Many children are seriously injured by dog bites.

Recently, the Central Ear, Nose and Throat Hospital has received many cases of dog scratches and bites. A typical case is patient Hoang Phuoc N, 8 years old (Xuan Khanh, Son Tay, Hanoi ) admitted to the hospital on May 20 in a state of panic and fear, with a deformed right ear, missing part of the cartilage, and bleeding profusely.

Through the medical history, the patient's family said: "The wound was caused by a strange dog pouncing and scratching the ear when the child had just left the house. It was a Phu Quoc dog, very large, about 50cm tall, was being let loose and not wearing a muzzle, the dog rushed at the child very quickly so the family could not stop it." After the accident, the child N. was immediately taken by his family to the Central Ear, Nose and Throat Hospital. The doctors provided first aid for the wound and then consulted with the infectious disease specialist - Central Tropical Hospital to assess the risk of rabies. The child was then vaccinated against rabies and returned to the Central Ear, Nose and Throat Hospital for surgery to restore the ear.

Dr. Do Ba Hung - Department of Neurology examines a child patient whose ear was scratched by a dog

In another case, patient Nguyen Anh L, 6 years old (Tuc Duyen, Thai Nguyen ) was admitted to the hospital on May 28 with many complex open wounds on the head, left ear, and left hand due to a dog bite. The patient was treated by Dr. Nguyen Thi Hoa Hong, Master, Doctor Ngo Duy Thinh, Department of Plastic Surgery and Aesthetics, and the surgical team to reconstruct the facial deformity.

Accordingly, the surgical team performed sutures to restore the orbicularis oris muscle, closed the wound in the philtrum in two layers, closed the wounds in the cheek, under the jaw, and behind the arm areas... For the injury to the orbicularis oris muscle, the soft tissue and skin in the temporal area, because the remaining skin was not enough to cover the entire wound, the doctors had to separate the soft tissue under the skin, restore the damaged skin and create a flap to cover the wound. Currently, the patient's wound is stable and gradually recovering.

Dr. Do Ba Hung - Department of Otolaryngology said: Being bitten by a dog, especially a child, not only causes injury and pain to the child, but in some cases, due to ignorance or subjectivity in treating wounds caused by dog or cat bites or scratches, it leads to rabies infection. Meanwhile, the mortality rate of rabies when it has occurred is 100%. The incubation period depends on the severity of the wound, the location of the wound and the amount of rabies virus transmitted to the person. Up to now, there is no specific treatment for the disease. Therefore, immediately after the accident, it is necessary to properly treat the wound, inject rabies vaccine and anti-rabies serum as soon as possible. This is still the only effective measure to prevent rabies in people bitten by dogs.

According to Dr. Do Ba Hung, to prevent the risk of dog and cat bites and scratches, people should pay attention when raising dogs and cats to fully vaccinate their pets and re-vaccinate them annually according to the recommendations of the veterinary industry, do not let pets roam free, dogs on the street must wear muzzles. Do not play with or tease dogs and cats, especially young children. Parents and nannies need to be very careful to avoid letting children play with strange dogs or large, ferocious dogs and cats.

When bitten or scratched by a dog or cat, for small wounds, wash the wound immediately under running water for about 10-15 minutes, then clean the wound with antiseptics such as alcohol or hydrogen peroxide. In case of bleeding, use sterile medical gauze to cover the wound and apply pressure. If the wound is deep and blood is splattered, use an elastic band to tourniquet around the wound, bandage it and quickly take the child to the nearest medical facility for first aid, timely diagnosis and treatment. Absolutely do not arbitrarily buy medicine, use herbs of unknown origin to apply or cover the wound, self-treat with folk remedies, tips on social networks...

Q.FLOWER

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