Poisons, bites and stings
Dog or animal bite
Also called dog bite, kutta kaat liya, animal bite, monkey bite, cat bite
What you are dealing with
Rabies is almost always fatal once symptoms begin, and almost always preventable if the wound is washed and vaccination starts the same day.
Do this, in this order
- Wash the wound immediately under running water with plenty of soap for a full fifteen minutes. This alone removes much of the virus.
- After washing, apply an antiseptic such as povidone iodine or alcohol.
- Cover loosely with a clean dressing and go to a hospital or health centre the same day.
- Tell them the animal, whether it was provoked, whether it is a pet, and the date of your last tetanus injection.
- Start the rabies vaccination course as advised and complete every dose on the dates given, even if the animal looks healthy.
- If the animal is a pet, ask the owner for its vaccination record and keep the animal under observation for ten days.
Never do this
- Do not apply chilli powder, turmeric, oil, herbs or lime to the wound.
- Do not stitch or tightly close the wound in the first hours unless a doctor decides to.
- Do not skip doses of the vaccine because the wound healed or the dog seems fine.
- Do not ignore a lick on broken skin or a scratch that drew blood. Both count.
Call an ambulance if
- Any bite from a dog, cat, monkey, bat, mongoose or an unknown animal
- Deep wounds, bites on the face, head, neck, hands or genitals, or heavy bleeding
- The person has not had a tetanus injection in the last five years
- The wound becomes red, hot, swollen or starts discharging pus
After the emergency
Get it looked at properly
First aid buys time, it does not finish the job. Most of these situations need a doctor to check what happened, prevent infection, and decide whether anything more is needed.
