While a dog attack is always a scary situation, you may not always end up with serious wounds that land you in the emergency room. Sometimes, a bite may seem minor with minimal bleeding.
In this situation, you may wonder what you should do and how to care for the wound. The Cleveland Clinic explains that while a bite may not seem severe, you should take every animal bite seriously. With a dog, specifically, its teeth will often produce a jagged wound and there is a big concern about infection. You should see your doctor within eight hours to help prevent a serious infection. In the meantime, though, there are a few things you want to do.
Clean the wound
Your first step should be to wash the wound with soap and water. This can help to remove bacteria and may prevent infection from setting in. You also want to apply an antibiotic cream, which will go even further in cleaning the wound and preventing further issues. Make sure to finish up by applying a bandage.
Continued care
You should see your doctor for an assessment. The doctor may give you medication to take that will help to keep infection away. If there is any concern about rabies, you may have to undergo vaccination for that.
Your doctor may give you some instructions for home care, but, in general, to continue care at home, you want to change the bandage often and keep the wound clean. Until it heals completely, you need to watch for signs of infection, such as swelling, an increase in pain or redness, fever or hotness of the skin.
