Dog Bite Care

« WellTellMe • Forum • Remedies & Therapies • About the Body • Skin, Nails, Hair & Scalp • Dog Bite Care »

(Read 1123 times) [1]

Dog Bite Care
« on: November 09, 2006, 10:12:41 PM » by luvbnamom

Wasn't sure where to put this, but since it was dh's finger I figured here would work. Dh was bit last week, accidently, by our lab. (Rough play gone awry!) She took a good chunk out of his finger (first finger, first knuckle ) and it's really sore and swollen. There is no fever and it is not red..slightly pink. He has been flushing it with Hydo. Per. every hour. I was wondering if there is anything else we can do. It probably could have used a stitch or two, but he says it will be fine. Any info would be lovely though as it really hurts! Garlic, oil...

Thanks,
Becca

Logged

Becca ~ Happily married to T & mommy to JJ 7 and JB 2~

Re: Dog Bite Care
« Reply #1 on: November 10, 2006, 12:05:44 AM » by miff aka Missi

Becca,
Here's a link for post-surgery infection. It may have some info that will help your husband.

http://welltellme.com/discuss/index.php/topic,48.0.html

Missi

Logged

My intro

Treating Dog Bites
« Reply #2 on: May 24, 2008, 09:54:32 PM » by joshs_rebekah

My Josh snagged his hand on a dog's tooth. We have put hydrogen peroxide on it, and some cayenne...anything else we should be doing? Looking for?

We "know" the dog, so I don't think we need to worry about rabies. Josh was playing, and had his arm swinging while swinging thru the air, and the dog thought he was playing...nothing vicious...

Any thoughts?

Logged

Re: Treating Dog Bites
« Reply #3 on: May 24, 2008, 10:13:55 PM » by morningglory

I got bitten ON PURPOSE in college by a Doberman. It was a really deep puncture wound on the side of my heel. You could look in and see the fat layer. All we had at school was hydrogen peroxide, so we poured about half a bottle in there, and that was it! It healed up really nicely. I would think that would be sufficient.

Logged

Re: Treating Dog Bites
« Reply #4 on: May 25, 2008, 12:39:12 AM » by herbalmom

Personally, I would add tea tree oil ess oil to the treatment. Our basic treatment for any cut, bite, scrape, puncture wound, etc is always soap to clean, hydrogen peroxide to oxygenate to prevent tetanus & tea tree for healing, disinfecting & antibacterial. When DD got bitten by a squirrel I treated it that way & when I spoke to our Dr (he's holistic & uses ess oils Cheesy

) he said that was a great way to treat it & it didn't need anything else. Our dogs & cats have scratched us before with their claws & we have scratched our hands or arms on the dog's teeth before & that's also how we treat those as well. HTH Blessings ~herbalmom

Logged

Re: Treating Dog Bites
« Reply #5 on: May 25, 2008, 09:00:46 AM » by petrimama

These suggestions sound great, but I wanted to mention that plantain is good for animal bites too. (American Indians did it and I trust them, although I don't know the science behind it.) And raw honey speeds healing, so it's a great replacement for those antibiotic ointments that are petroleum based. ~L

Logged

Re: Treating Dog Bites
« Reply #6 on: May 26, 2008, 10:02:45 PM » by joshs_rebekah

I put plantain on the bite tonight, in a mixture of raw honey and garlic... His hand seems to be getting infected. While plantain is plentiful, I am not sure how much of it hasn't been peed on by these dogs.

As a side note, please pray for our minds in all of this. Angry

Thanks, and sorry it is discombobulated.

Logged

Re: Treating Dog Bites
« Reply #7 on: May 27, 2008, 09:23:28 AM » by petrimama

Well, as for the pee Tongue

, I always simply wash my freshly picked herbs before crunching them up and using them.
And as for the infection, garlic is a good choice. There were also other suggestions like TTO that would work. Also, I am not sure how old he is, but most little boys aren't great at keeping their hands clean. I usually opt for keeping minor cuts out in the air, but maybe covering the ointment/poultice in clean dressings would be a good idea if the wound is still opened just to keep other germs from getting in there. I think minor infection from dog bites is pretty common, so if it's just a hint of heat or redness don't get too worked up. Simply do what you know is effective and watch to make sure it doesn't get too bad. If it seems like it is too much for you to handle at any point, there is no shame in seeing a doctor who could give additional treatment or even peace of mind. Good luck! ~L

Logged

Re: Treating Dog Bites
« Reply #8 on: May 27, 2008, 09:28:02 AM » by joshs_rebekah

"My Josh" is 28! Cheesy

Logged

Re: Treating Dog Bites
« Reply #9 on: May 27, 2008, 09:32:00 AM » by petrimama

OOPS! I assumed you had a son named Josh as well. I guess he would be able to wash regularly. Grin

Logged

Re: Treating Dog Bites
« Reply #10 on: May 27, 2008, 01:45:31 PM » by LKS

Hee hee

LKS

Logged

Visit my blog @ http://www.homesteadblogger.com/highdesertblog/

Re: Treating Dog Bites
« Reply #11 on: May 27, 2008, 04:41:09 PM » by rainydayz

Quote from: morningglory on May 24, 2008, 10:13:55 PM

I got bitten ON PURPOSE in college by a Doberman.

Huh?

? why on earth would you do that?

Logged

Re: Treating Dog Bites
« Reply #12 on: May 27, 2008, 06:21:00 PM » by morningglory

Quote from: rainydayz on May 27, 2008, 04:41:09 PM

Quote from: morningglory on May 24, 2008, 10:13:55 PM

I got bitten ON PURPOSE in college by a Doberman.

Huh?

? why on earth would you do that?

Door to door visitation. He thought I was going to hurt his little cocker spaniel friend. Roll Eyes

Logged

Re: Treating Dog Bites
« Reply #13 on: May 27, 2008, 06:29:38 PM » by petrimama

I think that it was "on purpose" by the dog, not the person. Grin

LOL!! (I Hope!!! ......right? Shocked

) ~L

Logged

Re: Treating Dog Bites
« Reply #14 on: May 28, 2008, 08:05:00 AM » by joshs_rebekah

Well, we saw an MD yesterday - the owners of the dog paid for it. If the MD had seen Josh's hand yesterday morning - he probably would have freaked out. However, I "took charge" and went to get some epsom salts and comfrey from my neighbor, and I made him soak it (knowing Josh, I didn't actually make him do it - he was willing). It looked SO much better after soaking it all morning - mostly in the epsom salts, but he was using comfrey too.

The md, without even looking at Josh, had already ordered an anti-biotic for him. Josh HATES antibiotics. He has spent the last 18 years of his life trying to undo what they did to him (pneumonia, salmonella and appendicitis in a year and a half! Shocked

).

Anyway, he asked me to look up the drugs. So I went to webmd, and found out the green pills are NASTY! There were warning signs all over that it could cause some bad diahrea anywhere from while you are taking it up to TWO MONTHS after!!!! Shocked

I said, "FORGET IT!"

So, we made up some Goot, Josh is waterlogging his hand in epsom salts, and we have some GSE as a topical anti-biotic.

Thank you for your help - it is muchly appreciated!

Logged

Re: Dog Bite Care
« Reply #15 on: September 03, 2009, 10:13:04 AM » by abbilynn

My 7yr old had a small chunk taken out of his leg by a dog yesterday. It chased him, bit him and dragged him a little ways before it let go. We had to have it stitched up at the ER. They made him get a DTAP shot for tetanus, and they want him on Augmenten. He has gut issues that we have worked on for several years and I am really worried about what the Augmenten will do to his gut. He hasn't been on an antibiotic since he was a baby. I am thinking of skipping the antibiotic and dosing him up on garlic big time instead. Any advice on this???

thanks
abbilynn

Logged

Wife for 9 years, Mommy to three rambunctious boys!! Addict of reading, sewing and quilting.

Lover of Jesus, my hubby, my kids, and learning!

Re: Dog Bite Care
« Reply #16 on: September 03, 2009, 12:09:05 PM » by morningglory

If it were me, I think I would chuck the anitbiotics and use garlic and whatever else you have for herbal antibiotics, poultices with comfrey or plantain, and give him some blood purifying herbs internally, like yellow dock, dandelion, burdock, etc. I was bitten by a dog once, and all we did was pour a half a bottle of peroxide into it. It was fine after that, but it wa only a puncture wound. Poor little guy. Undecided

Logged

Re: Dog Bite Care
« Reply #17 on: September 03, 2009, 05:59:05 PM » by hi_itsgwen

Abbilynn,
I think the antibiotics are a precaution, and I would feel comfortable skipping them and just keeping a close eye on the wound. You could always start antibiotics if you saw a need for it, but I'd go with your instict and treat as gently and naturally as possible for his GI tract.

If it were my guy, I'd keep it washed with peroxide for a few days, and just try to keep it dry and open to the air as much as you can to prevent infection. I'd do water based treatments exclusively at first until it starts to heal really well (infusions of plantain, garlic would be great.) Wonder if you could put some raw pressed cloves into the peroxide bottle? Wink

Anything oil based will prevent the wound from staying dry, so I'd wait on that a bit until you're just dealing with a clean shallow wound.
Watch for when it starts healing up from the inside, and then start your salve.

If the wound starts to get infected, you could do a garlic poultice with plantain over it every hour or so. If he starts showing signs of infection (fever), do garlic presses over his lymph nodes as well as have him take it internally. I actually think the direct presses are way more intense, as the natural antibiotics go right into the blood stream and bypass the filtering effects of the liver/gi tract.

I'll keep thinking about it, and let you know if I come aross anything else.

Gwen

Logged

Re: Dog Bite Care
« Reply #18 on: September 03, 2009, 08:14:50 PM » by abbilynn

Quote from: hi_itsgwen on September 03, 2009, 05:59:05 PM

Thanks Gwen. I took the wrap off and let it air out all day. Tonight I put a plantain poultice on it for an hour, wrapped in plastic wrap and a towel to keep the heat and liquid in. Then I let it air out again. Right before bed I smeared raw honey on the gauze and wrapped it over the wounds to prevent any damage to it while he's sleeping (fuzz getting in it, hitting it, rubbing the stitches, etc). I will unwrap it again tomorrow and do another poultice in the morning and one at night. When it starts to look like it's healing on the inside, I will do what you suggested and start the salve I made. We did skip the antibiotics, but I am giving him whole garlic cloves. I will start colloidal silver, also, when it arrives in the mail. Thanks for your help!

abbilynn

Logged

Wife for 9 years, Mommy to three rambunctious boys!! Addict of reading, sewing and quilting.

Lover of Jesus, my hubby, my kids, and learning!

Re: Dog Bite Care
« Reply #19 on: September 03, 2009, 09:28:35 PM » by hi_itsgwen

Abbilynn, Another thing I though of...if you add garlic cloves to raw honey, and add a half of a lemon squeezed into it, it really covers the taste of the garlic. My kids, who run screaming and lock their rooms when I mention an herbal treatment, love to take their garlic honey, and say it tastes like candy.

Logged

Re: Dog Bite Care
« Reply #20 on: September 04, 2009, 07:57:06 AM » by sunshine4th

Just a reminder to skip the comfrey until you know there is no infection. It will begin to heal it, even with infection present and you don't want to seal that in.

Ditto to every one else. Honey will be wonderful for that type of wound, preventing infection, supplying oxygen and will help prevent scarring.

When he can take baths, make sure you use epsom salts and lavender essential oil. It will help prevent infection as well.

Logged

Re: Dog Bite Care
« Reply #21 on: September 04, 2009, 04:08:16 PM » by abbilynn

Thanks for all the tips.

He soaked it in the tub with lavender oil today and I cleaned it a bit. The skin has already closed up on it's own, on part of the wound. So far it hasn't oozed anything but a little bit of blood every now and then. No redness or puffiness, no heat, and no oozing. Looks good. I'm going to hold off on the comfrey salve another day or so, just to make sure. But compared to what it originally looked like, it looks great! It's healing really fast. I'll do another plantain poultice tonight. I love herbs. Wink

abbilynn

Logged

Wife for 9 years, Mommy to three rambunctious boys!! Addict of reading, sewing and quilting.

Lover of Jesus, my hubby, my kids, and learning!

Re: Dog Bite Care
« Reply #22 on: September 05, 2009, 08:49:45 AM » by abbilynn

What could I apply to it for pain? Since it's an open wound, arnica is out (that's what we usually use and it works great), and comfrey is out for another couple days. What else is there? It's not just the wound itself that hurts, but his leg and muscle surrounding it are really sore. I think he may have sprained his ankle during the ordeal of being knocked down and dragged. Undecided

He's not walking on his leg, so I'm trying to get him to straighten it out and stretch the muscles a bit, and I'm working with his ankle trying to get it to bend a little more. But he says it hurts. Could I put arnica just on his ankle and not on the wound?

thanks
abbilynn

Logged

Wife for 9 years, Mommy to three rambunctious boys!! Addict of reading, sewing and quilting.

Lover of Jesus, my hubby, my kids, and learning!

Re: Dog Bite Care
« Reply #23 on: September 05, 2009, 12:24:32 PM » by hi_itsgwen

abbi,
You could certainly use arnica anwhere the skin isn't broken.

If it's mainly muscle strain, then a muscle rub would be a good option. Here is one posted by WI Cheesehead:
http://www.welltellme.com/discuss/index.php/topic,2198.msg220276.html#msg220276
and a blend/recipe from bulk herb store:
http://www.bulkherbstore.com/Muscle-Soother-Cream-Mix

Other ideas for muscle pain/bruising: DMSO (Dimethyl Sulfoxide)

Logged

Re: Dog Bite Care
« Reply #24 on: September 05, 2009, 01:45:45 PM » by abbilynn

Quote from: hi_itsgwen on September 05, 2009, 12:24:32 PM

I have some arnica salve made up, so I'll try that since it's already made. I like the one from BHS, I have made it before also. He said the epsom salt bath helped with the soreness, too.

Logged

Wife for 9 years, Mommy to three rambunctious boys!! Addict of reading, sewing and quilting.

Lover of Jesus, my hubby, my kids, and learning!

Dog Bite
« Reply #25 on: November 08, 2009, 10:19:15 PM » by kimberlee

NEED ADVICE!!! NEED TO MAKE DECISION BY TOMORROW AM
My husband and I would like some wisdom concerning our 2 1/2 yr old daughter. She was recently bitten by a dog. We know the family. The dog has bitten their children several times. They live on a farm. ( a concern for us ) It was not a deep puncture..it is swollen and looks like scratches (on the head and below the eye brow). The doctor said that rabies is probably unlikely and not to worry, no infection, but he did recommend giving her tetanus, of course you have to do the diptheria (sp?) also. We have not and did not intend on immunizing her, but wonder if we should do the shot since she suffered the dog bite. I have seen the pros and cons but was wondering if anyone would like to share their opinion/experience. Thanks!!

« Last Edit: November 08, 2009, 10:59:02 PM by kimberlee »
Logged

Re: Dog Bite Care
« Reply #26 on: November 08, 2009, 11:58:18 PM » by RunAmokFarm

Kimberlee (and husband!),

First, wanted to let you know I merged your topic (as well as a couple others regarding dog bites) into one, more complete thread. I think you will find some good advice here -- but also wanted to answer you specifically.

I know your doctor was not overly concerned about rabies, and since this dog seems prone to biting children, doubt this was the reason for the attack... however, the family should provide you with proof of rabies vaccine for said animal. (Even if it isn't "current", but the animal was an adult at time of receiving the shot, the animal is likely not at risk of passing rabies on, as it more than likely retained immunity to the disease. *There is a rabies-challenge going on currently, hoping to prove earlier findings that dogs retain immunity from 7-15 after an adult rabies shot is given.)

As to the DT shot... I can only share our experience: Our oldest son had a serious reaction to a DT shot (we were in a similar situation where a doctor insisted they could not do "just" a tetanus shot, and we "had" to give a DT instead)...

Long story short, our son had a serious neurological reaction -- and 10+ years later, we are still dealing with many issues. http://www.welltellme.com/discuss/index.php/topic,1410.msg10824.html#msg10824 is a link to the vaccination thread where I posted in detail - if you would like details of what we went through.

*It might be good to note that several years later, we had another child with a cut/puncture that needed hospital treatment -- we were able to request ONLY the tetanus shot, and at the same time, I asked for the package insert (which comes with each shot!) and the nurse told me they do not have those... then, after a brief argument, she told me they did not give those out. I insisted, and when she finally came back with it ( Grin

) - I then stood there and read through the entire thing -- finding the manufacturer stated clearly that if there were concern regarding possible side-effects, one could administer 1/2 the dosage under the skin, in lieu of the full shot, intramuscular.

We opted for that instead, and after a lengthy discussion, and the doctor "making" us sign a waiver, they did administer the shot in such a manner... I believe our second child had a sensitivity as well -- but presented with a far more mild reaction, due to the amount and way it was administered.

In either case, my previous situation probably makes me biases (OK, so I KNOW it does!!). If this were to happen to one our children, we would not do the shot -- especially since she does not appear to have an infection; If you were/are able to cleanse the wound thoroughly and if bled clean, I honestly would not think tetanus would be a serious worry. (Of course, that doesn't mean there is NO chance - just that I would be more concerned of an infection actually from the bite itself, versus tetanus...)

We will be praying for your family to have wisdom as you make your decisions ~
Jaque

« Last Edit: November 09, 2009, 12:05:26 AM by RunAmokFarm »
Logged

www.runamokfarm.com
Naturally-reared Miniature Australian Shepherds & Australian Terriers!
www.jaquemchenry.com
Custom Pyrography (woodburning)

Re: Dog Bite Care
« Reply #27 on: November 09, 2009, 11:14:06 AM » by RunAmokFarm

BUMPED for urgent care question regarding 2 1/2 yo child...
J

Logged

www.runamokfarm.com
Naturally-reared Miniature Australian Shepherds & Australian Terriers!
www.jaquemchenry.com
Custom Pyrography (woodburning)

Re: Dog Bite Care
« Reply #28 on: November 09, 2009, 03:12:42 PM » by kimberlee

Jaque~

Thanks for bumping RunAmokFarm. Thank you Jacqu for your advice. We really appreciate it. We decided not to get the shot. The risk for tetanus is low, coupled with the fact that their kids have been bitten recently and our daughter's bite resulted in scratches, not a deep wound. We called three different clinics and all of them said they had to do all three D, P and T. Of course it is a series of shots. Again, thank you for taking the time to tell us your personal story.

Kim

Logged

(Read 1123 times) [1]