Animal and human bites - NHS

People and animals have a lot of bacteria in their mouths, which can cause an infection if a bite breaks the skin. These infections are rarely serious if ... Skiptomaincontent Home HealthAtoZ BacktoHealthAtoZ Animalandhumanbites Seriousanimalandhumanbitescangetinfectedifthey'renotcheckedandtreatedquickly.Alwaysseekmedicaladviceifyouhavebeenbittenbyananimalorpersonandthebitehasbrokentheskin.Peopleandanimalshavealotofbacteriaintheirmouths,whichcancauseaninfectionifabitebreakstheskin.Theseinfectionsarerarelyseriousiftreatedquickly,butoccasionallytheycanspreadtothebloodorotherpartsofthebody.Seriousinfectionssuchas tetanus and rabiesareextremelyrareintheUK,butit'simportanttogetseriousbiteslookedatastreatmenttopreventtheseinfectionsmayberecommended.Thefollowinginformationisaboutbitesbypeopleandanimalssuchasdogsandcats.Thereareseparatepageson insectbitesandsnakebites. What todoifyouhavebeenbittenIfyouhavebeenbittenbyananimaloranotherperson:cleanthewoundimmediatelybyrunningwarmtapwateroveritforacoupleofminutes –it'sagoodideatodothiseveniftheskindoesnotappeartobebrokenremoveanyobjects fromthebite,suchasteeth,hairordirtencouragethewoundtobleedslightlybygentlysqueezingit,unlessit'salreadybleedingfreelyifthewoundisbleedingheavily,putacleanpadorsteriledressingoveritandapplypressuredrythewoundandcoveritwithacleandressingorplastertakepainkillersifyou'reinpain, suchasparacetamoloribuprofen –childrenunder16yearsoldshouldnottakeaspirinseekmedicaladvice,unlessthewoundisveryminorIfthebitehasseveredabodypartlikeafingerorear,washitwithtapwater,wrapitincleantissue,andstoreitinaplasticbagsurroundedbyicesoitcanbetransportedtohospital.Itmaybepossibletosurgicallyreattachthebodypartlateron. When toseekmedicaladviceIfthebitehasbrokentheskin,youshouldseekimmediatemedicalattentionaftercleaningthewound.Donotdelayseekinghelpuntilsymptomsofinfectionappear.Minorbitescanbetreated at yourGPsurgery,orbystaffat yourlocalwalk-incentreorminorinjuriesunit.Forparticularlyseverebites,visityourlocalA&Edepartment.Thehealthcareprofessionaltreatingyoumay:cleanthewoundandremoveanydamagedtissueprescribeacourseof antibioticstopreventinfectionrecommendspecifictreatmenttopreventinfections suchastetanusifyou'refelttobeatriskclosethewoundwithstitchesiftheriskofinfectionisthoughttobelow –high-riskwoundswillusuallybeleftopenasthismeansthey'reeasiertokeepcleanarrange bloodteststocheckforinfection,oran X-raytocheckforanydamagetoyourbonesandseeifthere'sanythingembeddedinyourwound,suchasatoothreferyouforanassessmentbyaspecialistifthebitepenetratedajointorthere'sseveredamage,suchasdamagetobonesornerves–surgerymaybeneededinthesecasesifyou'rebittenbyapersonwith hepatitisorHIV,there'satinychanceoftheinfectionspreadingifthebiteiscontaminatedwithblood,soyoumaybeofferedtreatmenttostopyoubecominginfectedWhenyoureturnhome,watchoutfor signsofapossibleinfection. Signs abite maybeinfectedSymptomsthatsuggestawoundhasbecomeinfectedinclude:rednessandswellingaroundthewoundthewoundfeelswarmandincreasinglypainfulliquidorpusleaksfromthewoundafeverof38Corabovesweatsandchillsswollenglands underthechinorintheneck,armpitsorgroinredstreaksextendingalongtheskinfromthewoundGetmedicalhelpassoonaspossibleifyouthinkyourwoundisinfected. When dobiteshappen?Althoughyoumaybemoreworried aboutbitesfrom wildandstrayanimals,anyanimalhasthepotentialtobite.Manybitesareactuallycausedbyaperson'sownpetorananimalbelongingtoafriendorneighbour.Animalscanactunpredictablyandbites arenotalwaysprovoked.Butananimalismorelikelytobiteifit'sbeendisturbed,feelsthreatenedorgetsoverexcited.Mosthumanbitesoccurwhenonepersonpunchesanotherpersoninthemouth.Theycanalsohappen duringcontactsports,vigoroussex,domesticviolenceorsexualassault, andfits (seizures). Howtoavoid animalbitesMostanimalbitesarecausedbydogs.Theadvicebelowmayhelpreducethechancesofbeingbitten:neverleaveayoungchildunsupervisedwithadog –regardlessofwhattypeofdogitis anditspreviousbehaviour(theBlueDogwebsiteprovideseducationalresourcesaimedtohelpchildrenestabilishasaferelationshipwithdogs)treatdogswithrespect – donotapproachthemsuddenly,runaroundscreamingintheir presence, orinterruptthemwhenthey'reeatingorsleepingavoidstrokingorpettingunfamiliardogs –when greetingadogforthefirsttime,letitsniffyoubeforepettingitIt'salsoagoodideatoavoidcontactwithanywildorstrayanimals,particularlywhiletravellingabroad,astheycanbeaggressiveandthere'sachancetheycouldcarry seriousinfections,suchasrabies. Pagelastreviewed:11January2019 Nextreviewdue:11January2022