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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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How Can A Dog Bite Infection Be Treated?

I was bit by my own dog.....not a deep bit at all. However, he has nipped at me a couple of times in the past and each time I ve had to get antibiotics because it got infected....and this bite seems to be getting infected. My skin is extremely sensitive. I have some Bactrim DS left from an ear infection and I am wondering if I can take that for this skin infection?
Thu, 14 Dec 2017
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General & Family Physician,  's  Response
Hello,
Sorry to hear that you were bitten by a dog. It is reassuring knowing you were bitten by your own dog as opposed to a feral dog because wild dogs carry much more bacteria and even rabies. The use of antibiotics for prophylactics is controversial. The first-line oral therapy is amoxicillin-clavulanate. For higher-risk infections, a first dose of antibiotic may be given intravenously. Bactrim is a medicine that is used in various animal bites but it is not the first choice based on the types of bacteria generally contained in dog bites. However, if you are to use it, you need to get a full dosage and not just whatever is left over from a previous infection.
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How Can A Dog Bite Infection Be Treated?

Hello, Sorry to hear that you were bitten by a dog. It is reassuring knowing you were bitten by your own dog as opposed to a feral dog because wild dogs carry much more bacteria and even rabies. The use of antibiotics for prophylactics is controversial. The first-line oral therapy is amoxicillin-clavulanate. For higher-risk infections, a first dose of antibiotic may be given intravenously. Bactrim is a medicine that is used in various animal bites but it is not the first choice based on the types of bacteria generally contained in dog bites. However, if you are to use it, you need to get a full dosage and not just whatever is left over from a previous infection.