What to do After a Dog Bite: ER Near Me
Dogs, for the most part, are gentle and very warm animals to have around, which is why it is no surprise some are trained as therapy dogs to provide comfort, affection and support to people hospitals, retirement homes among others. However, despite being man’s best friend, a dog can still bite you, mostly a stray dog or one that doesn’t belong to you, although your own dog may still bite you in certain circumstances. Regardless of how you got bitten by a dog, as per the folks over at frontlineer.com, it is important to know how to proceed so that you can reduce the chance of an infection, as what may start as an innocuous bite, may end up being a serious and even potentially life-threatening situation within no time. Here, according to frontlineerrichmond.com, it is important to know how to tend to the bite wound in the immediate aftermath of the bite, as well as how to proceed, judging if you need to seek medical attention and where you should go to get. This article should therefore be of great help as it will look to highlight what you should do after you get bitten by a dog, with the help of the experts over at the highly rated frontlineerdallas.com.
The first thing you should look to do in the immediate aftermath of suffering the dog bit is getting some separation with the dog, staying away from it so that you reduce the chances of getting bitten once again. Once you are sure that you are safe and there is no longer a threat of suffering another attack, you should try and ascertain the dog’s vaccination history, as per the folks over at the excellent frontlineer.com. If it is your dog which unfortunately bit you, then it will be a lot easier to ascertain if it is up to date with its vaccination against rabies. This is why it is important to keep on top of your dog’s rabies vaccinations to ensure that if you happen to suffer a bite, you are at least safe from rabies. If you were bitten by a dog that is not yours, if the owner is nearby, ask them for the dog’s vaccination status and history. As per the subject matter experts over at frontlineerrichmond.com, you should probably get the owner’s contact information as well as their veterinarian’s contact information as well. If you were bitten by an unaccompanied dog, you can ask any witnesses to the attack if they know the dog and the owner so that you can reach out and obtain its vaccination history, as explained in detail over at frontlineerdallas.com.
Once you have obtained the dog’s vaccination history, then you can proceed to tend to the wound by administering first aid. Here, according to frontlineer.com, the type of first aid administered is heavily dependent on the severity of the injury. If the injury wasn’t severe, and the skin wasn’t broken, then you should look to wash the area with warm water and soap. As a precaution, it is recommended that you also look to apply antibacterial lotion to the affected area. If on the other hand your skin was broken by the dog bite, then you should always get medical attention. According to frontlineerrichmond.com, you should make sure that you seek medical attention for your dog bite within 8 hours of suffering the bite, if the dog bit broke your skin. If the bite broke the skin but there is no bleeding, then it is recommended that you first wash the skin with warm water and soap and then gently press the bite wound so that it can bleed a little and flush out any germs. If the bite is bleeding, then you should apply gentle pressure on the wound to stem the bleeding as per the folks over at frontlineerdallas.com, and then look to apply antibacterial cream or lotion after which you can cover with a sterile bandage. Once wrapped, you should make arrangements to see your doctor within 8 hours as mentioned above.
There are instances where a dog bite is a medical emergency requiring one to go to an ER near them, such as the excellent frontlineer.com as soon as possible, and this is the aspect of dog bites we are going to look at next. One of the instances to go to an ER near you for a dog bite is if the bite is accompanied by bleeding that is not stopping or if the blood is coming out in squirts. This should be addressed immediately as excessive loss of blood is life-threatening. If the bite was caused by a dog whose vaccination history is unknown, or one that is stray, is acting erratically or appears to be sick, then you should also head over to frontlineerrichmond.com or an ER near you as soon as possible. Severe bites exposing underlying tissue like bones, muscles, tendons or those leading to fractures should also lead to a visit to an ER near you to be attended to. According to the subject matter experts over at frontlineerdallas.com, if the dog bite is on a sensitive area such as on the face, genitals, buttocks as well as on a major joint, then you should also head over to an ER near you, as you should if you notice signs of an infection, such as reddening of the wound, swelling, tenderness as well as pus or discharge coming out of the wound.
Hopefully, this article will help you know how to proceed in case you suffer a dog bit, with more information on these and more related topics to be found over at the highly rated frontlineer.com, frontlineerrichmond.com and frontlineerdallas.com; which are also the best place to head to for such medical emergencies.
