Jan 17 2009
Why Did My Pet’s Bite Wound Get Infected?
Why is a Bite Wound More Likely to Get Infected?
“Will my dog’s bite wound get infected?”
“My cat got in a fight. How do I prevent the wound from getting infected?”
“I cleaned and disinfected my dog’s bite wound. Why did he get an infection?”
There’s several reasons why an animal bite wound is more likely to get infected. The following factors are the most common reasons for an infection in a pet’s bite wound.
* There’s lots of bacteria in the mouth. When a dog bite, cat bite or other animal bite occurs, the teeth essentially “inject” bacteria below the skin’s surface. The mouth has a very high population of bacteria so these wounds are contaminated with more bacteria than most other cuts, scrapes and wounds.
* There’s poor air flow in a bite wound. In addition, a bite wound is likely to have poor drainage and air flow. The bacteria is deep inside the skin where it’s warm, dark and it’s not exposed to air - perfect conditions to allow for more rapid bacteria growth.
* Swelling causes the wound to close up. The cat’s or dog’s bite wound is also more likely to be associated with swelling as a result of the pressure from the actual animal bite (which can involve hundreds of pounds of pressure per square inch.) This can cause a bite wound to swell shut, trapping bacteria inside the wound.
* Bite wounds can be hard to see. There’s many cases where a cat or dog will suffer a bite wound and the owner may not even notice the small wound until a day or two after the fact, even on a short haired dog or cat. By this time, the bite wound is likely to be infected.
How Do I Help a Wounded Dog?
In order to help a cat or dog with a bite wound or if you need to to administer first aid in the case of another pet injury or illness, you’ll need a pet first aid kit. Check out First Aid Kits for Pets to learn what items should be included in a pet’s emergency kit.
Also check out How to Clean a Pet’s Wound for directions on how to clean and treat a pet’s cut, gash or scrape, and read How Do I Clean a Bite Wound? for tips to reduce the chance of infection in your pet’s bite wound injury.
