View Full Version : Dog nipped/grazed daughter - worried sick
I feel like I'm going to explode with anxiety. Last week my daughter burnt her arm by pulling hot food from the worktop, thankfully all fine.
But today now, while playing with the dog, the dog jumped up to grab her toy and has nipped/grazed her on her chin, which has bled a bit. It's about the size of a grain of rice. We've cleaned it with antiseptic wipes and put a cream on it.
We're going down to A&E, because NHS out of hours advised a tetanus jab for any dog nip or bite. However I've read horror stories of people getting sepsis, bad infections and dying from dog nips and grazes. Can't believe it, just one thing after another and I feel like vomiting because I'm so worried right now. I'm pacing around the house losing the plot.
Am I over-reacting? I don't now whether to demand for antibiotics as a precaution.
Midnight-mouse
31-08-19, 09:55
Yes I would say you are, is it your dog?
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Yes I would say you are, is it your dog?
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Yes, our dog. Feel horrible.
Midnight-mouse
31-08-19, 10:00
Yes, our dog. Feel horrible.
Then surely you have even less to worry about? It’s your dog, you know where it’s been and that it’s healthy and vaccinated etc.
I can assure you that I’ve never been to A&E for any animal nip in my life and I’ve had a great amount of them. Plus your daughter would of had a tetanus vaccination already and depending on her age a booster too.
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By dragging your daughter to hospital over a graze that size, you're showing her that even the most minor injuries are something to be terrified of.
You run the very real risk of giving her your anxieties. I suggest you take some time to read Larkin's "This be the verse".
Yes I agree, but the nurse on the NHS helpline said any nip or bite that draws some blood requires a tetanus.
Midnight-mouse
31-08-19, 10:12
Yes I agree, but the nurse on the NHS helpline said any nip or bite that draws some blood requires a tetanus.
It’s just cover ass medicine. You ask you’ll be told for the most tiny of chances. How many people do you think would contact medical professionals for such a small injury?
This is taken from the NHS website, if I had to get a shot every time I’ve been caught by a puppy or kitten tooth then I would never leave the place.
What to do if you have been bitten
If you have been bitten by an animal or another person:
clean the wound immediately by running warm tap water over it for a couple of minutes – it's a good idea to do this even if the skin does not appear to be broken
remove any objects from the bite, such as teeth, hair or dirt
encourage the wound to bleed slightly by gently squeezing it, unless it's already bleeding freely
if the wound is bleeding heavily, put a clean pad or sterile dressing over it and apply pressure
dry the wound and cover it with a clean dressing or plaster
take painkillers if you're in pain, such as paracetamol or ibuprofen – children under 16 years old should not take aspirin
seek medical advice, unless the wound is very minor
It’s a very, VERY minor wound. Completely normal to just treat at home.
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Agreeing with Mouse here. I've been bitten by any number of pets plus the occasional wild animal, and all I've ever done is cleaned and disinfected it.
Midnight-mouse
31-08-19, 10:20
Agreeing with Mouse here. I've been bitten by any number of pets plus the occasional wild animal, and all I've ever done is cleaned and disinfected it.
Exactly my experience too! I’ve usually been too busy making sure the animals okay if l wasn’t caught in play, like apologising to my cat for startling it. Or telling the animal I understand it didn’t mean to catch me while we were playing. Clean bite/scratches and move on, never been concerned at all, still here with all my digits!
Although when we had a puppy you would of thought he was out for war on toes the state mine were in, those baby teeth are like needles!
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Aw, yes. When we've had a kitten around the place I've occasionally felt the need to explain to people that I wasn't self-harming because they liked to use my wrists as chew toys.
Midnight-mouse
31-08-19, 10:25
Aw, yes. When we've had a kitten around the place I've occasionally felt the need to explain to people that I wasn't self-harming because they liked to use my wrists as chew toys.
They do! I can say with certainty every baby animal I’ve had has used me to ‘teethe’ more than once. No matter the amount of actual tooty toys we had for them.
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Just returned from the hospital. They didn't give her a tetanus because she would be covered by her baby jabs. They just cleaned it with iodine.
The doc however did say there's a slight risk of infection, so that's got me worried now.
I'm just worried what if the dog punctured like deeper under the skin but a flap of skin is now covering it - if you know what I mean? Or would it be bleeding more, and still bleeding if it were deeper? The nurse did have a look and say she can't lift any skin to see if it's deeper.
Midnight-mouse
31-08-19, 11:18
Just returned from the hospital. They didn't give her a tetanus because she would be covered by her baby jabs. They just cleaned it with iodine.
The doc however did say there's a slight risk of infection, so that's got me worried now.
I'm just worried what if the dog punctured like deeper under the skin but a flap of skin is now covering it - if you know what I mean? Or would it be bleeding more, and still bleeding if it were deeper? The nurse did have a look and say she can't lift any skin to see if it's deeper.
There’s a slight risk of infection with absolutely any wound, it’s no different than a grazed knee or a paper cut. Any time the skin is broken there’s that slight chance, you’ve done far more about it than I would of.
If it was deeper you would know it.
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The nurse will always tell you to watch out for infection. Just like if you had a sore throat you’d be told to go back to your gp if it gets worse.
It’s also really hard to keep these things clean so don’t panic too much. You’ll know if it gets infected. It’ll look worse.
Accidents happen.
It’s a year to the day since my daughter broke her collarbone from tripping over a friends leg whilst running. A month later I was chucking her on the bed as part of a game & she rolled off and banged the collarbone again (I felt REALLY bad that time). She once flew off her scooter and had to get her chin taped back together.
You feel guilty because you don’t want your children (or anyone you love) to get hurt. But that’s just natural. Watch your child though, see her resilience and the way they just get on with things? Those are all the life lessons we need to learn.
If you're a pet owner, you're bound to have interactions that can cause a scratch or nip. Comes with the territory :shades:
The real issue is you drove to the hospital for a dab of iodine. The real issue is you drove to the hospital for a dab of iodine after you posted in a panic and several members here reassured you and correctly advised against it, even correctly saying the nurse was practicing CYA medicine. The real question is, why ask advice, which is 100% spot on, if you're not going to heed it?
Now, your anxiety is ramped up and your mind is creating unrealistic catastrophic scenarios because a doctor advised to keep an eye on it as they would any wound.
Positive thoughts
Ive been bit by my old dog twice (he wasnt nasty just very old and confused). Both times i was fine apart from it hurting.
My family raised sled dogs my entire childhood. At one point we had 65 of them. In the course of feeding etc, we would get nipped quite often. I have been popped maybe 50 times in my childhood. A little hydrogen peroxide and a band aid if it was a bleeder and we were good to go. Never one infection, not in my whole family.
By dragging your daughter to hospital over a graze that size, you're showing her that even the most minor injuries are something to be terrified of.
You run the very real risk of giving her your anxieties. I suggest you take some time to read Larkin's "This be the verse".
Yes!
utrocket09
31-08-19, 20:24
Just returned from the hospital. They didn't give her a tetanus because she would be covered by her baby jabs. They just cleaned it with iodine.
The doc however did say there's a slight risk of infection, so that's got me worried now.
I'm just worried what if the dog punctured like deeper under the skin but a flap of skin is now covering it - if you know what I mean? Or would it be bleeding more, and still bleeding if it were deeper? The nurse did have a look and say she can't lift any skin to see if it's deeper.
I feel sad for your daughter. Sad that you dragged her to a hospital for something silly. By running to the ER for every little thing what are you teaching her?
With any cut there is always a risk of infection.
I would not worry. The NHS is going to recommend a tetanus shot for any animal bite, of course. But this sounds very superficial. The only person I know who got an infection from a dog bite had a much deeper bite, caused by breaking up a fight between her pets. And antibiotics cleared up her infection quickly, and she's fine now.
I was going to say she is almost certainly covered for tetanus from her childhood vaccines. The nurse should have known that when you called. It's so hard not to worry about our kids, but I agree with others that it's important to try not to overreact with things like this. I grew up with a mom who has health anxiety and now I have it. My therapist told me that a big part of my anxieties likely come from being taught as a kid that the world isn't safe and that even minor things can be catastrophic. It's very true for me.
MyNameIsTerry
02-09-19, 01:52
I was going to say she is almost certainly covered for tetanus from her childhood vaccines. The nurse should have known that when you called. It's so hard not to worry about our kids, but I agree with others that it's important to try not to overreact with things like this. I grew up with a mom who has health anxiety and now I have it. My therapist told me that a big part of my anxieties likely come from being taught as a kid that the world isn't safe and that even minor things can be catastrophic. It's very true for me.
They should but they tend to ask you if you are up to date and if not advise a shot to be safe. I guess in this case they are mindful of the odd parents who avoid immunisation protocols. But having said that the 111 service is well known for bum covering and will send out ambulances when you don't need them or tell you to go to A&E for pointless reasons. We even had a doctor on a callout tell us some quite negative opinions he had of them when they spent 20 minutes on the phone diagnosing my mum with a heart attack :doh:, sending an ambulance who's notes said something else who got here to realise it was nothing of the sought and they brought in the local doctor/nurse support services for what was described as back pain and struggling breathing (elderly) which turned out to be pneumonia.
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