Animal bites aren’t something you consider often when talking about sports injuries. Still, there are a number of times you need to concern yourself.
A few of the times where being bitten by an animal can happen when playing sports:
1) Jogging: Depending on where and when you jog, there is a chance you’ll come across a dog on a walk. Dog bites occur 4.7 million times a year, which is often enough to have a Dog Bite Prevention Week.
2) Caving or hiking: If you are an adventurous type, you might cave or hike on a regular basis. Welcome to bat territory. Bats carry rabbis and if the attack is unprovoked there is a greater chance you’ll be exposed.
3) Baseball/Softball: Don’t laugh. It happens more than you’d think, especially in a field that isn’t maintained on a regular basis. Some of the snake bites are poisonous.
Let’s deal with the three specific animal bites.
Dog bites: The concern when a dog bites you is breaking the skin. The area becomes polymicrobial with everything from dog oral bacteria, to environmental bacteria to even your own bacteria. You need to stop your activity and seek treatment asap. This includes cleaning the wound and ensuring you locate the dog that bit you. Rabbis is a concern since 95% of all rabbis cases come from dogs.
Bat bites: If you find yourself bitten by a bat you might not even know it. Bats are stealthy and their bites are often small enough to go unnoticed, especially if you are resting. While bats can pass rabbis, they have more viruses to be worried about. Clean the wound and seek treatment asap.
Snake bites: Were you aware most snake bites don’t contain bacteria from the snake itself? Nope. It contains fecal matter from the snake’s prey. Oh, yeah, that is disgusting. So, if you are bitten by a poisonous snake seek treatment asap for the venom and also any possible infection.
Stay safe and remember that in all cases of bites cease your activity and seek treatment asap.