Animal and Human Bites

Many things can affect how your body responds to a symptom and what kind of care you may need. These include:

• Your age. Babies and older adults tend to get sicker quicker.
• Your overall health. If you have a condition such as diabetes, HIV, cancer, or heart disease, you may need to pay closer attention to certain symptoms and seek care sooner.
• Medicines you take. Certain medicines, such as blood thinners (anticoagulants), medicines that suppress the immune system like steroids or chemotherapy, herbal remedies, or supplements can cause symptoms or make them worse.
• Recent health events, such as surgery or injury. These kinds of events can cause symptoms afterwards or make them more serious.
• Your health habits and lifestyle, such as eating and exercise habits, smoking, alcohol or drug use, sexual history, and travel.

Symptoms of infection may include:

• Increased pain, swelling, warmth, or redness in or around the area.
• Red streaks leading from the area.
• Pus draining from the area.
• A fever.

Pain in adults and older children

• Severe pain (8 to 10): The pain is so bad that you can't stand it for more than a few hours, can't sleep, and can't do anything else except focus on the pain.
• Moderate pain (5 to 7): The pain is bad enough to disrupt your normal activities and your sleep, but you can tolerate it for hours or days. Moderate can also mean pain that comes and goes even if it's severe when it's there.
• Mild pain (1 to 4): You notice the pain, but it is not bad enough to disrupt your sleep or activities.

Pain in children under 3 years

It can be hard to tell how much pain a baby or toddler is in.

• Severe pain (8 to 10): The pain is so bad that the baby cannot sleep, cannot get comfortable, and cries constantly no matter what you do. The baby may kick, make fists, or grimace.
• Moderate pain (5 to 7): The baby is very fussy, clings to you a lot, and may have trouble sleeping but responds when you try to comfort him or her.
• Mild pain (1 to 4): The baby is a little fussy and clings to you a little but responds when you try to comfort him or her.

With severe bleeding, any of these may be true:

• Blood is pumping from the wound.
• The bleeding does not stop or slow down with pressure.
• Blood is quickly soaking through bandage after bandage.

With moderate bleeding, any of these may be true:

• The bleeding slows or stops with pressure but starts again if you remove the pressure.
• The blood may soak through a few bandages, but it is not fast or out of control.

With mild bleeding, any of these may be true:

• The bleeding stops on its own or with pressure.
• The bleeding stops or slows to an ooze or trickle after 15 minutes of pressure. It may ooze or trickle for up to 45 minutes.

Symptoms of difficulty breathing can range from mild to severe. For example:

• You may feel a little out of breath but still be able to talk (mild difficulty breathing), or you may be so out of breath that you cannot talk at all (severe difficulty breathing).
• It may be getting hard to breathe with activity (mild difficulty breathing), or you may have to work very hard to breathe even when you're at rest (severe difficulty breathing).

Usually found in dirt and soil, tetanus bacteria typically enter the body through a wound. Wounds may include a bite, a cut, a puncture, a burn, a scrape, insect bites, or any injury that may cause broken skin. Tetanus can also happen with other infections, like dental infections. It can happen during a surgery or pregnancy and delivery.

A wound can be so small, you may not notice you have one. Or a skin blister could break and become an open wound. If there is any delay in finding or cleaning a wound, there is an increased risk for skin infection and a chance for tetanus to get in the wound. A tetanus infection can start 3 to 21 days after the bacteria enter the wound. Be especially careful about wounds on your fingers and toes.

Many people may not know when they got their last tetanus shot. So it's a good idea to call your doctor to see if you need one.

Make sure to stay up to date on your tetanus shots. A tetanus shot is recommended:

• For a dirty wound that has things like dirt, saliva, or feces in it, if you haven't had a tetanus shot in the past 5 years.
• For a clean wound, if you haven't had a tetanus shot in the past 10 years.

Rabies may be a concern after an animal bite if:

• The animal that bit you was acting strangely or foaming at the mouth.
• The animal attacked you for no clear reason.
• The animal cannot be watched for signs of rabies.
• You were bitten while you were in a foreign country or in the wilderness.

To clean a wound well:

• Wash your hands first.
• Remove large pieces of dirt or debris from the wound with cleaned tweezers. Do not push the tweezers deeply into the wound.
• Hold the wound under cool running water. If you have a sprayer in your sink, you can use it to help remove dirt and other debris from the wound.
• Scrub gently with water, a mild soap, and a washcloth.
• If some dirt or other debris is still in the wound, clean it again.
• If the wound starts to bleed, put direct, steady pressure on it.

If a chemical has caused a wound or burn, follow the instructions on the chemical's container or call Poison Control (1-800-222-1222) to find out what to do. Most chemicals should be rinsed off with lots of water, but with some chemicals, water may make the burn worse.

Certain health conditions and medicines weaken the immune system's ability to fight off infection and illness. Some examples in adults are:

• Diseases such as diabetes, cancer, heart disease, and HIV/AIDS.
• Long-term alcohol and drug problems.
• Steroid medicines, which may be used to treat a variety of conditions.
• Chemotherapy and radiation therapy for cancer.
• Other medicines used to treat autoimmune disease.
• Medicines taken after organ transplant.
• Not having a spleen.