Emergency Care Considerations for Animal Attack Injuries

Understanding Animal Attack Injuries

Animal attacks are frightening and traumatic experiences for everyone not trained to fight animals, either domestic or wild. The resulting injuries are almost the same in terms of severity, though, depending on the size of the animal.

Whether an animal is vaccinated against rabies or not, you must consider immediate treatment following an animal attack. However, domesticated animals are mostly—around 99% of the time—vaccinated by their respective owners. So, the chances of rabies infection remain minimal in case of a bite. As for the prevention of onset of any other infection resulting from the open wound, prompt wound cleaning and anti-tetanus medication should be sufficient. However, that's not going to drive away the pain resulting from the bite or deep scratch. 

Types of Animal Attack Injuries

Animal attack injuries come under five distinct heads. However, an animal attack doesn't need to inflict just one type of wound at a time. It could be more than just one type of injury that can occur from an animal attack.

1. Bite Wounds: From shallow skin punctures to deep lacerations, bite wounds may very well result in tissue damage and carry a higher risk of infections. Moreover, if the bite ruptures a blood vessel, the complication increases many times.
2. Scratches and Abrasions: An animal can inflict painful scratches with its claws and the severity depends upon the size of the animal. These too, can be just cosmetic or deep scratches and carry almost the same risks of infection as bite wounds.
3. Crush Injuries: Larger animals with stronger mandibles are capable of breaking bones; especially long bones. Apart from the resulting simple or compound fractures, there remains a high chance for internal bleeding due to torn or ruptured blood vessels.
4. Allergic Reactions: Mild to severe allergic reactions may result from animal bites or scratches. Allergens may come from dead skin cells of domesticated animals (dander); they might even stay present in an animal's saliva, urine and on their fur. Dried saliva can become airborne and start an allergic reaction manifesting through sinus troubles and asthma.  
5. Zoonotic Diseases: Bites or scratches can send bacteria and viruses down your bloodstream. Other than rabies, cat scratch fever is something one must seek out immediate medical help for.

Immediate Steps to be taken following an Animal Attack Injury

Emergency care considerations following an animal attack injury can significantly speed up recovery by eliminating chances of infections. Besides, they speed up tissue healing. In case you or someone you know has fallen victim to such an attack, take the following steps immediately:

1. Ensuring Safety: Before caregivers reach the injured, the scene must be free from the attacking animal or animals.
2. Check if there's a sign of shock:  Rapid heartbeat, pale skin, brain foga and physical weakness testify that a victim has moved into a state of shock. Make the victim rest on his/her back with legs elevated before calling for medical help.
3. Assessing the injury: Assess the injury on the grounds of severity, type, blood loss, and swelling, which is also triggered by broken bones. Pus, which can indicate an infection, takes time to form, so there's nothing you can do about it immediately. Better cleanse the wound and apply a disinfectant or an antiseptic before covering it up with a bandage.
4. Controlling bleeding:  Bleeding occurs whenever the skin breaks. However, with severe animal bite injuries, deep set larger blood vessels might break to cause the bleeding. If it's an arterial injury, bleeding will occur in bright red spurts while a ruptured vein shall ooze dark blood steadily. To stop or reduce the bleeding, a direct pressure applied with a sterilized cloth or bandage is recommended. Else, a torniquet in case of severe bleeding. It's also a good idea to elevate the injured area to keep blood from reaching the break or opening.

When does Professional Medical Help become absolutely necessary?

• In case the bite is deeper than a quarter of an inch.
• In case there is excessive bleeding.
• If the bitten area swells up despite an absence of broken bones.
• The injury is caused by a wild animal.
• If there's a fracture causing immobility.
• If allergic reactions show up that affects normal breathing or forms hives on the skin.

Summing up Emergency Care Considerations for Animal Attack Injuries

While a mild scratch or snip from a vaccinated, domesticated animal is hardly a matter of concern, the same from a stray or a wild animal is NOT. Such an injury shall require immediate steps to be taken as it would for severe ones to initiate therapeutic and preventive medical care, as required.

But it is always a good idea to prioritize safety and awareness rather than seeking treatment after an animal attack occurs. And if you can't, stay calm (i.e. don't try to run unless the animal comes chasing), maintain distance and get on an elevated groundto ensure you don't go harm's way.