Injuries to the face caused by dog bites primarily affect small children and people more prone to infection. Know what the most common facial injury caused by a dog bite is, along with the risky behaviors that may make you end up with an ugly dog bite to the face.
Why Would a Dog Attack My Face?
On average, 9% of injuries to the face are caused by dog bites. These injuries are particularly dangerous because they may cause permanent disfigurement, lifelong trauma, PTSD, and infection that can quickly reach the brain. Such attacks may be also fatal, especially if small children are the victims.
Dogs don’t usually attack out of the blue, but sometimes even a gentle dog can snap at you if the pooch is anxious, angry, in pain, or startled. Young children (aged 5 to 9) are the most likely to get a facial injury in the wake of a dog bite because they have a shorter stature and are also more likely to anger the dog. What’s more, over 50% of facial injuries caused by a dog bite involve a known dog such as the family dog or a friend’s or neighbor’s dog.
Dogs are more likely to attack and maim a person especially if they belong to a high-risk breed such as pit bulls, Rottweilers, Doberman pinschers, chow chows, huskies, and wolf hybrids. In small children the most affected areas of the body are the neck, face, and head. In older children, the most common injuries occur to the hands and legs.
In addition, dogs may attack your face if you engage in activities that they deeply dislike such as touching their faces especially if the mutt isn’t accustomed with you. When you need to clean a dog’s ears, eyes, or brush its teeth be gentle and avoid abrupt moves. Also, reward it for being a good girl or boy with treats and praise. If the dog seems irritated while touching its face, just stop.
Other high-risk behaviors include towering over a dog, putting your face next to its face, and staying very close to the dog while making eye contact. The most common behaviors that can lead to a dog bit to the face is bending over the dog (76% of cases) and placing your face close to the dog’s face (19%).
Why Are Dog Bites to the Face Dangerous?
A dog’s mouth contains more than 1,000 species of disease-causing bacteria and the wounds’ treatment poses particular challenges due to the location of the injury and proximity to the eyes, nose, mouth, and brain. Up to 20% of dog bites develop infections. There is also the risk of catching rabies and tetanus, which may lead to permanent disability and death. Permanent disfigurement and lifelong PTSD are also an issue.
Most Common Facial Injury Caused by a Dog Bite
The most common facial injuries associated with a dog bite are soft-tissue injuries. Dog bites to the face rarely result in bone fractures. The most common soft-tissue injuries caused by dog bites are lacerations. The next in line are nerve damage injuries and lacrimal duct damage. The latter may need reconstruction surgery.
Lacerations are particularly risky because of their high risk of infection. That’s why, 96% of dog bite injuries need surgical debridement and irrigation to keep infection risk down. Medics may decide to either suture such wounds or leave them open. However, without medical intervention, open dog-bite wounds have a very high risk of infection. The wounds that receive professional medical treatment have just a 7.7% risk of infection.
The most exposed part of the body to lacerations are the arms and hands, which should be given special care.
Facial bone fractures caused by a dog bite are quite rare, with 87% of those bone fractures affecting children younger than 16. In nearly 70% of cases, dogs fractured the periorbital or nasal bones. The risk of dog bite-related bone fractures increases if the victim is a small child or if the attack targeted the victim’s eyes, nose, or cheeks.
I’ve Been Bitten by a Dog: What’s Next?
In the wake of the dog attack, you should worry about infection risk. If the bite is serious or the dog is high risk you may need hospitalization and antibiotics. Ensure that you talk with your doctor within eight hours of the attack.
Immediately after a dog bite administer first aid. Wash the wound with mild soap and warm water. If there’s bleeding slow it down with a clean cloth. Add a topical antibiotic to the wound and wrap it in a sterile bandage. See a doctor.
Over the next few days to a week look for signs of infection, such as swelling, pain, tenderness, redness, and fever. If the wound is slow to heal and infection has occurred, consult with a doctor immediately. Also, immediately after the bite, ask the dog’s owner is the animal has received the rabies vaccination. If you haven’t been inoculated against tetanus over the last 5 to 10 years, you may need a booster too.
Further, if the dog bite has led to hospitalization or expensive medical treatments, there is the option of taking owners to court after their dog bit you (click the link for more details). An experienced dog bite injury attorney knows how to navigate each state’s complex dog bite laws and help you get the compensation you are due.
I’m a 20-something stay-at-home mother and wife. I have an amazing husband, a beautiful daughter, two loving dogs, and a lazy cat. I wouldn’t change my life for anything! I love to read, listen to music, cook and blog!
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