Just been bitten by a dog

[DavieB]

Make sure you have had your tetanus jabs

Read above post

 

[Simba]

Read above post

Meh, I'm full of a cold so I have an excuse.

 

[Globalti]

I'm willing to be corrected here but I believe that the risk of infection is lower with a dog bite than with most other animals. Dogs have comparatively wet mouths, washed by lots of saliva so bacteria don't build up as much as they do in, for example, rats or lizards or snakes where the risk of infection is as great as the risk from the venom. Someone told me that human bites and scratches are pretty dirty and need antibiotics and someone in Manchester eye hospital (don't ask how I ended up there!) told me that fingernail scratches of the eyeball are common and are very painful and infectious.

 

[Bromptonaut]

Cat bites much worse from infection risk pov. As others have said this is natural Collie behaviour. No excuse for the dog being untrained but probably below the threshold for police/local council activity - unless there's a repeat.

 

[Crackle]

Cat bites much worse from infection risk pov. As others have said this is natural Collie behaviour. No excuse for the dog being untrained but probably below the threshold for police/local council activity - unless there's a repeat.

I was thinking that but at least it's logged and if it's reported again it might then trigger some action. A friend of mines dog knocked a toddler over in a park and growled, that warranted a police visit. He did leave all his details with the mother though. The dog was new to him, a rescue dog and not well socialized, it later became a very decent well behaved dog but at the time, the Police told him if it happened again they would take it further than just a warning.

 

[montage]

If a dog bit me and I then left it unreported and the dog bit a small child then I would feel awful. Worth reporting in my opinion.

 

[Cush]

Being an indoor postie for thirty + years before I retired I heard most of the dog stories and how to deal with them. Best one was the old hand who never had any trouble on his round with dogs but nobody liked to do his round when he was off. His method was simple. Big stick & big boot. dog runs up to or at him it got one or the other across its mouth and they never came back for more. Only trouble was, that when any body else done his round the dogs were waiting for them and boy did they go for the newbie.

 

[661-Pete]

I believe the severity of a dog bite depends on which teeth it got you with. The front teeth are much longer and sink deeper - almost certainly a visit to A&E. Back teeth for grinding won't penetrate so deep, though the bite will still be painful with a lot of bruising. That's what I had, a few years ago.

But all cyclists really ought to be covered against tetanus, all the time. Everyone has the occasional 'off'. I think the interval for boosters is about 5 years, is it? Which reminds me...

...someone in Manchester eye hospital (don't ask how I ended up there!) ...

OK I won't ask, but I can't get this out of my mind...

View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HX_5zIXxKEU

(not for the squeamish - and there are worse on the 'Tube...)

 

[buggi]

The reason dogs go for cyclists and postie's is because it's a dogs natural instinct to protect it's property. When the postie comes, or the cylist rides past, the dogs bark to "see you off". They don't realise that postie's walk away anyway, and cyclists cycle past anyway, they think it's because they've seen you off. That's why they react different to cyclists and postie's than they do to normal visitors (because it doesn't work with normal visitors). It's reinforced behaviour.

Collie's won't maul like a pit bull/bull terrier type dog. bull type breed of dogs are bred to hold on and able to lock their jaws. That is why they do so much damage to children when they bite, because they don't snap like other dogs, they hold on and shake their heads. However, all dogs of whatever breed are capable of a nip or bite given the right circumstances.

I think maybe it's because you surprised the owner, and the dog sensed her surprise and reacted to you. I think the most sensible thing to do on this occasion is to go back to the woman (presuming you know who she is), show her your bruise and tell her she needs to muzzle her dog in public because, if you can surprise, then so can someone else, and it could be a child next time. If she's argumentative or doesn't care, then i would report it to the police and ask them to have words, but I think demanding the dog be destroyed on this occasion is a little bit over the top, as the dog was probably just protecting her.

 

[Banjo]

Probably too late on this occasion but I believe we should report every dog bite to the police. I know its not the dogs fault they are poorly trained and uncontrolled but next time it could cause a serious accident or bite a small child,

 

[Arch]

But all cyclists really ought to be covered against tetanus, all the time. Everyone has the occasional 'off'. I think the interval for boosters is about 5 years, is it? Which reminds me...

Apparently not, anymore.

Friend of mine, her husband got badly scratched by some stout fence wire on her allotment (well, actually, it sprang back at him and went through the cartiledge of his ear...). Went to the drop in centre, they said yes, tetanus might be a good idea, but we don't do it, go to A and E. At A and E they said that if you've had the normal childhood jabs for it, plus two boosters, you're as covered as you'll ever be - something my friend confirmed with a lot of googling later. They are apparently not keen to give you continuing jabs just for the sake of it.

I think the tetanus jab you get at 15/16 (or I did anyway) is the first booster. I had another before the first dig I went on, so I'm covered for good now, apparently. As I understood it, the interval was 10 years anyway.

Also apparently, having a tetanus jab just after you've been bitten, scratched, cut, whatever is useless for that event, because if you're infected it's already in the blood and the incubation period of the jab means it won't be effective until too late...

I realise this is all a bit second hand, but it shows how medical thinking changes.

 

[twentysix by twentyfive]

Yep Arch. Thought it was a while since I'd had a booster so went along for another. Nurse says - "Y our record says you are covered but since you are here" - * sticks needle in *

So I don't need to be bovvered now at all

 

[661-Pete]

Maybe it's the cost after all - spending cuts! But I think if you're taken into A&E with cuts, and you're out of time on tetanus, they'll give you the jab anyway, because that costs them little extra, after all they're already attending to you....

 

[Arch]

Maybe it's cost, but also, I guess with anything that penetrates the skin like a jab there's a minimal risk of bad reaction, infection etc, and if it's not needed because you've had two boosters already, why risk it?

If you've not had the 2 boosters, then of course, you're not covered, as I understand it.

 

[buggi]

i know someone who scratched his ankle on a bit of metal at work. he didn't think much of it at the time, even tho it had broken the skin, and he just rubbed his ankle and then got on with his day. turned out the metal was rusty and the poor bloke ended up having both his feet amputated. septicemia or something. anyway, i bit off topic, but just following on from Arch's post.

dog bites are the lesser of the evils. human bites are really bad!