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Principles of handling animal bite wounds

There are 3 principles when handling animal bites, namely being calm (don't panic), recognizing the severity of the wound, and preventing the wound from getting worse. When bitten, both the victim and helper must remain calm and start acting in the right way. Calmness is of course important in determining the next steps. Panic only makes it difficult for victims to act. The first attitude is to stay away from biting animals, then seek the nearest help, be able to call other people around who can help and find a safe place. All of this can be done well if you don't panic. Recognizing the severity of the wound is no less important in determining how quickly medical help is needed, for example if a torn wound is deep and dirty, it certainly requires immediate help when compared to a bite wound in the form of a scratch or shallow scratches on the skin. Or wounds on the face or neck certainly need more immediate help than those on the legs. In this case the type of wound, the location of the wound and the age of the victim are of course taken into consideration, whether the victim should be immediately taken to a doctor/hospital or treated first at the scene of the incident. The final principle is to prevent the wound from getting worse as much as possible, for example a wound that is deep and causes active bleeding, so first aid. The wound must be pressed to stop bleeding, another example of a mild wound is simply cleaned with running water and given an antiseptic fluid to prevent infection.

 

First aid measures for animal bites

1. Minor injuries

If the wound is small, not deep, and does not cause bleeding, then the wound can be cleaned with clean running water and soap, then give an antiseptic solution such as povidone iodine or 70% alcohol, then cover the bite wound with clean gauze.

2. Deep wounds

These wounds are usually punctured by sharp canine teeth or animal nails and are generally accompanied by bleeding. Therefore, in addition to cleaning the wound, it must also be pressured as early as possible to stop bleeding while seeking medical help.

3. Infected wound

The infectious process usually occurs after 6-8 hours from the initial wound. Therefore, keeping the wound clean in the first 6 hours is important in preventing infection. Signs of infection that must be recognized are bite wounds that turn into swelling, pain, redness, and pus. If you find these signs, seek medical help immediately. In this situation, the use of antibiotics may be recommended by the doctor.

 

Rabies

Rabies is a viral infection that is transmitted through the saliva of rabies sufferers. Transmission of this virus can occur between humans, animals, and also animals. Currently, transmission of the rabies virus is most commonly found between animals, especially dogs and humans.

If a bite wound is found on an animal suspected of rabies, then clean the wound with clean running water and soap and then apply an antiseptic solution. After that, seek medical help. The doctor will consider giving the rabies vaccine and anti-rabies serum.

Animals suspected of rabies:

- wild animal

- drooling with protruding tongue

- foaming

- animals whose immunization history is unclear

 

WHEN DOES AN ANIMAL BITE WOUND NEED TO BE BROUGHT TO A DOCTOR?

1. A wound with bleeding that doesn't stop even though it's been pressed

2. The wound is wide and deep

3. The wound is infected (requires antibiotics)

4. Multiple injuries

5. Wounds in the face and neck area

6. Dirty wound