If a dog bites you, what should you do?

Who do dogs attack and why?

The attack statistics are as follows:

— Young children (under 5 years old) and teenagers (10-15 years old). The former suffer due to their defenselessness and lack of parental supervision, the latter – due to their curiosity and lack of a formed instinct of self-preservation. Dog bites usually occur in the upper part of the body, since the animal can easily reach it, regardless of what breed the dog belongs to. These can be decorative dogs (Chihuahuas, white terriers, etc.) and medium-sized pets, for example, spaniels, and large individuals - Caucasian Shepherds, Rottweilers, coli, etc.

- Adults. These are people walking alone and being attacked by packs of stray animals. Or people who neglect the upbringing and training of their pet. In this case, dog bites affect the extremities - mainly the legs and arms are affected.

— Pensioners – due to their low security. After an attack by stray dogs, an elderly person with poor health may suffer death.

Aggression in representatives of the canine family towards humans can be for various reasons:

1. Lack of proper education and training;
2. The struggle for supremacy in the family;
3. Pack feeling;
4. Disease;
5. Sexual instincts;
6. Hunger;
7. Jealousy.

And many many others.

What types of dog bites are there?

Conventionally, dog bites are divided into two types:

1. Stabbed - when an animal bites only the skin of a person, while the soft subcutaneous tissue remains intact. This type of damage is accompanied by heavy bleeding, which can be stopped after appropriate treatment. A timely gauze bandage applied to a bite wound promotes a speedy recovery.

2. Torn - noticeable damage to the skin occurs, possibly removing it. In rare cases, a clump of flesh escapes. Such injuries are very dangerous and can only be treated by a doctor using appropriate medications. It is worth noting that in most cases you even have to undergo surgery and stitch the wound.

Folk remedies for treatment and their effectiveness

After being examined by a doctor and taking the necessary measures, the patient continues to treat the wound after a dog bite at home. The victims remain in the hospital with extensive injuries, rupture of muscles, tendons, arteries, and broken bones. To speed up the healing process, many resort to traditional medicine recipes. Their effectiveness has been proven for decades.

1. Rinse the injury with saline solution. Method of preparation: for 1 liter of boiled warm water there is 1 tbsp. l. salt.
2. Compress with aloe juice. Squeeze liquid out of the leaves of the plant, soak gauze, apply to the sore spot, change as it dries.
3. Washing with propolis. Dilute the bee medicine tincture with water in a 1:1 ratio and process regularly.
4. Clove infusion. Steam dried clove buds with boiling water and leave to cook for 90 minutes. Drink three times a day before meals. The product helps the skin heal faster and kills infection.
5. Medicinal nettle. Grind the herb into fine powder, mix with a small amount of salt, and apply to the wound.
6. Garlic therapy. Eat 5-10 cloves daily, regardless of meals. The method helps to disinfect the body and stimulate protective functions.

Use prescriptions only with your doctor's permission. It is important that the patient's condition is satisfactory. The use of natural remedies is not a replacement for antibiotics or medicinal ointments.

What are the dangers of a dog bite?

Dog bites introduce into the human body many bacteria that live and develop in the animal's mouth. It is clear that if the pet is domestic, then there is a possibility that dogs’ teeth are periodically brushed and the number of pathogenic bacteria may be minimal. It is much more difficult when a four-legged homeless person. Here the probability of the presence of a whole bunch of microorganisms is high.

• In any case, the general picture is as follows: the bitten area becomes inflamed, red, swollen and painful;
• there may be purulent discharge;
• enlarged lymph nodes near the wound;
• the human body temperature rises;
• weakness appears;
• there may be headaches;
• a number of cases are accompanied by tissue rupture and fragmentation of the bone structure of the skeleton.

Among infectious diseases, both tetanus and rabies predominate.

Assess your risk of rabies infection

Bitten. Woodcut con. 18th century. Image from blog.lubans.org

There are two other serious dangers associated with dog bites: tetanus and rabies.

The causative agent of tetanus is the bacterium Clostridium tetani. This is a dangerous infection with a potentially fatal outcome that affects the human nervous system and muscles. Its symptoms appear 4 to 21 days after infection.

To avoid infection, it is necessary to treat the wound very quickly and thoroughly, as described above. When visiting the hospital, the doctor will ask when the patient was last vaccinated against tetanus (DTP or DTSM vaccinations). If 10 years have already passed since the vaccination, the patient will be offered another dose of the vaccine.

When deciding whether to see a doctor for a small, harmless-looking wound at the site of the bite, it is important to assess the risk of contracting rabies. This is another potentially fatal infection that affects the nervous system

If you've been bitten by a pet dog, it's easy to check its vaccination records. If your dog is vaccinated against rabies, then most likely there is no need to worry.

An additional assessment factor can be the behavior of the dog: if it attacked a person in response to some actions on his part, then this can be considered normal behavior, but if there was no provocation on the part of the bitten person, then this is an alarming sign.

If a rabid dog bite is suspected, doctors prescribe a course of 5-6 doses of rabies vaccine, and for a successful outcome, therapy should begin as soon as possible. If left untreated, rabies infection almost always results in the death of the patient.

Experts recommend consulting a doctor if you are bitten of any severity, if we are talking about a child, as well as an adult with diagnoses such as AIDS, diabetes, liver disease, or undergoing chemotherapy. These factors reduce immunity and make a person more susceptible to infection.

The human-dog relationship is based on trust

Remember, however, that if you do not win it, you are putting yourself in danger by behaving carelessly around an unfamiliar dog. Be careful and prudent!

What to do if a dog bite occurs

If this does happen, that a dog has bitten, then the treatment method is as follows:

1. Pay attention to the type of bite. Based on its severity, decide on self-treatment or immediate hospitalization. Consider self-treatment.
2. In case of minor bleeding, it is better to wait a while, allowing the body to get rid of pathogens on its own by removing the blood. The main thing here is not to overdo it, so that there is no excessive loss of blood and you do not have to do a transfusion.
3. Taking a painkiller will help eliminate pain.
4. Treatment of the wound. The most preferred remedy is hydrogen peroxide. More serious remedies in the form of brilliant green and iodine should be used with caution - lubricate the area around the wound when there was a dog bite. When trying to disinfect a wound with these agents and in the presence of a deep wound, a painful shock may occur.
5. Applying a clean bandage will protect the wound from external influences. {jumi[*107]

Dog bites can be more serious. In some cases, the animal may even leave a tooth in the human body, which may require surgery to remove. In such cases, it is necessary to deliver the wounded person to a medical facility, where the appropriate specialist will correctly diagnose and prescribe appropriate treatment. In general, dog bites are unpleasant and very dangerous. It is better not to experiment with them, but to immediately consult a doctor.

How to protect yourself from dog attacks and what to do if you do get bitten?

Cases of dog attacks on people have become more frequent in Ulan-Ude. In December, stray dogs almost mauled a 20-year-old girl to death in the Zabaikalsky microdistrict. A month later, in almost the same place, the animals attacked an 11-year-old boy. The child was transported to Moscow with serious injuries. Let's look at the dangers of dog bites and how to protect ourselves from aggressive strays together with experts.

Deadly virus

When you mention dog bites, the first association that will arise in every person’s head is rabies. Of course, injuries of varying degrees of severity received from dog attacks are dangerous in themselves, but few people know that in case of late treatment for rabies, there is a 100% mortality rate.

Rabies is a viral infectious disease that affects the central nervous system. Through a bite, the virus enters the animal or human body. The area around the wound swells, swelling and irritation in the tissues appear. The pathogen moves quickly to the brain, so the course of the disease is lightning fast, developing in 4-7 days.

The disease has always existed, but in the last three years its outbreaks have become more frequent in Buryatia. According to Tatiana Zharikhina, teacher of veterinary disciplines at the Buryat Agrarian College named after. Erbanova

, the spread of the disease is associated with wild animals.
The main carriers are foxes and wolves. “Their population has increased, and conservation work has begun to decrease.
Previously, there were special enterprises involved in shooting and trapping animals. Today it’s all in poor condition,” explains the interlocutor. Nevertheless, in areas of Buryatia that are unaffected by rabies, they use immunization of wild animals by scattering dry vaccine throughout the forest zone. They eat it as bait and receive protection from the disease.

Furious Power

The course and symptoms of the disease in animals and humans are similar. Those infected experience anxiety, drooling, water and photophobia.

- The literature describes cases when people become very strong, lift and throw large loads. These are convulsions. As a result, patients die from complete spasm of the body. The muscles turn to stone, the heart slows down, then the heartbeat stops. It’s impossible to breathe, to swallow,” says Tatyana Zharikhina.

The bitten area is of great importance. If it happened in the leg area, then there is a chance to weaken the impact of the virus if the victim has good immunity. When the wound is in the neck, shoulder, or head, the probability of death is 90%. People who have already developed symptoms receive only supportive care. There is no intravital diagnosis, according to Tatyana Zharikhina, and the diagnosis of rabies is made posthumously.

— There was a case when rabies appeared a year later. Only a pathological autopsy showed the presence of the virus in the body. During life, a blood test will not help, except to take a sample in the spinal cord, explains the veterinarian.

The only measure to combat this terrible disease is vaccination. For these purposes, once a year the city veterinary station conducts a door-to-door survey and vaccinates all domestic animals free of charge.

See a doctor urgently

According to Bator Bashanov, a traumatologist at the anti-rabies center of City Clinic No. 1

, in Ulan-Ude, cases of rabies have not been recorded since 1963. In Buryatia, the last case was recorded in 1981. Such results were achieved thanks to coordinated actions - early treatment, proper wound treatment and timely vaccination.

According to the doctor, signs of the disease in people can appear on average six months after the bite. In any case, you should go to the emergency department as soon as possible. There the damage will be treated with water and laundry soap. The edges of the bite are treated with 70% alcohol or tincture of iodine. Afterwards, doctors will provide anti-rabies assistance by administering immunoglobulin to the victim according to the scheme. If your own vaccinated dog is injured, it is not necessary to get the vaccine.

The traumatologist notes that from 6 to 30 bitten people come to him every day. Therefore, the fight against rabies must remain comprehensive. All stray dogs and cats must be vaccinated and sterilized. Because rabies, we repeat once again, is an incurable disease.

– In world medicine, there are isolated cases of human recovery. The victim was put into an artificial coma and given large doses of antiviral drugs. But these are exceptional examples,” concludes Bator Bashanov.

Psychology of dogs

For advice on how to prevent an attack, we turned to Irina Vasilyeva, head of the Amgalan breeding dog club, former head of the canine service center of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for Buryatia.

A cynologist believes that there are two main reasons for animal aggression towards people.

– Many people are afraid of dogs, and they feel a rush of adrenaline. And a person unconsciously provokes them with his fear. The second reason is the pack. Animals usually gather in them during estrus. Dog weddings take place year-round. At such moments they are more aggressive because they have a powerful adrenaline rush. And if there is a dog in the pack that behaves aggressively towards people, then the rest can support it, says Irina Vasilyeva.

Dogs running in the private sector are usually owned by the owner. A domestic dog only recognizes its owners; others are strangers to it, and it will attack them without fear. After all, hostile behavior is encouraged by the owner. When the owner's dogs are on foreign territory, they usually behave neutrally. But if during the period of the above-mentioned dog weddings a female in heat appears, the dogs, driven by instinct, begin to fiercely protect her from people and rivals. Stray animals, unlike domestic ones, live near garbage cans, shops - where there is a food supply. Having grown up under fences, they are afraid of people and do not trust them.

“Even if she was taken home, she will not stop being afraid.” It is enshrined in their genes that a person is dangerous. This one will not attack, but in a flock it will help others,” the specialist assures.

Irina Vasilyeva believes that the reason for the increasing number of attacks on people in Ulan-Ude is the lack of food for animals.

– A dog, although a domesticated animal, is a predator. Therefore, all individuals must be microchipped, and owners for self-walking and throwing away pets must be punished with a high fine. Also, all dogs that do not represent breeding value must be sterilized, explains a professional dog handler.

How to protect yourself from a dog attack?

1. The best option to avoid an unpleasant situation is not to enter into conflict and avoid dogs.

2. If the street is passable, wait for the passerby and walk together. Two people are a threat to a pack, but the same cannot be said about one.

3. If you see a child, help him, come over. Children shorter than adults do not pose a threat to dogs.

4. If the dog is already running towards you, do not get scared and do not run away. Stop, turn to face her and don't move. If the dog does not leave, barks and growls, throw a handy object at him - a bag, a package, a hat. Take the stick in your hand, shout loudly, stomp.

5. The main thing is to keep the animal in sight. The dog usually tries to bite the back of the leg.

6. If you are attacked by a flock, your main task is not to fall and stay on your feet.

7. If there is a fence or driveway nearby, this can help, the main thing is to calculate the chances. Animals consider a running person as prey.

8. Alternatively, shockers and repellers will help, but you shouldn’t count on them too much. Ordinary pieces of bread can also be useful to distract your dog.

Yulia Lamazhapova

photo: pixabay.com

Prevention of bites

Of course, it is much better to avoid a dog bite than to treat it. This is easy to do if you follow these rules:

It is forbidden:

• Leaving a child alone with an animal, in particular a dog;
• Walk near the animal while eating;
• Approaching a whelping female by a stranger;
• Putting an animal in a hopeless position. It is easier for a pet to run away than to attack, but if there is nowhere to run, the four-legged animal can attack and the dog will bite;
• Approach your pet or flock if aggression is observed;
• Break up a dog fight with your bare hands, in which case a dog bite is most likely;
• Approach the male and female during mating.

Need to:

• Train your dog from puppyhood;
• Finish OKD - the training course will benefit your pet, especially the obedience program;
• Understand your pet’s emotional state;
• Be a leader in the house, cultivate respect for any person;
• Do not show fear in front of an aggressive dog, do not turn your back and do not run.

It is these simple methods that will allow you to reduce dog bites to a minimum and maintain the health of not only the pet, but also the person.