Untreated animal bites can sometimes lead to sepsis. Sepsis is a severe reaction to infection, and it can be life threatening. Signs of sepsis include: high or low body temperature.
What happens if a dog bite becomes infected?
The most common symptoms of infection from animal bites are redness, pain, swelling, and inflammation at the site of the bite. You should seek immediate medical treatment if any of these symptoms continue for more than 24 hours. Other symptoms of infection include: pus or fluid oozing from the wound.
How long after a dog bite does infection set in?
After being bitten, most people who become ill will show symptoms within 3 to 5 days, but this can range anywhere from 1 to 14 days. Most Capnocytophaga infections usually occur with dog or cat bites.
What is considered a serious dog bite?
Signs of serious dog bites include bleeding uncontrollably or developing signs of an infection. It can be difficult to tell how serious a dog bite may be in the first few minutes after it occurs. For this reason, it is important to treat any bite that breaks the skin as a serious injury.
How do you tell if a dog bite is infected or healing?
A dog bite wound that is infected will continue to have increasing inflammation and redness, whereas a bite wound that is healing properly will typically decrease in redness and swelling over time.
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