Abrasion

An abrasion wound is usually a more superficial injury that occurs when the skin is roughly rubbed or scraped, such as a “carpet burn.” Abrasions can be deeper and involve the removal of foreign particles beneath the skin.

Skin Healing

Injury to the skin heals in a 4-step process consisting of; hemostasis, inflammation, proliferation and remodeling. These stages often overlap, depending on the kind of injury.

Inflammation

Inflammation is the medical term that refers to our body’s response to trauma or other injury. You can see or feel many aspects of inflammation. Symptoms include pain, redness, warmth and swelling.

What is a Scar?

A scar is fibrous tissue that replaces the affected skin as the result of a healed injury.  Plastic surgery may be performed to minimize the scarring in a procedure known as a revision.

Different Types of Abnormal Scars

There are several types of abnormal scars, which may require treatment beyond the healing of the original injury. Some of these include keloid scars, contracture scars, hypotrophic scars and hypertrophic scars.

Keloid Scar

A keloidal scar usually develops after healing and is from excessive scar tissue. It is an exaggerated response to the original injury.  The margins of the scar usually extend beyond the wound delineation. It occurs more often in individuals with darker complexions, such as African Americans and some natives of India.

Contracture Scar

A contracture scar is scarring which tightens over time, reducing flexibility and mobility.  These are usually shallow or deep into the muscles.

Hypotrophic Scar

This type of scarring is characterized by sunken and hyperpigmented (darker colored) areas. Examples of hypotrophic scars include acne, stretch marks and chicken pox scars.

Hypertrophic Scar

Hypertrophic scars is a scar that has a raised and reddened (lighter in color) appearance as normal scars do when fully healed. Hypertrophic scars often occur in areas where the skin is under greater tension such as the upper back and shoulders.  They may also widen over time.

Scarring Treatment

The treatment for scarring greatly depends on many things: the type of scar, the patient’s complexion, type of pigmentation, the amount of interference it has in the person’s life and overall health. Treatments may include additional surgery, cortisone and other medication injections, skin grafts, oral medications, compression bandages, topical (skin) creams, freezing procedure (cryotherapy), even radiation therapy and laser therapy.

This is a fairly comprehensive overview as to the types of scars and skin injuries I typically see from dog attacks.

  

The following are some of the common conditions caused by dog bites:

 

  Staph infection: Staph is a group of bacteria which causes many different kinds of diseases. It can cause illness directly or indirectly by infection by way of the toxins they produce.

 

  Group A Streptococcal Infections:  This is another bacterial infection that may cause a variety of problems to your health such as strep throat, impetigo, scarlet fever, and erysipelas.

  Lacerations, Puncture Wounds and Scrapes: Thorough cleaning is appropriate and important so that infection does not develop. A tetanus shot may be indicated and needed depending on the severity of the bite. Stitches, sutures, medical stapling or even using medical grade glue (to close wounds in place of stitches) may be used to close a laceration or wound caused by a dog bite.

 

  Rabies: This is a kind of infection which is viral and it actually can be fatal.  It enters the victim’s body by infected dog saliva through a bite or broken skin. The infection can travel to the brain and cause swelling and inflammation. The symptoms for rabies are fever, headache, and muscle pain.  A more serious symptom could also be seizure. It is possible that coma and death could occur. If certain symptoms are noticed, the dog may be seized and watched by animal control veterinarians.  If there is a risk for rabies, a rabies vaccine, given in a series of injections, is provided to a dog bite victim.