My dd is 16 months old and got nipped by a friends dog tonight. the bite was on her cheek and broke the skin- just barely. they say the dog has had all its shots and my dd is on ammoxcicillian anyway bc of a sinus infection she had. does anyone know is there any danger of her catching anything from this? i cleaned the area and used antibiotic cream. I called the ER but they refuse to give any info over the phone. anyone been through this?
I decided to get confirmation that the dog is up to date with its shots- which i will get by calling their vets office tomorrow morning. i would have called my peds office to ask them what to do but its the weekend and they are closed. other than an ugly mark on her face for her christmas pictures my daughter seems fine but we are applying neospirin 3x a day just to be safe. thanks everyone for your advice
i don't panic over minor dog nips, but my definition of 'nip' may not be the same as very very pro-dog people.
i disagree with all those saying how clean dog mouths are. dog saliva is good for DOGS, not for people. dogs lick their own genitalia, folks. seriously.
keep the site clean and watch it carefully for the next couple of days. probably everything is fine.
khairete
S.
I probably would have done the samething as you. Try calling the hotline number (if there is one) on the back of your ins card. They can give you advice.
Good luck and hope it's not too serious.
I've been nipped dozens of times. Never had any more than a localized infection similar to what I'd get from any scratch or scrape. Soap & water then neosporin.
I've been bitten twice. One just had minor localized infection (age 5, hunting dog bit me behind the knee) and a little minor tendon damage. One had me in the hospital for 11 days (age 11, doberman leapt for my face but got my arm). Gangrene was only one of the many infections that spread from wrist to shoulder. Multiple surgeries to try and clean out the infection and save my arm. (successful, btw). And multiple surgeries to repair the muscle and tendon damage. The doberman belonged to friends of ours, was very healthy, was current on all of it's shots... but dog mouths are filthy. C'mon people... they lick their own bums and eat carrion (rotting foods rife with microbes and parasites). Things that would never make a dog sick CAN AND DO make us very very ill. This case sounds extremely superficial, but with my bite it was irrigated for over 2 hours and I still got a massive local and systemic infection from the bacteria in the dog's mouth.
My son's been nipped twice. Both times just localized infection similar to any scratch.
If any redness develops around the mark, take a sharpie and outline it. If it grows, take her in. If it stays the same, and she has no other symptoms (fever, etc.), no worries.
With her already being on antibiotics and you cleansed the site well... I wouldn't worry about it, but keep your eye on possible infection.
I have a lot of experience with dogs and kids and I would say that you really don't have anything to worry about.. especially with the fact that the dog has their shots and your child is already taking medication.
If it were a stray dog.. I would be much more concerned but since it seems to be a family's animal I would think it is okay especially since they confirmed that the dog is up to date with it's shots.
Just keep an eye on it; sounds like there is no problem but watch for inflamation. As long as the dog is disease free the saliva will actually help your daughter heal.
I doubt there's any problem. If it's an expensive show dog, I'd go to the vet. Otherwise, I'd keep it clean and keep an eye on it. Dogs do these things - even human kids do sometimes!
Have you called her pediatrician and talked to them? That's what I would do.
As long as the dog has had its shots and you are keeping it clean...no worries.
I was a vet tech in my day and have had plenty a dog bite. Things look very good here. Superficial bite and on antibiotics are very good. If the dog is current on Rabies, that is also something good. As a victim of a dog bite you always have the right to have the dog quarantined for 10 days to make sure no signs of Rabies will surface. If the dog is not current, that's not good at all for the dog or the owner. Law permits for the dog/animal be destroyed and it's head remains to be sent to Austin for testing by the local animal control or vet. Should always keep that one current with your critters.
You've clean the wound and applied an antibiotic cream. That's about it. Watch it for the next few days and if you see no signs of redness it should be fine.
C.
Dog saliva is a natural antibiotic, so you should be fine from normal infections. If the dog is up on all his shots and not rabid you're fine. :)
