Going home after your visit
Animal & human bites — wound care advice
How to care for your bite wound, and what to watch for once you are home.
You have a bite wound. Bites can become infected, so yours has been cleaned and checked. Here is how to care for it and what to watch for over the next few days.
Your care details
To be completed by the team before you leave.
this Emergency Department your nearest A&E other:
none needed
Come back to A&E or an urgent treatment centre — or call 999 if you are very unwell — if any of these happen
These can be signs the wound is becoming infected, or that an infection is spreading into your blood.
- Spreading redness, swelling, warmth or pus around the wound
- Increasing pain, or a red streak spreading away from the wound
- A high temperature, shivering, or you feel generally unwell
- Pain that is far worse than the wound looks, or the skin turns dark or purple
- You feel confused or drowsy, your heart is racing, or you are breathing fast
- Numbness, or you cannot move the bitten part normally
CALL 999 Call 999 if you are too unwell to get to hospital, feel very unwell, or someone collapses.
Caring for the bite
- Keep the wound clean and dry, and keep any dressing on as advised.
- Take the full course of any antibiotics, even once it looks better.
- Raise the bitten area when you can, to reduce swelling.
- Take paracetamol or ibuprofen for pain if you can take them.
- Keep any follow-up or wound-check appointment you are given.
Other things we may have checked
Your tetanus protection may need a booster — the team will tell you if so. For some animal bites, especially ones that happened abroad, the risk of rabies is assessed. For human bites, we may also discuss the small risk of blood-borne viruses with you. If any of this applies to you, the team will explain what happens next.
Where to get help
999
Life-threatening emergency, or a red-flag symptom above
111
Urgent but not life-threatening, or you're not sure — call or visit 111.nhs.uk, 24/7
Your team
Use the department phone in Your care details above