Dog bites
Introduction
Serious animal and human bites can get infected if they're not checked and treated quickly.
Always seek medical advice if you've been bitten by an animal or person and the bite has broken the skin.
People and animals have a lot of bacteria in their mouths, which can cause an infection if a bite breaks the skin.
These infections are rarely serious if treated quickly, but occasionally they can spread to the blood or other parts of the body.
Serious infections such as Tetanus and rabies are extremely rare in the UK, but it's important to get serious bites looked at as treatment to prevent these infections may be recommended.
The following information is about bites by people and animals such as dogs and cats. There are separate pages on insect bites and snake bites .
This page covers:
What to do if you've been bitten
When toget medical advice
Signs that a bite may be infected
Common causes of bites
How to avoid animal bites
Medically Reviewed by a doctor on 4 Jan 2017
Introduction
Read about what to do if you've been bitten by an animal or person, what treatment you may need, and how to reduce your chances of being bitten.
What to do if you've been bitten
If you've 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 doesn't appea
When to seek medical advice
If the bite has broken the skin, you should seek immediate medical attention after cleaning the wound. Don't delay seeking help until symptoms of infection appear. Minor bites can be treatedatyour G
Signs a bitemay be infected
Symptoms that suggest a wound has become infected include: redness and swelling around the wound the wound feels warm and increasingly painful liquid or pus leaks from the wound a fever of 38C (1
When do bites happen?
Although you may be more worriedabout bites fromwild and stray animals, any animal has the potential to bite. Many bites are actually caused by a person's own pet or an animal belonging to a friend o
How to avoid animal bites
Most animal bites are caused by dogs. The advice below may help reduce the chances of being bitten: never leave a young child unsupervised with a dog regardless of what type of dog it isand its prev
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