medicall_editor First Aid When Dog Bites You While Traveling in Bali
First aid when dog bites you can be done by cleaning the wound carefully as soon as possible while waiting for medical help.
Bitten by a dog is a common thing to happen in Bali. Based on Neglected Tropical Diseases journal, most victims are children aged between 5 to 9 years. Just like most types of animal bites, dog bites can usually be treated with simple first aid at home to prevent dogs and viruses from being transmitted. Generally, the saliva from animals contains millions of bacteria that can cause infections. Typically, if you plan to travel in Bali with your children, the most common body affected by dog bites is lips, cheeks, and neck. While in adults, the target areas are arms, legs, and hands. However, you do not need to worry, because you can do the following steps as first aid when dog bites you while traveling in Bali.
First Aid When Dog Bites You
In some cases, being bitten by a dog is inevitable. Dog bites, especially stray dogs in Bali can be very dangerous, especially if the bites are deep, bloody, and show signs of infection. However, you don’t have to worry too much. Recognize these steps as first aid when dog bites you if you or your child is bitten by a dog while traveling in Bali.
- Clean the wound that has been bitten by a dog as soon as possible. You need to wash it first by using warm water carefully. Do not flush immediately, use cotton ball or clean cloth.
- After that, consider the dog bite wound. If it turns out the wound was not bleeding, hold the wound until the blood comes out. You need to do it slowly and carefully. The discharge of blood prevents the entry of bacteria into the wound which actually allows infection.
- In order to reduce the pain and the swelling, you can take painkillers such as ibuprofen or paracetamol.
- After the blood comes out, clean the wound and apply antibiotic ointment on it. Let the ointment soak completely and dry before you cover the wound with gauze or clean bandages.
- However, being bitten by dog is at a relatively high risk of being infected by rabies. Therefore, you should check the condition of the body part of the dog bitten by a doctor to get further medical treatment, such as by injecting rabies vaccine.
Besides the steps of first aid when dog bites you, one thing you can do is by having rabies vaccine. Or if you want to prevent yourselves from being infected by dog bites in Bali, you can get rabies vaccine by booking a doctor through Medi-Call application or simply you can contact Medi-Call hotline.
Signs If You are Infected by Rabies
After you have enough admission of first aid when dog bites you, you need to recognize signs if you are infected by rabies due to dog bites. The following are the common signs that indicate the infection of rabies:
- The wound turns reddish and swells in the surrounding area.
- The wound becomes more painful after a while, even more painful from the start of the dog biting.
- Wounds oozing or pus.
- Experiencing chills and fever with a temperature of 38 °C or more.
It is not impossible that a rabies dog bite wound would become an infection. Immediately seek treatment at the hospital if it turns out you experienced it. If you suspect that you are infected by rabies, get medical help immediately to the nearest clinic, clinic or hospital. Sometimes the bite of an infected animal can cause blood poisoning (sepsis), infection of the inner lining of the heart (endocarditis) or infection of the outer lining of the brain (meningitis).
