Health encyclopaedia

Health encyclopaedia - Alphabetical Topic List

Bites

All humans and animals carry germs in their mouths. These germs can be passed on through a bite, so it is important to seek medical advice if you have received a bite that breaks the skin.

The most common animal bites in the UK are from dogs. Dogs have stronger teeth than cats, but cats’ teeth are sharper and so cat bites more commonly puncture the skin.

A human bite most commonly occurs on the hand when one person punches another in the teeth.

In the UK, it is possible to catch the disease tetanus from a bite such as a dog bite, although this is now very rare. See tetanus topic.

The UK is rabies-free but in countries where rabies is common, it is possible to catch it from an animal bite. See travel health and rabies topics.

For advice on snake bites, see snake bites topic.

• Symptoms
• Treatment
• Prevention

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