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Serious Medicine. Extraordinary Care.

Animal and Human Bites

  • Cat Scratch Disease in Children
    Cat scratches and bites can cause cat scratch disease, a bacterial infection carried in cat saliva. Young kittens younger than a year old are more likely to scratch, increasing the likelihood of infection.
  • Facts About Animal Bites
    Whether the bite is from a family pet or an animal in the wild, scratches and bites can become infected and cause scarring. Animals can also carry diseases that can be transmitted through a bite.
  • How to Keep Bugs From Bugging You
    Although most insects are just nuisances, some can threaten our health.
  • Keep Kids Safe from Bugs
    Many products seek to prevent bug bites, but products containing DEET (usually listed on labels as N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide) are quite effective.
  • Rabies in Children
    Rabies occurs mainly in skunks, raccoons, foxes, coyotes, and bats. In some areas, these wild animals infect domestic cats, dogs, and livestock.
  • Treatment for Dog and Cat Bites and Scratches
    For a superficial bite from a healthy household pet, wash the wound with soap and water under pressure from a faucet for at least five minutes.
  • Treatment for Human Bites
    Human bite wounds are more likely to become infected than dog or cat bites. A doctor should check any human bite that breaks the skin.
  • What You Can Do About Dog Bites
    Dogs are responsible for 85 to 90 percent of all animal bites. But, many incidents can be avoided.
  • Why Children Bite
    A young child may bite out of frustration or when under stress. Biting may also be an attempt to gain power—or just a way of exploring the world.