Human bites
likely to spread on viral infection from human to human transmission
animal bites
order of most likely = dog - cat - human
Cat bites
are sharp an deep 2-3cm
they can cause cellulitis
Dog bites
sharp teeth penetrate deeply and can cause a tear usually on periphery but can occur anywhere
as well as the deep bite tranferring bacteria and nasty things deep into the skin there is also a secondary infection risk as a large areas can become exposed to external factors due to the ripping of skin (think of it as the same severity fo rinfection as a burn might pose)
because dogs are bigger and stronger than cats they can also cause crush damages, they have the potential to crush sections of the body including the limbs
there can be a risk that surgical proceedures will need to be undergone to do things such as skin graphs or bonen reconstruction
Be able to assess risk of infection based on location of bite, source animal and underlying host risk factors
Describe basic management of bites including laboratory investigation, radiology and wound toilet
basic management of all bites begins with washing out the bite/wound extensively as soon as possible, then radiological images should be taken of the bite affected areas and this will help to determine if any deep underlying structures have been damaged