The Omaha guide., 1948-08-28
THE ROAD TO HEALTH
Dog Bites

Dog Bites
By ]. Leonidas Leach, M. D.
Little lice Rivers had romp-
ed and played with the neigh
boris police dag almost since
the time she could walk. The
dog had always been very gen.
tie with the child, so it was
quite a shock to her when he
leaped up and bit her one hot
summer day.
Mrs. Rivers was almost hys-
terical with fear when she
brought Alice to my office
right after the incident. She
had heard that only a mad"
dog, one infected with rabies,
would bite and that the per-
son bitten died almost immed-
lately afterwards.
While | cauterized the
wound on Alice's thigh care
fully with nitric acid, cleansed
the area and covered it with a
bandage, explained to Mrs.
Rivers that not everyone who
is bitten by a dog is in danger
Of rabies. The dog bite IS
dangerous if the animal has
rabies, or is mad, or if the
bite occurred in an area where
there have been rabid dogs.
When the bite is on the face
or results in considerable lac
Grafton, particularly if there
have been rabid animals about,
the safest measure is to treat
the child as touhgh the animal
were rabid, cauterize the
wound and administer anti
rabie serum at once. If there
is no history of rabies in an
.inals in the area, and the
wound is not on the face, and
not serious, serum may be de-
layed until the animal has been
observed for at least 10 days.
The disease takes several
weeks, or even months, to de-
velop, although once it has de-
veloped, it cannot be cured
and is almost alawsy fatal. So
Mrs. Rivers was wise in bring
ing Alice to see me as soon as
possible.
AS soon as finished band
aging the leg, l asked Mrs.
Rivers if she knew where the
dog had gone. She said he had
run back to the house Of the
neighbor who owned him and
she thought he was still there
in the cellar. Sc added tat her
neighbor, too, was terribly up
set about the incident and was
wondering whether or not the
dog should be shot right away
before he could do any more
damage.
| called the owner of the dog
at once, urged her to keep the
dog in the cellar and notify
the health authorities immed-
lately so they could send for
the dog and keep him under
the observation Of a veterinar-
ian. | warned her above all not
to kill the dog. We could not
tell whether the dog had rab-
les unless symptoms develop
ed. If he were killed before the
symptoms had time to develop
it would be difficult to deter
mine if he had the disease. If
the dog seemed to be normal
10 days after he bit Alice, it
meant he did not have rabies
and there would be no danger
that the child would develop |
the disease.
AS it turned out, the dog did |
not have rabies. | learned lat.
er that some neighborhood
boys had been teasing the dog
and that he bit the little girl
as she ran past him while play
ing a game.
It may take several weeks
for the germ causing the dis
ease to take effect in the per-
son bitten, but at te same time,
is useless if it is be- |,
gun too late. We should never
take chances with a dog bite.
The doctor should be consult
ed Immediately because he is
the best one to give advice on
what treatment is needed and
what other measures should
be taken to safeguard the per-
son bitten.
This article is co-sponsored
by the National Medical As
sociation and the National Tu-
berculosis Association in the
interest Of better health OF the