Once Bitten, twice shy

I got bitten by a dog last night!

I had an invite to go over to a neighbour's house for dinner. She owns two large, well cared for dogs -both german shepherd mixes. I've been there many times before and while they always bark when someone comes to the door, they have never acted aggressively. She came to the door to let me in and the dogs were barking and wagging their tails in excitement so it seemed. I began to take my shoes and coat off, but kept a hand on my belly while doing so, just in case one of them decided to jump up on me.

Then suddenly at random I felt a sharp pain in my calf and realized that one of the dogs had just bitten me! My neighbour immediately grabbed the dog and put her in the garage. I rolled up my jeans to inspect the wound. It wasn't deep, but did just barely break the surface of my skin and it was bleeding a little. There was bruising developing around the teeth marks about 2" in diameter. Luckily it was over the fleshy part of my leg and not near any bones, tendons, or nerves. My neighbour, who happens to be a veterinarian, was very apologetic and embarrassed.

We flushed the area with cold water and washed it thoroughly with Hibitane (antimicrobial) soap. I then applied some polysporin (antibiotic) ointment, and an ice pack. I stayed and enjoyed my dinner, and didn't really notice my leg too much for the next couple of hours.

When I got home I began wondering if I should get it checked out, or do anything further. I called the nurse hotline. She reviewed the indications for tetanus shots which is generally every 10 years, but sometimes they'll recommend getting one if it's been more than 5 years with a deep or dirty wound. My last one was in 2002, so it falls just under the 10 year mark, but the wound would classify as dirty because of the bacteria in the dog's saliva. Thankfully, I am confident that the dog was well vaccinated for more sinister things like rabies. What she wasn't sure about was whether it was safe to have a tetanus shot while pregnant. She recommended I get medical advice about this the next morning.

Of course, being the Saturday night of a long weekend, my only option for care over the next two days is the emergency room at the hospital and that is the last place I want to hang around right now with our hospital in the throes of a C-difficile outbreak.

I called a friend who is a GP who does a lot of maternity care. He felt I would be covered in terms of the tetanus shot with what I had already, and that I most likely wouldn't need an antibiotic because we were able to clean it out well right away. He suggested I monitor for any signs of infection and see a doctor if I do notice anything developing. Amoxicillin is generally the antibiotic of choice for animal bites and is safe to take during pregnancy.

This morning the wound seems to be dry and starting the healing process. There is some tenderness where it bruised, but otherwise no swelling or redness. Hopefully it continues on that trend, and this is the end of it.