Beware dog bites! Never realized the infection risk
Sorry if this is disjointed but I'm beat. Just got back from the hospital. My mother got bit by a loose dog yesterday; she was trying to help catch it. She needed stitches for an open gash on her hand and they gave her antibiotics.
This morning it was getting red and swollen, and she had a fever, so she went back to the doc and got a second antibiotic to take with the first.
By 9pm tonight it was clear the infection was getting worse, not better. So now she is in the hospital with IV antibiotics. Hopefully that will clear it up quickly. It looks really gruesome and of course we are all concerned.
So PLEASE go to a doctor right away with any bite or puncture that bleeds or is at all deep and watch carefully for signs of infection. That whole thing about dogs' mouths being clean is really a huge urban myth; most dogs carry lots of bacteria in their mouths (as do all animals, and people).
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Laura and Tommy Jefferson on
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I'm sorry, Beth! I hope your mother gets better soon!
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Permalink Reply by Jane Christensen on
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So sorry Beth, hope she fells and gets better soon! You take care too.
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Permalink Reply by Bev Levy on
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So sorry this happened to your Mom! Very good info Beth and cat bites are even more likely to result in infection. It is always important to get to a doctor as soon as a cut gets red and painful.
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Permalink Reply by Beth on
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I think the biggest problem is the wound was deep and she had an exposed nerve and so they felt it needed to be stiched. Bite wounds are usually left open...
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Permalink Reply by Jennifer Markley on
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So sorry Beth! They do get nasty infections, although not usually as bad as cat bites. I hope the IV antibiotics help quickly!
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Permalink Reply by Ludi on
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Oh no!! I am so sorry to hear that Beth. I hope the infection goes away quickly.
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Permalink Reply by Tracy Dusek on
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I am sorry your mom has had such a rough time of it...sounds like it was pretty deep, with the exposed nerve...that's probably the problem...I hope she recovers soon, with no long lasting effects.
I hope they caught the dog? He and his owner needs to be dealt with too.
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Permalink Reply by Melissa and Franklin! on
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I hope your mom gets better! Animal bites are terrible, especially punctures (such as with a cat bite). Its always a good idea to seek medical attention in the case of a bite, especially by a strange dog since you don't know its vaccine history. Did they start the rabies series for her?
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Thankfully Animal Control found the dog and he is up-to-date on vaccinations, so she does not need to do the rabies series.
Apparently animal control already knew the dog. The owners said he sometimes snaps when they try to leash him. Oy! He was a malamute or husky I think; I didn't see him but my sister said she thought it was a husky but the size of a German Shepherd. So I think a Malamute.
Saw my mom today and the redness has gone down a lot but it's still really swollen and I think she has a lot of new bruising from the swelling itself. Hand doctor will hopefully see her today but the hospital wasn't sure when he'd be around.
Never try to grab a strange dog's collar! She knows this and as soon as she did it, her first reaction was that she made a mistake. Still, the dog should not have bitten her.
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Ouch. That really sucks. What should one have done in that situation then? Sometimes it's just not a very nice option to wait for Animal Control to arrive, when a dog is wandering in traffic... my husband got bit picking up an untrained, feisty old Yorkshire that had bolted earlier in the day. The shelter wasn't answering as it was a Sunday (almost everything in France is closed on Sun), so we had to call the fire department (!) to have a pick up scheduled. But the dog was already weaving through cars at a busy intersection, so my husband threw caution to the wind and grabbed it. It wasn't keen on food, I should note.
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Ludi, I've had some luck with a one piece kennel lead, the kind with a slip collar and leash in one unit. They seem to be less threatened by something coming over the front of their face than by someone grabbing from above or behind, where they can't see what you are doing. Plus then you don't have to worry about the dog slipping its collar and getting away again.
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True, I guess. The biggest problem with this dog was that he was literally IN traffic and a tiny little thing. And I think he had never been on a leash in his entire life - when we finally got one on him (a tiny cat collar attached to a lead) he shut down completely. It was a very tiring day, but at least my husband's bite healed quickly! Hope your mom has a speedy recovery on her hand. :(
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