6 Important Things That You Have To Do After A Dog Bite

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Dogs are wonderful creatures that offer more care and affection than most humans can give. Unfortunately, they can sometimes be provoked and bite people. Many accidents happen every year where dogs bite their owners, or more commonly dogs bite random people on the street. Whether it is your dog or someone else’s, there are some steps that you have to take if you get bitten by a dog. Here’s what you need to know.

Keep Your Calm

If you get bitten by a dog, you have to stay calm. This is not a street fight, so don’t fly into a rage and attack the dog because you could end up with more bites. If it is a stray animal, don’t try to catch it. This is not your job and there are professionals who are trained to do this. You will need to call animal services afterward, but never try to do anything yourself. If it’s someone else’s dog that bit you on the street, you need to remember to take photos and/or videos of your injuries for documentation because you will hold the owner accountable for their dog’s actions.

Tend to Your Wound

The biggest concern with dog bites is infection. Before you can see a doctor, you need to tend to your wound at once until you can see a professional. You should first wash the wound with mild soap and run warm water over it for a few minutes––this is mostly if it is a flesh wound and the dog’s teeth hadn’t sunk into your flesh. If, however, there are puncture wounds, you should let the blood flow for a bit to clean the wound, and then apply pressure to stop the bleeding. You can wrap a clean cloth around the injury to slow the bleeding.

Think Ahead

Dog bites can become serious if infected, so you need to think on your feet and prepare for the future. If you were bitten with the dog’s owner present, you have to take their contact information in case you plan on suing. As explained by the lawyers from the Jebaily Law Firm, you need to ask yourself if the dog owner is responsible for your injury or your child’s injury. If that is the case, then you should be eligible for compensation to cover your medical bills and any other expense that might arise due to this injury. To do that, you will need help from experienced personal injury attorneys so you could get fair compensation and make sure that the dog owner is held accountable for their negligence.

Seek Medical Help

You need to see a doctor as soon as possible for you or your loved ones after a dog bite. You can’t just apply over-the-counter antibiotic cream and hope nothing would happen. A doctor will know what to do and what questions to ask. They will clean your wound and prescribe antibiotics most likely if they suspect an infection might arise after the bite. Your injury might also need stitches to stop the bleeding. The doctor might also ask about your last tetanus shot, so keep that in mind.

Ask about Rabies 

Rabies is always a concern with a dog bite. If the bite happened with the dog’s owner present, you have to ask them to give you proof that the dog had its rabies vaccination. If it is a stray dog, then you will need to call animal control so they could come and catch the dog. They will be able to determine if the dog has rabies or not. If they can’t find the dog or it has rabies, you will need to start rabies vaccinations.

Keep an Eye on the Wound

After seeing a doctor, you have to keep a close eye on the dog bite wound. This will help you catch an infection early on, so watch out for signs like swelling, redness, increased pain, and fever. You should also change bandages several times a day to make sure that your wound remains clean and stave off infection as much as possible.

If it was your dog that bit you, then you need to understand why it happened. Some people get rid of the dog or have it euthanized, which is not the answer. Was the dog provoked? Is it a discipline problem, and if so, how can you fix it? If your dog has become suddenly aggressive, you need to take them to the vet because there might be an underlying medical problem causing them pain, thus making them aggressive.

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