Brief overview
- What to do in case of bite wounds? First aid: Clean, disinfect, cover sterilely, if necessary pressure bandage in case of heavy bleeding, immobilize the injured body part in case of snake bites. Take affected person to doctor or call ambulance.
- Bite wound risks: Wound infection, tissue damage (e.g., to muscles, nerves, tendons, vessels, or bones); symptoms of poisoning (if bitten by venomous animals).
- When to see a doctor? In principle, every bite wound should be examined by a doctor and treated if necessary.
Attention.
- Even light and seemingly harmless looking bite wounds can become infected.
- In the worst case, a life-threatening blood poisoning, tetanus or rabies infection develops!
- A wound can become infected even days after the bite. Therefore, observe bite wounds for signs of inflammation (swelling, redness, hyperthermia, etc.).
Bite wound: What to do?
- Superficial skin damage, scratch wounds, possibly bruising.
- Deeper skin wounds down to the muscle skin (fascia), into the musculature or cartilage structures
- Wound with tissue death (necrosis) or major tissue damage (substance defect)
However, it is almost impossible for laypersons to properly assess the severity of a bite injury. Therefore, any bite wound should be considered an emergency and treated by a physician. First, however, first aid must be administered for bite injuries:
- For bite wounds that do not bleed much (such as those from dogs or cats), clean the wound with water.
- Then disinfect the wound (if a suitable disinfectant for wounds is available) and cover it sterilely.
- For heavily bleeding bite wounds, you should apply a pressure bandage.
- Get the patient to a doctor quickly or call the ambulance service.
Types of bite injuries
Depending on which animal bites, bite injuries usually have typical injury patterns. It also depends on the “perpetrator” how great the risk of wound infection is, for example.
Human bite
If a human bites, a ring-shaped impression with bruises and punctiform skin abrasions usually remains. There is a considerable risk of infection! A human bite can transmit AIDS (HIV) or hepatitis viruses (B or C).
Cat bite
Cat bites are also very infectious. For example, they can cause blood poisoning (sepsis) or transmit rabies. A cat bite typically leaves deep, punctate wounds, but they hardly bleed. Tissue injuries may extend to the bone. In the case of cat bites on the hand, finger tendons and joints are thus often affected.
Dog bite
Dogs usually bite a person on the hands and forearms, and in young children also on the face. These are often lacerations or bruises with ragged edges. Because the animals have pointed teeth and powerful jaws, deeper injuries to muscles, tendons, vessels, nerves and/or bones are not uncommon. Possible wound infections after a dog bite include 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 usually inflict only superficial bite wounds. Wound infection is rare here (e.g. rabies, tularaemia = rabbit plague, rat bite fever).
Horse bite
Due to the flat teeth of the animals, bruising injuries (recognizable by the bruise, among other things) are characteristic here.
Snake bite
Read more about the topic in the article Snake bite.
Bite wound: risks
The biggest danger with a bite wound is the high risk of infection. In addition, the attacker may have caused severe tissue damage to the victim. When bitten by a venomous snake, there is also a risk of poisoning.
Bite wound: Infection
In the case of cat and human bites, the infection rate is around 50 percent, and somewhat lower in the case of dog bites. Such wound infections originate from the many germs contained in the saliva of animals and humans, which can enter the wound when biting.
The risk of infection in bite wounds is also high because the injuries are often underestimated and then not treated professionally. The risk is particularly high in the case of very deep and contaminated wounds and when the tissue has been severely destroyed.
Tissue damage
Light bite wounds often only injure the superficial layer of skin (epidermis). In contrast, deeper bites can cause considerably more severe damage. For example, the skin may detach from the tissue underneath (dermabrasion/decollement). Nerves, blood vessels, tendons, muscles and/or bones are also often injured – sometimes with corresponding consequences.
In the case of nerve damage, for example, the patient may no longer be able to perceive temperature stimuli and touch in the affected area of the body as well (sensitivity disorders). Movement restrictions are also 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 snake bite
Bite injuries: When to see a doctor?
With a bite wound you should always go to the doctor. Firstly, because only he can properly assess the extent of the injury. Secondly, because bite wounds can result in wound infection. If necessary or advisable, the doctor can give the patient a vaccination against tetanus or rabies right away.
Bite wounds: Examinations by the doctor
In the conversation with the patient or accompanying persons, the doctor will first try to get a picture of the course of the injury and the bite wound itself (anamnesis). He will ask, for example, whether the animal has behaved in a conspicuous manner (suspected rabies) and – in the case of pets – whether it has been vaccinated against rabies. The doctor should also be informed about any known immune deficiencies of the patient (e.g. diabetes or cortisone therapy) as well as the intake of medication (such as blood thinners).
If there is a suspicion that the bite wound is associated with bone injuries, imaging techniques will bring clarity (e.g., x-ray).
Bite wounds: Treatment by the doctor
The doctor will thoroughly clean and rinse light bite wounds (again). Then he will close them with plaster, staples or suture (primary wound care).
Deep and infected wounds, on the other hand, are usually kept open for a while and cleaned several times before being closed (secondary wound care). This is done to prevent infection or to eliminate an existing infection first.
If necessary, the doctor will remove damaged, dead or infected tissue from the wound area before closing the wound (debridement).
In the case of a snake bite, patients are often treated as inpatients. The injured body part is immobilized.
Preventing bite wounds
Bite injuries occur frequently. Mostly it is dogs that bite, more rarely cats, horses, rodents or other humans. As far as animal attackers are concerned, there are a few things you can do to prevent bite wounds:
- Behave in a calm and defensive manner toward dogs, cats and other animals, rather than in a threatening or aggressive manner. This also applies when dealing with otherwise peaceful pets.
- Learn to correctly interpret warning signals from animals.
- Do not touch an animal if it is feeding or has young.
- Never approach an animal silently and/or from behind. It may become frightened and bite.
- Avoid quick movements and loud noises near an animal.
- Wear sturdy shoes and long pants when walking in an area with snakes. Also, use a walking stick – the vibrations when it hits the ground will warn the animal, so it will usually move away.
If you take these measures to heart, you can reduce the risk of animal bites.
