Animal Bite Treatment

A situation wherein a person gets bitten by an animal, whether domestic or wild, is called an animal bite injury. The number of animal bite injuries has declined as compared to the past as people have learned to tame and control animals and their behavior. However, many animal bite injuries are reported every day around the globe. 

Even though a dog is considered a man's best friend, most bite injuries are related to dog bites. Additionally, raccoons, ferrets, snakes, etc., can also be responsible for bite injuries. Bite injuries that occur because of wild animals are more fatal than bite injuries caused by domestic animals.

Why do animals bite?

Animals bite when they are triggered, for their own protection or even for food. For instance, if you try to tease an animal or provoke them while eating, then it might end up attacking and biting you. 

There are also several unknown reasons for animal bites. For instance, an animal might come out of the wild and bite you for no reason at all. So, you have to be careful when you are around them. 

Causes:

1. Self-defense: Other than being provoked, certain animals bite humans or other species for their self-defence. Wild animals such as snakes, raccoons, and other animals get scared when they see a human. And when these animals get afraid of, they use their teeth for their self-defence and try to drive away the unknown species by biting them.
2. Food: Several cases of bite injuries are also related to food. As the number of forests is decreasing, encounters with wild animals have increased. And when an animal senses food during these encounters, it might bite/attack the person and snatch their food.
3. Protection: It is also observed that many animals tend to bite humans or other forms of life when they feel that the different species might threaten their home/eggs/young ones. So, in order to protect their home or their posterity, they attack the unknown species by biting them to drive them away.

Signs & symptoms of animal bites

It is mandatory to get immediate medical attention after an animal bite, as there is a high risk of getting infected. If not given appropriate attention and animal bite treatment, these animal bite injuries might become the reason for an individual's death.

Given below is a list of symptoms that might indicate an infected wound:

• Redness around the wound.
• Irritation and itchiness around the wound.
• Discharge of thick opaque liquid comprising dead white blood cells and bacteria.
• Excruciating pain.
• Bleeding.
• Temporary fever.
• Inflammation.

You should not avoid getting immediate medical attention if you're facing any of the above mentioned signs or symptoms. They indicate the possibility of infection, which might result in the cutting of the infected limb if not treated immediately. 

Types of animal bites

1. Dog bites: Dogs usually don't bite anyone unless you provoke them, try to take away their food, hit them, or scare their young ones. A dog bite results in excruciating pain and, if not treated appropriately and on time, it might result in a person's death.
2. Monkey bites: these animals are more common in residential areas these days. Monkeys are harmless Unless you trigger or scare them. Once they sense they are spooked by you, they might attack you, which could be really fatal because of their size.
3. Snake bites: Unlike dogs, snakes are primarily found in the forests and wild. They feel threatened when they encounter a human being and with their movement. Once you get bitten by a snake, it can give you different kinds of diseases, can paralyze you, and in some cases, its poison can kill you.

Preventions

Given below is a list of ways to prevent animal attacks and bites from happening:

1. One should not provoke animals.
2. Try to avoid teasing animals for fun.
3. We should provide domestic animals with food from time to time.
4. Stay away from wild animals.
5. One should only visit forests with professional supervision.
6. Kids should be under their parents' control 24*7.
7. People should avoid wandering around the natural habitats of animals.

When should I call a doctor?

According to experts, it is advisable to see a doctor immediately after an animal bite so that a diagnosis can be made as soon as possible. Consulting a specialist right after the animal bite injury would help you reduce pain and swelling and avoid infections caused by the bite injuries.

The immediate diagnosis would aid the doctor in knowing the type and severity of the injury. As soon as the doctor gets to know the seriousness of the injury, it becomes easy for them to decide the method of animal bite treatment that suits the patient the most. 

Treatment for animal bite injury

It is necessary to take care of all kinds of animal bite injuries, regardless of their severity. They should be taken care of no matter how mild or severe they are because even the smallest bite injuries could lead to some serious underlying situations in the future. Given below is a list of methods of animal bite treatment that should be chosen to cure:

1. Medication: Drugs in solid and liquid form are preferred to cure any disease or injury rather than any other complex animal bite treatment, such as surgeries. Whenever you consult a specialist for a bite injury, they prescribe some medicines and ointment to cure the injury. These drugs enter our bodies and fight the bacteria that are responsible for the infection. These meds strengthen our immune system so it becomes easy to fight bacteria and infection.
2. Ointments: In addition to meds, doctors also prescribe creams to apply on the wound, which will restrict the dust particles and germs present in the air from entering the body through these open wounds caused by injuries. If you avoid applying these ointments, the dust and bacteria present in the air might enter your body through the open wound and make your condition worse by infecting it more.
3. Injections: The medicines that are in liquid form are given to the patients through injections and syringes. These injections are filled with antibiotics and are injected into the patient's body. The number of doses that are supposed to be given to a patient depends on the severity of the injury. Injections are helpful in faster recovery and also prevent side effects.

Why is Cutis Hospital for animal bite injuries?

As there is a high risk of infection after getting bitten by an animal, it is mandatory to get the diagnosis done as quickly as possible. Here, specialists conduct all the necessary tests that are required to know the severity of the animal bite injury and all other underlying conditions, the inclusion of past injuries, so that appropriate methods of animal bite treatment can be selected to cure the patient.

Skilled healthcare professionals 

Cutis consists of some of the best doctors and healthcare professionals who have years of practical experience in addition to theoretical knowledge of animal bite injuries to ensure the best-in-class animal bite treatment. 

End-to-end diagnosis & treatment. 

We carefully analyze your conditions and prescribe appropriate medicines, considering the severity of the current animal bite injury and the record of the patient's medical history. Doing so helps in preventing side effects that are yet to occur. 

High-class equipment

All the machinery and equipment that we use for the treatment are thoroughly maintained and cleaned after every time we use it to ensure the safety of the patients and‌ avoid future mishappenings.