Introduction

Serious animal and human bites can get infected if they're not checked and treated quickly. Always seek medical advice if you've been bitten by an animal or person and the bite has broken the skin. People and animals have a lot of bacteria in their mouths, which can cause an infection if a bite breaks the skin. These infections are rarely serious if treated quickly, but occasionally they can spread to the blood or other parts of the body. Serious infections such as Tetanus and rabies are extremely rare in the UK, but it's important to get serious bites looked at as treatment to prevent these infections may be recommended. The following information is about bites by people and animals such as dogs and cats. There are separate pages on insect bites and snake bites . This page covers: What to do if you've been bitten When toget medical advice Signs that a bite may be infected Common causes of bites How to avoid animal bites
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