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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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How To Treat A Dog Bite?

I was attacked by a dog (pit bull) three weeks ago and have a number of bits on both forearms. I got treatment at the emergency room and their initial evaluation was that I didn't have any structural damage. My wounds are just about healed and I'm not experiencing pain, but I have a patch of skin on my wrist that is completely numb to touch. It's been like this for three straight weeks with no change. It's located on my left wrist (on the thumb side of the palm) and starts at the base of the hand and continues down that side of my forearm about 5 inches and ends at one of the dog bites. I'm guessing I have an issue with the nerve, but since it's not painful, and doesn't impact my mobility, what are the risks of not getting the nerve damage corrected?
Thu, 25 Sep 2014
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Emergency Medicine Specialist,  's  Response
Hello, Thanks for writing to us.
According to your description of numbness, it seems that you have numbness only on some patch of your forearm. If a main nerve is damaged - it will create numbness till the end of the finger. So if your numbness is patchy - it means that only a very fine nerve branch may have been damaged, if any, which is not possible to repair. The good thing is that - nerve endings do grow back, but at slow pace, some few mm in a week. So my suggestion would be to wait, as time goes by - the nerve will regrow and your numbness will disappear. To accelerate the nerve growth and minimize the numbness - you could take vitamin B 12 supplements. They are essential in nerve repairs and may help you to recover a bit faster.
Thank you.
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How To Treat A Dog Bite?

Hello, Thanks for writing to us. According to your description of numbness, it seems that you have numbness only on some patch of your forearm. If a main nerve is damaged - it will create numbness till the end of the finger. So if your numbness is patchy - it means that only a very fine nerve branch may have been damaged, if any, which is not possible to repair. The good thing is that - nerve endings do grow back, but at slow pace, some few mm in a week. So my suggestion would be to wait, as time goes by - the nerve will regrow and your numbness will disappear. To accelerate the nerve growth and minimize the numbness - you could take vitamin B 12 supplements. They are essential in nerve repairs and may help you to recover a bit faster. Thank you.