Domestic Pets

Injury Guide

Skin injuries

The cases that most often call for first-aid intervention are Skin Injuries

CAUSES

CUTS: Most frequent causes of injuries to the skin. Fragments of glass, wood splinters, nails and other sharp metallic objects scattered on the ground or at the bottom of ponds, river beds, lakes or on shores - often injure the paws.Thorny bushes, wire fences and barbed wire are potentially dangerous, damaging especially the trunk and neck.More rarely cuts being caused by various domestic tools eg. knives,axes

BITES: Results from fights between dogs or cats,the latter especially in the breeding season.They mostly occur on the neck,shoulders and flanks

SHOTS: As a result of hunting accidents or malicious intent

EXTERNAL WOUNDS FOLLOWING SERIOUS INJURIES: When animals fall from great heights or are hit my vehicles, the injuries will often accompany fractures and internal lesions

ASSESSMENT OF INJURY

SIZE & DEPTH

To assess how SERIOUS an injury is - you must carefully examine the SIZE and DEPTH to discover the severity of the wound

It is easier to asses the extent of the injury if it is a hairless area or on an short haired animal.With a long coat, the hair must be parted, or cut away and foreign bodies removed to reveal the size of the injury

The depth of the wound usually shows how SERIOUS it is and whether only the skin has been injured or if deeper parts may be involved

TYPE OF INJURIES

ABRASIONS: Although these are the most superficial form of skin injury.They affect only surface layers without penetrating the skin to any great depth, but they are usuaaly the most extensive and most painful. In most cases very little blood flows since only the capillaries within the skin are harmed

SURFACE WOUNDS: In this case the skin is cut, but the structures below are undamaged and blood flow is slight and soon stops, since only small vesels at the center of the skin are cut.What sets an abrasion apart from a skin wound of any depth - is the edges. In abrasions, the cuts have no clear edges and are more scrape lesions. In skin wounds, the sides of the cut can clearly be moved apart

DEEP WOUNDS: Where the wounds are deeper,there may well be subcutaneous damage of a more serious nature

CUT VEIN: This produces strong, steady bleeding of dark red blood.The seriousness depends on the size of the vessel. If the vein is of small or medium size, bleeding may stop automatically

CUT ARTERY: This is less common than a cut vein.It will procuce swift and heavy bleeding of bright red blood.It is generally harder to stop the Haemorrhage.This will depend on the size of the vessel involved

INJURIES TO THE NERVES & TENDONS: Injuries to nerves and tendons are harder to assess, but may potentially result in paralysis or difficulty in moving the affected joints

SITES OF INJURIES

NECK: Injuries to the windpipe on the underside of the neck - can impede breathing and admit air under the skin which swells and crackles when palpated.If the Jugular Vein or Carotid Artery(lying alongside the windpipe) is cut,bleeding becomes very serious and it is best to get professional help immediatly

THORAX: If a dog or cat sufferes a wound at a point where the rib cage is not protected by the shoulder or back muscles - the lung could be penetrated and damaged.This can result in severe injuries usually allowing air to enter the Pleural Cavity (Pneumothorax) abd cause the lungs to collapse

ABDOMEN: Deep wounds in the abdomen area, above all along the underside where the muscles of the wall are thin, can penetrate the abdominal cavity and damage the organs within. If the opening of the wound is wide,the abdominal organs may spill out

FORELEG: Between the elbow and the paw on the front of the leg there are large superficial veins.These will bleed heavily when they are cut

HIND LEG: On the hind leg possible injury sites are above the hock at the back, where the Achilles tendon may be damaged and just above the hock on the side where there is a vulnerable vein very near the surface

TREATMENT

CHECK THE BLEEDING

Manual Pressure: In the case of superficial wounds, or deep ones not involving sizeable vessels, he blood loss should be slight

The bleeding can therefore usually be stopped by simply applying constant pressure for some minutes, by using a pad of sterile gauze, or a foulded clean handkerchief or cloth.Try and avoid fabricks, such as wool, which bay irritate and leve fibres

Cooling: If after two minutes blood still oozes, cool the wound with an ice pack.Put a gauze or clean cloth between the wound and the cooling source,while keeping up steady pressure until bleeding stops

Tourniquets: If you see that the bleeding is swift,copious and unstoppable - you should apply a tourniquet to check it until professional help arrives.Tourniquets can ONLY be used for lesions to the limbs or tail and should only be applied only to CERTAIN POINTS. Never use a tourniquet around the neck area

Proper tourniquets can be bought from pharmacies, but if none are available, other soft and elastic material that will not hurt the skin will serve eg. large elastic bands,strips of inner tube,short braces,elastic belts etc

As a last result you could use any strong fastening eg. string of a suitable size,shoe laces, strips of fabric

CUTTING THE FUR

Before cleaning and disinfecting the wound, cut away surrounding fur with scissorss - curved nail scissors if possible)

Begin at the edges of the wound, and take care that hair do not fall in. Use clean gauze / clean cloth to protect wound). Clear 1cm around the edges,thinning the surrounding coat if this is long

CLEANING

DISINFECTING

It is best to use non-alcoholic fluids to avoid excessive stinging which will further upset the animal

Use mild antiseptic lotions to clean and disinfect,but avoid stinging with strong solutions

Products such as antiseptic creams are suitable as they clean and disinfect

For superficial wounds - soiled with earth or produced by plants such as thorns,pointed branches or rusty metal - apply hydrogen peroxide to reduce the risk of tetanus spores infecting the wound

If a superficial wound is dirty with mud,dust,saliva after bites, or other matter, it must be cleaned up to prevent any infection Superficial wounds should be cleaned with sterile gauze or a cloth moistened with antiseptic diluted in lukewarm water.Do not use absorbent cotton wool which may leave fibers in the wound

For deep wounds, it is a good idea to use large syringes of 5/10/20ml if you can.Spray the water or diluted antiseptic into the cavity of the wound and flush out any debris

If the injured part is on the extremity of a limb,place it into a bowl or basin

Make sure the wound is clean and then dry the coat with a clean cloth/towel or kitchen roll

Apply the same antiseptic, diluted according to the manufacturer's instruction - pouring a fair bit into the wound and round the edges and spreading it by lightly dabbing with gauze

Protecting the wound

Bandages

To keep the wound clean or prevent further damage or bleeding through movement of the part,it is best to protect it with a Bandage

There are different ways of applying a bandage to the different parts of the body in order to ensure that it is effective and will not slip

PADS / GAUZES: - Preferably pre-sterilized or small pieces of clean cloth like handkerchiefs - these are put directly on the wound for immediate protection

GAUZE BANDAGES: 5-10cm wide,depending on the part.These can be replaced by strips of cloth from sheets,towels or cotton garments.A bandage around the wound, will keep the gauze-pad in place,give added protection and keep the edges of the wound together

STICKING PLASTER: A 1-3cm wide to fix the bandage.If there is no surgical plaster,use normal household sticking tape or split the end of the bandage lengthwise for about 20cm or more forming two strips to be wound round and tied together

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