks;
• Hallucinations.

It is important to understand that after the appearance of symptoms of the disease to fight the disease is useless. The disease lasts for about a week. At the last stage of the disease paralysis of limbs and eye muscles occurs, then the work of the respiratory and cardiovascular systems of the body is disrupted, as a result of which death occurs.

Symptoms of rabies in dogs

Domestic dogs are less susceptible to rabies than to stray dogs. However, the risk of contracting a healthy vaccinated pet still exists. If a homeless animal attacked a person, there is a practice of catching such dogs for the purpose of following them and revealing signs of rabies. Infected dogs exhibit the following symptoms:

1. At the initial stages of the disease in these animals there is sluggishness, lack of appetite. Dogs shy away from people, do not go out in bright light.
2. In the next stage, the animal manifests unreasonable aggression, completely refuses food, reacts painfully to loud sounds and bright light.
3. Late stages are accompanied by abundant salivation, apathy. On the aggressive behavior of the animal provoke sharp sounds. Then comes paralysis and the animal dies.

Often there is such a form of rabies when the animal behaves very affably and affectionately. If suspected of infecting an animal with rabies, you should contact the veterinary service, since the dog can carry a threat to others.

Treatment of rabies

In case of attack, the dog should contact the medical facility as soon as possible, even if the animal shows no signs of rabies. There is no exact period of the incubation period of the disease, in each individual case it is individual. Therefore, do not wait for time after the attack of the dog, you should immediately consult a doctor.

If there is an attack and a dog bite, first aid (a rabies vaccine can be prescribed by a doctor) should be provided within the next time. After the introduction of the vaccine, the body begins to produce antibodies that fight 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, the patient is injected with an immunoglobulin preparation. These are antibodies that fight the virus until the body begins to develop its own. The injection of immunoglobulin is effective only in the first three days after possible infection. It is made into a lesion site and intramuscularly.

In the event that after the bite was able to catch the attacking animal, it is established control over the next ten days. If during this period the dog did not die and showed signs of rabies, the vaccination is allowed to be interrupted.

Causes of aggressive behavior of dogs

According to statistics, more than one hundred and fifty thousand people suffer from the attack of dogs in Russia every year. 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 cause pain to the dog. The animal begins to get nervous when faced with such behavior, fears aggression on the part of the person and, as a result, attacks first.

Very often an animal attacks when a person next to it is in great fear. The dog reacts to strong emotions and feels superior. The dog attacks, protecting its territory, its puppies, and also in response to aggressive human behavior.

From the above, we can conclude that the reason for the aggression of a healthy adequate animal in most cases is human behavior. Accordingly, to prevent an attack a person is usually able to. But if the attack still happened, first aid with a dog bite should be provided in the shortest possible time.