Dog bites can happen when you’re playing with your dog because of the growls and tail wagging that go along with it. Those canine teeth have the potential to bite or scratch. Or, conversely, a stray dog that you don’t know could suddenly attack you as you’re strolling down the street.

In any case, you must act quickly to treat the wound and decrease the risk of infection. You’ll require emergency medical care that day.

Most of the time, dogs’ bites pierce the skin, and bacteria from the animal enters the body through the bite wounds. Similar to most animal bites, such as cat bites, you need to wash a dog bite thoroughly to eliminate bacteria and prevent infection.

If the bacteria stays in the body, there is a risk of infection such as rabies and sepsis. There are cases where infection spreads to other parts of the body, especially from stray animals. Stray animals often have aggressive behavior.

When infection from dog bites spreads to other parts of the body, the victim will need medical attention. Often, victims are given antibiotics. The antibiotics lessen the pain and kill any bacteria left in the bite wounds.

Victims of dog bites will know they risk infection when the bitten area swells and indicates redness around it.

How to manage dog bites and prevent infection

To prevent infection from most animal bites, you should immediately wash the wound if possible or as soon as you have the chance. If the animal’s bite is not severe, you can do the following:

• Wash the dog bite injury with warm water and soap. It is best to ensure the bite wound is properly cleaned.
• Running the puncture wound under lukewarm water to flush bacteria is a wise decision.
• Finally, the use of antibiotic ointment on the wound is recommended by the Disease Control agency. Then, wrap the injury in a clean cloth after you apply antibiotic ointment to the wound.

All the steps discussed above are best for a minor dog bite injury. Nevertheless, for deep wounds, the following steps are suggested by medical specialists:

• Start by pressing a dry, sterile bandage firmly against the wound immediately to stop bleeding.
• Seek urgent medical help from a doctor as soon as possible. It is best to get emergency help if the bleeding is uncontrollable or the person feels weak.

Treatment of dog bites

There are home treatments that prevent health risks from bites. Sometimes, cleaning small wounds with water and a mild soap is enough. However, visiting a doctor for a serious wound from an unfamiliar animal bite is best.

A doctor may use a syringe to apply water and a clean solution to the wound surface. This step will flush bacteria from any mammalian bites out of the skin.

In addition, doctors prescribe antibiotic treatment to fight bacterial infections and prevent a higher risk of bites. A doctor also looks at the injuries carefully for signs of damage to the bones or nerves around them besides bleeding.

Doctors give tetanus shots to those who have not been vaccinated in more than five years to keep their health status up to date. Tetanus shots reduce the risk of tetanus infections in victims. For those attacked by a wild or stray animal, the animal control agency suggests a post-exposure rabies vaccine to protect them from rabies. Also, intravenous antibiotics and prophylactic antibiotics are prescribed by doctors for those with serious animal bites to prevent infectious diseases such as sepsis, capnocytophaga, etc.

Why should you hire a lawyer after bites from dogs?

Although you may think it trivial, bites from dogs are serious. While they may not be as dangerous as wild animals, they can cause serious infections such as human rabies, blood loss, and muscle damage after contact with dogs’ teeth.

Here are the reasons you need a lawyer for your case:

Help you get compensation

Although you may think it trivial, bites from dogs are serious. While they may not be as dangerous as wild animals, they can cause serious infections such as human rabies, blood loss, and muscle damage after contact with dogs’ teeth.

Here are the reasons you need a lawyer for your case:

Hold pet owners responsible

A dog bite can happen for various reasons—protection, hunger, mental stress, or accident. Children are most vulnerable to bites. Most children don’t know that their actions can make the dog aggressive enough to bite them. Attorneys are needed to ensure the dog owner takes responsibility for their animal’s actions.

Lawyers help handle insurance claims

Insurance companies have clever lawyers. They can push you around and claim anything to stop a claim. For example, they can claim pregnant women aggravated the dog by direct contact.

Alternatively, they can claim your children brought the attack on themselves by actions such as refusing to avoid direct eye contact with strange dogs. There are many flimsy excuses they can come up with to avoid paying compensation. Hiring an experienced injury attorney will be familiar with their antics and help you collect your compensation quicker than expected.

Conclusions

Bites from dogs should be taken seriously, especially when children are the victims.

Doctors can use different treatment options, such as a typical saline solution to treat dog bites, tetanus prophylaxis, or drugs like rabies vaccination for serious wounds. It is best to see a doctor as soon as possible after contacting dogs’ teeth.

When children are involved, watch them closely for days to ensure their wounds are not infected since children can’t recognize most signs of infection. Also, seek the help of a lawyer for various reasons discussed earlier after being bitten by a familiar or unfamiliar dog. Without a lawyer, there is a high risk you will lose your claim.

Get in touch

If you or someone you know has been bitten by a dog in Media, PA, Michael Alan Siddons Law can help. Our dog bite attorneys are ready to represent you in court to ensure you get the compensation you are entitled to.

So, contact us immediately to file a dog bite claim and seek justice from the dog’s owner!