This is an automatically translated article.
Dog bites are one of the common accidents, especially among young children. A dog bite wound if not handled and treated properly and promptly will cause serious consequences, even death. Therefore, parents need to understand first aid measures and handle when their children are bitten by a dog.
1. First aid for children bitten by dogs
Many parents often wonder what to do when children are bitten by dogs? Because accidental dog bites can have serious, life-threatening consequences when contracting rabies caused by the virus. Therefore, giving first aid and taking the child to a medical facility immediately for examination and appropriate treatment measures is extremely important. Accordingly, the initial first aid steps when a child is bitten by a dog is as follows:
Clean the wound: This is the first important step in first aid. The child should clean the wound with cold water to remove all pathogens, use cotton and water to gently wash the wound and avoid vigorous rubbing; Remove foreign bodies such as dead skin, soil, hair... on the wound; Use antiseptics: Antiseptics such as alcohol, hydrogen peroxide help clean dog bites and disinfect. Use a small amount of antiseptic applied to the wound, should gently blow on the wound when applying the medicine because they will cause stinging and pain; Hemostasis: In case the wound is bleeding, in the period of 10-15 minutes after being bitten by a dog, in the process of washing the wound for a child, you should not stop the bleeding, only stop the bleeding 15 minutes after the wound occurs. The wound is still bleeding. Stop bleeding by using a medical gauze pad to place on the wound until the bleeding stops, then bandage the wound. If the wound is deep and the blood spurts out, use an elastic band around the wound, bandage it and quickly take the child to the nearest medical facility for timely first aid, diagnosis and treatment. See now: Children who are bitten by a dog without scratching should be vaccinated?
2. Injecting serum and rabies vaccine for children bitten by dogs
Children bitten by a dog need to be vaccinated against rabies in the following cases:
The bite is deep or occurs in dangerous places such as the face, head, neck, genitals, extremities... take children to medical facilities for timely first aid, serum injection and rabies vaccine. Bites caused by dogs with rabies or showing signs of rabies, animals are not monitored after the bite, accidents happen at places where there is a dog and cat epidemic... then the patient should be vaccinated against it. rabies as soon as possible. Rabies vaccination for children does not need to be performed immediately, but needs to be monitored after 15 days for the following cases:
The bite is mild and occurs far from the central nervous system, far from other dangerous areas; The bite caused by a dog does not have rabies, has no signs of rabies or is near areas where there is an epidemic of dogs and cats; Within 15 days after a child is bitten by a dog, if the animal is rabid, missing or dead, the child should be vaccinated against rabies. Conversely, after 15 days, if the animal is still healthy, the patient does not need to be vaccinated against rabies. If the patient is vaccinated late after being bitten by a rabid dog, the serum will no longer be effective and can only be vaccinated against rabies. Therefore, patients need to adhere to the correct injection schedule and dose prescribed by the doctor. Watch now: Is being bitten by a dog dangerous to life?
3. Symptoms of rabies when bitten by a dog
Symptoms of rabies when a child is bitten by a dog can be as follows:
2 - 4 days before the onset of the disease: During the period from 2 to 4 days before the onset of the disease, the patient usually has the following symptoms: irritability, restlessness, headache, depression, fear for no reason. Some patients may present with pain at the bite site, pain spreading along the nerves of the lymphatic system, fever, and cold.
Time of illness: The patient has a high fever (up to 40.6 degrees), fatigue, cough and hoarseness. The disease onset time in patients may experience the following forms:
Spasm: Most patients have symptoms of spasm, including manifestations of fear of water, fear of light, fear of wind. Because these are the main triggers that lead to rabies (spasms, spasms, convulsions and tremors). The contractions and spasms make the patient easily suffocate and have difficulty breathing. Besides, the patient is prone to loss of consciousness, increased nervous excitability, coma and can lead to death within 2-6 days; Paralysis: Patients with paralysis are not overstimulated and often have spasms and paralysis; Maniacal form: The patient shows signs of increased nervous excitability and leads to an aggressive attitude, rapid onset of illness and death.
4. Prevention of dog bites and rabies
Measures to prevent dog bites and rabies are as follows:
Limit keeping dogs when there are children in the house; In case of raising dogs, it is necessary to comply with the full schedule of rabies vaccinations, use a leash or cage to confine the animal in necessary cases; Limit children's contact with cats and dogs, especially in the summer; In case a child is bitten by a dog, it should be handled according to the above steps, avoiding anger and beating the animal to death; Do not use any drugs to treat dog bites, patients should be taken to medical facilities for diagnosis and vaccination against rabies; Rabies is a dangerous disease that can cause dangerous complications and death. When a child is bitten by a dog, parents need to calmly monitor the dog and soon take the child to the medical center for examination and rabies vaccination as directed by the doctor.
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