ANIMAL BITE MANAGEMENT

 

 The Rabies is an acute viral disease caused by animal bite. Not only blood but from the saliva also rabies can be transmitted. The fatality rate is nearly 100%. Once the symptom is developed in rare cases patient is survived. There is no known effective treatment. So the animal bite management should be dealt with utmost care. 

Almost  all warm blooded animals including man can cause the disease. In almost 96% cases dogs are responsible for human rabies. Next is the cat (2%). 

Animal transmitting Rabies:

A. Domestic: Dogs and cats 

B. Peri-domestic:  Large ruminants (cows and buffaloes)  Small ruminants (sheep and goat),  Mammals  like pigs, donkeys, horses, camels etc. 

C.  Wild: Any wild animal Foxes and jackals, mongoose, leopard, bear etc. and even monkey. 

D.  Not reported: Bird, squirrel, bats, rodents 

Human-to-human transmission has never been confirmed other than organ transplantation. Organ transplanted from rabies –infected donors can transmit the infection to the organ recipient. Individuals with symptoms of unexplained encephalitis before death should, therefore be excluded as organ donors. Also, people who have been exposed closely to the secretions of a patient with rabies should be offered PEP as a precautionary measure.  

The observation period of 10 days is valid only for dogs and cats due to the fact that the incubation period of rabies is known and quite specific in dogs & cats, unlike in other animals. If the biting dog or cat had rabies virus in its saliva when it did the biting, research shows that it would die or show clinical signs of rabies within 10 days of bite.

How to manage the wound

 a. Wash the wound immediately (as early as possible) under running tap water for at least 15 minutes.

b. Use soap or detergent to wash the wound 

c. After thorough washing and drying the wound apply antiseptic e.g. Povidone iodine, etc. 

d. Don’t apply irritants viz. chillies, soil, oils, turmeric powder, lime, salt, plant juice etc.

e. Don’t touch the wound with bare hands. 

Wound washing must be performed even if the patient is late.

 Anti Rabies Vaccination

Fortunately, rabies is a preventable disease. PEP, which involves a series of shots and sometimes rabies immunoglobulin, can prevent the disease from developing if administered promptly after exposure. 

Doctor Consultation: 

Since the fatality rate is very high and there is no effective treatment once symptom is developed, consultation with Doctor is indispensable when animal bite, even scratch is happened. 

 




 


Fixing of Loose Teeth

 

Can I tighten my loose teeth? The answer is ‘yes’. Yes, you can tighten your loose teeth as before. Our believe is that we are adult and once our teeth are loose, (whatever reason may be) we have nothing to do and left untreated. But this is wrong belief and due to unaware of the fact we never care to protect our teeth and consequently loose it.

Reason of loose teeth

There are many reasons behind loose teeth. The main reason of loose teeth is poor oral hygiene. Maximum cases of loose teeth are due to poor oral hygiene. Other causes are injury on teeth, disease related to gum, pregnancy or osteoporosis.

Protecting loose teeth

It is better to meet a dentist and discuss the issue. He will suggest the best treatment for your loose teeth. In modern age there are several methods. The main method to fix the loose teeth is to join the loose tooth with adjacent teeth with the help of fibre or wire. It is called dental splinting. There are other methods also including medicines. It is just like healing of fracture of bones. If broken parts of bones are placed together and left for several weeks, automatically the bones will be joined together. Besides this avoid eating hard food. Gargle with salt water and maintain dental hygiene. The main idea of tighten the teeth is to maintain the oral hygiene and leave it undisturbed.