Dog and Cat Bites

When your child is bitten or scratched by an animal, remain calm and reassure your child that you can help. Specific treatment for an animal bite will be determined by your child's doctor. Treatment may include:

• For superficial bites from a familiar household pet that is immunized and in good health:
  • Wash the wound with soap and water under pressure from a water faucet for at least 5 minutes, but do not scrub the wound to avoid further tissue injury. Apply a topical antiseptic lotion or cream.
• For deeper bites, puncture wounds from any animal, or any bite from a strange animal:
  • If the bite or scratch is bleeding, apply pressure to it with a clean bandage or towel to stop the bleeding.
  • Wash the wound with soap and water under pressure from a water faucet for at least 5 minutes, but do not scrub the wound to avoid further tissue injury.
  • Dry the wound, and cover it with a sterile dressing. Do not use tape or butterfly bandages to close the wound as this could trap harmful bacteria in the wound.
  • Call your child's doctor or health care provider for help in reporting the attack and to decide if additional treatment, such as antibiotics, a tetanus booster, or rabies vaccination, is needed. This is especially important for bites on the face or for bites that cause deeper puncture wounds of the skin.
  • If possible, locate the animal that inflicted the wound. Some animals need to be captured, confined, and observed for rabies. Do not try to capture the animal yourself; instead, contact the nearest animal warden or animal control office in your area.
  • If the animal cannot be found, the animal is a high-risk species (raccoon, skunk, or bat), or the animal attack was unprovoked, your child may need a series of rabies shots.

Call your child's doctor or health care provider if there are signs of infection such as increased redness, pain, swelling, or drainage from the wound.

Call your child's doctor or health care provider for any flu-like symptoms, such as fever, headache, decreased energy, decreased appetite, or swollen glands following an animal bite.

Patients can be seen by Texas Children's experts in Emergency Center.