Bit by a dog

[clarksdb]

Short story short...my 4 year old cousin got bit by a dog yesterday on his arm. When he went to the hospital the doctor just put alcohol on his arm and said no shots for rabies are necessary because the yearly shots or whatever that kids get here in Ontario cover dog bites already. Does anyone know anything about this...if this is or true or whatnot? Kind of freaking out here because someone in the US who is studying medical told me that cannot be the case.

 

[dfagdfsh]

uh, well all dogs are required to get rabies shots, but that doesn't mean that dog has a rabies shot. do you know the dog? if it was a stray dog / a random dog he needs rabies shot, but if it's a neighborhood dog the owners should have documentation of the rabies vaccination.

 

[lefty]

Well if a medical student in the US said it, it must be true. In the time it took you to post this you could have found the relevant info online or at your GP.

Keep wound clean - light bandages and change often. Watch for signs of infection. Relax.

lefty

 

[gnatty8]

Originally Posted by Teger

uh, well all dogs are required to get rabies shots, but that doesn't mean that dog has a rabies shot. do you know the dog? if it was a stray dog / a random dog he needs rabies shot, but if it's a neighborhood dog the owners should have documentation of the rabies vaccination.
I agree, sounds like this doctor gave you horrible and potentially dangerous advice. At a minimum, he should have confirmed tetanus shots for the child, and if the bite broke the skin, he needs antibiotics. Also, unless the owner can confirm and prove an up to date rabies shot, the dog will need to be quarantined and monitored for at least 10 days. As Teger says, if it was a stray and the dog cannot be located; if it were me, I'd be getting the course of rabies shots.. It's probably an over-reaction but I would not want to be one of the few people each year who die from rabies..

I was bitten by a dog last year, teeth broke the skin, and I was on two different antibiotics for 10 days, and the dog was quarantined by the health department. Dog bites can very quickly result in nasty infections.

 

[clarksdb]

I meant that the doctor said in Ontario the shots babies get each year or so cover rabies protection...I couldn't find info of that online.

 

[lefty]

As near as I can tell there were no cases of canine rabies in Ontario last year.

lefty

 

[clarksdb]

Update: I talked to my aunt and she said she took my cousin to the family doctor today and he was like what kind of doctor saw him yesterday and at what hospital? Doctor couldn't believe they let him go without giving him any meds.

So now family doctor gave some antibiotics and cream for him to put on. And he family doctor did CONFIRM that the shots that are given annually to babies in Ontario already cover dog bites.

 

[clarksdb]

Originally Posted by gnatty8

I agree, sounds like this doctor gave you horrible and potentially dangerous advice. At a minimum, he should have confirmed tetanus shots for the child, and if the bite broke the skin, he needs antibiotics. Also, unless the owner can confirm and prove an up to date rabies shot, the dog will need to be quarantined and monitored for at least 10 days. As Teger says, if it was a stray and the dog cannot be located; if it were me, I'd be getting the course of rabies shots.. It's probably an over-reaction but I would not want to be one of the few people each year who die from rabies..

I was bitten by a dog last year, teeth broke the skin, and I was on two different antibiotics for 10 days, and the dog was quarantined by the health department. Dog bites can very quickly result in nasty infections.

Newbie question...why does the dog need to be quarantined and monitored? The dog was owned by some lady in the neighborhood.

So you didn't get shots when u were bit? My aunt said the family doctor confirmed the shots in Ontario given to kids already cover dog bites. So he just give antibiotics today. So the shots given prior are still effective?

 

[Don Carlos]

I'm afraid it's too late. By now the werewolf infection has already taken root in the boy's system.

 

[acidboy]

Originally Posted by clarksdb

Newbie question...why does the dog need to be quarantined and monitored? The dog was owned by some lady in the neighborhood.
to see if its showing signs of rabies. I've heard of dogs being beheaded and having its brain or something tested too, if the probability of rabies is high.

 

[gnatty8]

Originally Posted by clarksdb

Update: I talked to my aunt and she said she took my cousin to the family doctor today and he was like what kind of doctor saw him yesterday and at what hospital? Doctor couldn't believe they let him go without giving him any meds.

So now family doctor gave some antibiotics and cream for him to put on. And he family doctor did CONFIRM that the shots that are given annually to babies in Ontario already cover dog bites.

I wonder if these annual shots are for tetanus and that is what they mean by "cover dog bites" as I have never heard of annual shots that would protect from a rabies infection. Again, the primary concern here is local infection since rabies is relatively rare, but given the outcome, if the dog could not be identified and there is no way to be certain it was not infected, I'd want to protect myself. Sounds like this new doctor has the bases covered.

Originally Posted by clarksdb

Newbie question...why does the dog need to be quarantined and monitored? The dog was owned by some lady in the neighborhood.

So you didn't get shots when u were bit? My aunt said the family doctor confirmed the shots in Ontario given to kids already cover dog bites. So he just give antibiotics today. So the shots given prior are still effective?

I didn't get the (rabies) shots since the dog was quarantined (the owner swore up and down that the dog was vaccinated, but at a parking lot rabies clinic put on by the county (rural area) and he couldn't find the tag), so I didn't put myself through the (rabies) shots. I did however, get a tetanus shot, since those are really only effective for 5 years, and I was bordering on 5 years since my last one.

Had the dog been a stray/couldn't be located, I'd likely have opted for shots, since I was bitten while running near my cabin, which is in a rural area full of wildlife. The dog would only need to be quarantined if the owner could not produce a current rabies vaccination, so in your case, if the lady could demonstrate the vaccination, you're good. Rabies very rarely kills humans anymore, so it's all about accepting risks.

 

[alexanduh]

cousin is now infected. proceed to strap down to table. watch for any abnormal violent mutations. if situation gets out of control proceed to exterminate.

 

[in stitches]

Originally Posted by clarksdb

I meant that the doctor said in Ontario the shots babies get each year or so cover rabies protection...I couldn't find info of that online.

i believe that is correct, had a similar situation with a rusty fishhook accident. but check with neo hes a real doctor

 

[Texasmade]

I got bit by my parents dog last year around this time and when I went to the doctor I didn't receive any shots. I just got some antibiotics and specialized bandages to help close the wound.

 

[mcbrown]

You SHOULD be freaking out. Your cousin is toast. I read somewhere online that domestic dogs in Canada have evolved to hunt their prey like Komodo Dragons, with special killer bacteria that they impart through a single bite and then wait for the victim to keel over.

Seriously, it like was on the Internet and stuff.