bite wounds

Quick Overview

• What to do with bite marks? Clean, disinfect, cover sterile, possibly pressure bandage in case of heavy bleeding, immobilize the injured body part in case of snake bites, bring the person concerned to the doctor or call emergency medical service.
• Bite wounds risks: Wound infection, tissue damage (e.g., to muscles, nerves, tendons, vessels, or bones); Symptoms of poisoning (if bitten by poisonous animals)
• When to the doctor? In principle, every bite wound should be examined by a doctor and treated if necessary.

Attention!

• Even mild and seemingly harmless looking bites can catch fire.
• In the worst case, a life-threatening blood poisoning, tetanus or rabies infection develops!
• A wound can also inflame days after the bite. Therefore, observe bite wounds with regard to signs of inflammation (swelling, redness, overheating, etc.).

Bite wound: what to do?

With bite marks, the extent of the injury affects how to properly care for it. In principle, one differentiates between three degrees of severity (according to Rueff et al.):

1. Superficial skin damage, scratching and scratching wounds, possible bruising
2. Deeper skin wounds to the muscular skin (fascia), into the muscles or cartilage structures
3. Wound with tissue death (necrosis) or major tissue damage (substance defect)

However, it is hardly possible for non-professionals to properly assess the severity of a bite injury. Therefore, every bite wound should be treated as an emergency and treated by a doctor. First of all, however, first aid must be provided:

• If your bite wounds are not bleeding (such as dogs or cats), you should cleanse the wound with water and a little soap.
• Then disinfect the wound and cover it with a sterile cloth.
• For severely bleeding bites, you should apply a pressure bandage.
• When biting a poisonous snake you should immobilize the affected body part. Then, possibly injected snake venom can not spread so quickly in the body. Also remove tight-fitting clothing and jewelry near the wound (sleeves, rings, bangles, etc.). The environment of the bite wound can swell a lot.
• Bring the patient quickly to the doctor or call the rescue service.

Types of bite injuries

Depending on who bites animal, bite injuries usually have typical injury patterns. From the “perpetrator” it also depends on how big about the risk of wound infection.

people bite

If a person bites, an annular impression with bruising and punctate skin abrasions usually remains. There is a considerable risk of infection! Thus, a suitably infected person when biting AIDS (HIV) or hepatitis viruses (B or C) transmitted.

cats bite

Also cat bites are very infectious. For example, they can cause blood poisoning (sepsis) or transmit rabies. The bite of a cat typically leaves deep, punctate wounds that hardly bleed. The tissue injuries can reach to the bone. With cat bites on the hand so often finger tendons and joints are affected.

Read more about this topic in the article Cat Bite.

dog bite

Dogs bite a person mostly on hands and forearms, with small children also in the face. They are often torn or shredded with shredded edges. Since the animals have sharp teeth and strong jaws, deeper injuries to muscles, tendons, vessels, nerves and / or bones are not uncommon. Possible wound infections after a dog bite are about blood poisoning and rabies.

Read more about this topic in the article dog bite.

rodent bite

Rodents such as rats, mice, guinea pigs, squirrels or rabbits tend to bite only superficially. A wound infection is rare here (e.g., rabies, tularemia = hare plague, rat bite fever).

horses bite

Due to the flat teeth of the animals squeezing injuries are here (among other things recognizable at the bruise) characteristic.

snakebite

Typical for a snake bite wound are two bite spots that bleed little. Having bitten a venomous snake and injecting poison, symptoms of poisoning of various types and severity can occur.

Read more about this topic in the snake bite article.

Bite wound: risks

The biggest danger with a bite wound is the high risk of infection. In addition, the attacker may have inflicted severe tissue damage to the victim. The bite of a poisonous snake also carries the risk of poisoning.

Bite wound: infection

For cat and human bites, the infection rate is around 50 percent, for dog bites slightly lower. The result is taken from such wound infections of the many germs that are contained in the saliva of animals and humans and can get into the wound when biting.

But the risk of infection with bite marks is also great because the injuries are often underestimated and then not properly supplied. The risk is particularly high in very deep and dirty wounds and when the tissue has been severely damaged.

Depending on the pathogen, it may take several hours to several days for the symptoms of the infection to show itself. These can be, for example, redness, swelling and pain in the wound area. Maybe a purulent secretion comes out of the wound. Fever and general malaise are other possible signs of wound infection.

tissue damage

Mild bite wounds often only hurt the superficial skin layer (epidermis). In contrast, deeper bites can cause much more serious damage. For example, the skin may become detached from the tissue underneath (skinning / décollement). Often, nerves, blood vessels, tendons, muscles and / or bones are injured – sometimes with corresponding consequences. So it can happen with nerve damage that the patient in the affected area of ​​the body can no longer perceive temperature stimuli and touches (sensory disturbances). Also movement restrictions are possible. Vascular injuries can cause bleeding into the tissue. In the worst case, a body part is completely torn off by the bite, for example the hand or an ear.

Poisoning by snakebite

Not every bite of a venomous snake injects poison into the bite wound. If this happens, it depends on the type of snake venom and the amount injected, what health consequences it may have for the patient. For example, nerves can be damaged (such as with paralysis symptoms), severe muscle pain and blood clotting disorders occur. Often the area swells around the bite site, and the patient develops circulatory problems.

Bite injuries: when to the doctor?

With a bite wound you should always go to the doctor. For one, because only he can correctly assess the extent of the injury. On the other hand, because bite wounds can cause a wound infection. If necessary or advisable, the doctor may immediately give the patient a vaccine against tetanus or rabies.

Bite wounds: examinations at the doctor

In conversation with the patient or accompanying persons, the doctor will first try to get an idea of ​​how the injury occurred and the bite wound itself (anamnesis). He asks, for example, whether the animal behaved conspicuously (rabies suspected) and – in domestic animals – whether it is vaccinated against rabies. The doctor should also be informed about a known deficiency of the patient’s defenses (for example in the case of diabetes or cortisone therapy) and the use of medications (such as blood thinners).

This is followed by a physical examination. Among other things, the doctor checks how deep and dirty the wound is and whether there are signs of inflammation. Often he also takes a blood sample, among other things to have them examined for signs of infection. Even a wound smear can be very informative: in the laboratory, possible wound germs can be detected.

If there is any suspicion that the bite wound is associated with bone injury, imaging techniques provide clarity (e.g., X-ray).

Bite wounds: treatment by the doctor

The doctor will (slightly) clean and rinse light bite marks thoroughly. After that he closes himself with plaster, staples or suture (primary wound care).

In contrast, deep and infected wounds are usually left open for a while and cleaned several times before they are closed (secondary wound care). This is to prevent infection or eliminate an existing infection first.

If necessary, the doctor will remove damaged, dead or infected tissue from the wound area prior to wound closure (debridement).

Patients with deeper bite marks may prescribe a prescription antibiotic. This reduces the risk of wound infection. In addition, the doctor will administer a rabies and / or tetanus vaccine if the patient has no vaccine protection and there is a corresponding risk of infection. Since the rabies vaccination is complex and burdensome for the person concerned, it is usually first tried to determine the vaccination status of the bite-causing agent (human or animal).

In a snakebite, patients are often hospitalized. The injured body part is immobilized.

Prevent bites

Bite injuries are common. Mostly it is dogs that bite, and less often cats, horses, rodents or other humans. As far as animal attackers are concerned, you can do a lot to prevent bite wounds:

• Do not act dangerously or aggressively to dogs, cats and other animals, but to be calm and defensive. This also applies in dealing with otherwise peaceful pets.

• Learn to interpret warning signs of animals correctly.

• Do not touch an animal if it is eating or has a boy.

• Never approach a bird silently and / or from behind. It could otherwise scare and bite.

• Avoid fast movements and loud noises near an animal.

• From the very beginning, teach children how to handle animals properly (for example, do not pull on the hide / tail, do not lug around like a toy, do not be scared).

• Wear sturdy shoes and long pants when traveling in an area with snakes. In addition, use a walking stick – the vibrations on landing will warn the animal that it will tend to warp.

By following these guidelines, you can reduce the risk of biting wounds when handling animals.