# Man dies of septicaemia from dog bite.



## BlackPuppy (Mar 29, 2007)

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-...ying-fetch.html

With photos of the dog.

*Our dog killed my husband with one bite during a game of fetch, but I'm still keeping her*

A father died after being nipped by his dog during a game of fetch. 
Steven Sewell, 55, was on holiday in the Scottish Highlands with his wife Angela and teenage son David when the family’s partially blind dog Judy bit him. 
The retired teacher patched up the small wound with tissue and carried on as normal because he was not in any pain.

However, an inquest has heard how he began complaining of shivers and sickness a few days later.
He was taken to hospital, where doctors diagnosed blood poisoning, and he died a few days later after the infection spread to his brain. 
The family say the dog has never behaved aggressively, and are keeping her in spite of the freak accident. 
Mrs Sewell, 53, said of the incident: ‘It was not vicious. It was just bad eyesight and tragic, but you have to accept it and move on.’ 
The inquest heard Mr Sewell, of Hipperholme, West Yorkshire, had been fishing with his son and throwing sticks for the dogs. 
He was playing with nine-year-old labrador, Harry, and Alsatian-Doberman cross Judy, ten, in Grantown-on-Spey, near Inverness, when Judy accidentally bit his finger as she jumped to take a stick. 

Mr Sewell felt the bite go through to his bone, but did not think it serious enough to seek treatment. 
Once back in their holiday cottage, the Sewells searched for antiseptic but could not find any. 
They used a sticking plaster to cover the wound. 
But six days later, they became increasingly worried as Mr Sewell complained of feeling hot and experiencing ‘strange dreams’. 
The family then headed home, where he began suffering from diarrhoea and a loss of feeling in his fingers. He was taken to hospital and immediately transferred to intensive care after doctors discovered he had contracted septicaemia from the bite. 
This led to inflammation of the brain – or encephalitis – and he died on May 31 from organ failure – just a week after receiving the apparently minor injury. 
Recording a verdict of accidental death, coroner Roger Whittaker called it ‘almost a fluke situation’. 
Mrs Sewell, also a teacher, paid tribute to her late husband after the inquest. She said: ‘He was very caring. He would give everything away. He was so kind.’ 
Her son David, who is a student, said: ‘It wasn’t a vicious attack so she didn’t need to be put down. She is a family pet and she is loved.’ 
He added: ‘Dad was a loving, friendly and very caring person. He would do anything for anyone and would offer support and help to anyone.’


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## Raziel (Sep 29, 2009)

How awful! i dont think I would put the dog down either.
She didnt know.
What was she carrying some kind of disease?
I didnt quite get that part


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## BlackPuppy (Mar 29, 2007)

They say you should get antibiotics if bitten by a dog. 

I think it was just blood poisoning from "germs"(?). Then it spread to the brain as encephalitis. 

I think of the times I've been accidentally bitten while playing with my dogs.


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## katieliz (Mar 29, 2007)

oh yes, oh yes, oh yes...almost happened to me. was my own dog, we were playing ball. wound was less than half an inch long. so okay, just put some peroxide on it and we're good to go...NOT! one week later my hand looked like a lobster claw, i was in the ER getting IV antibiotics, and they were telling me "well, if this doesn't work we'll have to cut your hand open and remove all the infection we can find surgically". fortunately the IV antibiotics worked (three days in the hospital, ugh).

anyone who has a dog bite NO MATTER HOW SMALL, should see a doc and do a course of oral antibiotics RIGHT AWAY!!!


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## BlackPuppy (Mar 29, 2007)

Ew! 

Glad you made it without the surgery. 

So, if it happens on a Friday night will I be okay until Monday when the doctor's office opens?


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## Virginia (Oct 2, 2008)

If you go to the doctor with a dog bite, doesn't that open up a whole can of worms regarding the dog that bit you, whether it was aggressive or not, and possibly quarantining it? I thought I heard about that somewhere.

Before I read this I probably would never have gone to the doctor with an accidental nip during a game with my dog.


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## BowWowMeow (May 7, 2007)

Everyone should have a bottle of betadine on hand. This is a tragic story but totally preventable.


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## katieliz (Mar 29, 2007)

i'm retired from the medical profession and even so i NEVER realized how something from a tiny wound like this could turn into something life threatening like blood poisoning. 

ruth is betadine more effective than peroxide? after what happened to me i would not wait even a day to do a course of antibiotics.

as i understand it here in michigan, the quarantine is not an issue if the dog has been vacinated for rabies, and it also makes quite a difference if it is your own dog. in my case no kind of law enforcement was ever involved.


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## Raziel (Sep 29, 2009)

But....I thought dogs mouths were cleaner than peoples?
I kiss my dog ALL THE TIME....wouldnt I be sick by now?
So was it a random germ his dog was carrying?
Or a weak immune system?


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## Marshmallows (Jan 28, 2007)

A wound from a dog or a cat needs to flushed out even if its just with regular soap and water and then allowed to heal from the inside out so that germ and bacteria do not get trap inside where they can cause massive infections. This is what sounds like happened to the gentleman in the OP.



> Quote: the Sewells searched for antiseptic but could not find any. They used a sticking plaster to cover the wound.


. 


I would also say if they went six more days before going to the hospital and he was feeling hot and having strange dreams, they ignored some of the earlier signs of infection. Very sad for the whole family. I am glad they are not blaming the dog.


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## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

FWIW a doctor told me never to use peroxide on open wounds because it can damage flesh and tissue and isn't any better at killing germs than a good scrub and flush with proper soap.

If I get any bite that breaks skin (even a little tooth puncture from the dog missing the toy) I immediately soap it up for a long time and flush with cool water. I don't go to the dr. or ER with every bite but I wash them seriously right away, and wash them several times a day for the first few days and watch like a hawk for *any* sign of infection. Mouths and teeth (human too) carry a ton of bacteria not intended to be in the bloodstream.

Also, the Dr. told me that all wounds heel better and faster when kept covered and moist. You don't need to let a wound "dry out", that's like an old wive's tale. Any bite wound, after being throroughly cleaned, I put a dab of neosporine on and cover. This is assuming I don't need stitches (and my understanding is that punctures are not typically stitched anyway).


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## DFrost (Oct 29, 2006)

Training police service dogs we get nipped, nicked etc all the time. It happens frequently when drug or explosives training. The dog is not being aggressive, just trying to get their toy. Generally for just nicks and scrapes we carry an antibiotic ointment such as neosporin. Any puctures are an automatic trip to the ER. I know everyone loves their dogs but geez louise their mouthes aren't the cleanest things on earth.

DFrost


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## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

My worst bite so far as far as the possibility of infection was Nikon going after a toy in my hand and I wasn't paying attention. Not the dog's fault at all. It was a deep puncture at the base of my thumb. Must've cut nerves b/c the thumb was numb for about three months. We were on vacation, not near my Dr or urgent care so I yelled for someone to hold my dog, ran straight inside and doused my hand with antibacterial dish soap and scrubbed for a long time. It bled for a while too which I let it do to flush it out. I did not get infected but you bet I was checking it every few hours! I kept antibacterial ointment on it and kept it covered to hold the ointment in place.

Now I wear baseball gloves for obedience and playing with toys!


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## zyppi (Jun 2, 2006)

> Originally Posted By: VirginiaIf you go to the doctor with a dog bite, doesn't that open up a whole can of worms regarding the dog that bit you, whether it was aggressive or not, and possibly quarantining it? I thought I heard about that somewhere.
> 
> Before I read this I probably would never have gone to the doctor with an accidental nip during a game with my dog.


Sure can! 

Years ago a puppy (we're talking less than 3 months) accidentally sliced into my hand with trying to get a stick I was going to throw.

I could tell it was deep and took myself to an emergency care center.

I explained the accident... they insisted a 'dog bite is a dog bit' and my pup would have to be quarantined and would, subsequently have a bite record. A second bite would mean having to put her down.

Later in the day the animal control officer arrived at my house to take the pup into quarantine. I begged off saying she was too young. When the guy saw Lily, he let her stay with me if I kept her on my property for the duration of the quarantine period.

She was forever listed in North Carolina with a 'bite record.'

Oh, and emergency doc said leave it open (let me use sterestrips), but didn't put me on meds.

They cleaned flushing the wound and said soap and water was the best and should be done quickly and thoroughly.

Since then, I've had lots of nicks and nips from puppies but, following the above advice, I've never developed and infection.

Always been afraid to go to a doc with a nip though.


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## ellen366 (Nov 2, 2007)

this is a very unusual case; as an ED nurse i see lots of dog bites

state laws vary, but i believe most if not all states require notification of the authorities for dog bites, even police k9s, regardless of the circumstances; quarantine is dependent on dog's vaccination status

DFrost is correct...dogs' mouths have lots of bacteria and you have bacteria on your skin that can get tracked down into the wound too

betadine and hydrogen peroxide are considered toxic to tissues; but we do still use betadine to clean wounds; personally, i like antibacterial soap and if i get nipped/bitten or somehow break my skin i try to wash it immediately; of course that doesn't always happen

remember that there are a few factors involved re getting sick or not:
1st you have to be exposed to a virus/bacteria or whatever
2nd how "large", or how much of the bad thing were you exposed to
3rd was there an opportunity for the bad thing to enter your body? a break in the skin is an entry point obviously
4th what's your immune system like? if you're generally healthy, eat pretty well, get reasonable rest, don't have diseases like diabetes or immune suppression disorders, don't take meds that affect your immune system (prednisone for ex) you're probably ok

now, as we age, our immune systems begin to deteriorate, so those who are >50 are at greater risk for infection; location of the wound also plays a factor...areas that receive good blood flow generally do better than those areas that get less blood b/c the blood will bring the white blood cells that are your defense 

so, it's not an easy thing to decide if you're gonna get sick or not; you've gotta watch a wound; if it starts getting redder, hotter, more painful, has nasty looking drainage, you start running a fever, have malaise...you need to see an MD

oh, and deeper wounds, like punctures are at greater risk for infection b/c they heal over allowing bacteria to grow w/in the wound...this is why dog bites shouldn't be sutured closed and if they are for aesthetic/function reasons, then it should be done more loosely than normal to allow the wound to heal from the inside, or deeper part outward; superficial wounds rarely infect unless they're burns and that is a whole 'nother story

cat bites, b/c of a type of bacteria found in their mouths almost always get infected and the MD should give you antibiotics prophylactically; dog bites generally don't get meds unless you develop an infection b/c we usually don't see infected dog bites

hope this helps


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## Ocean (May 3, 2004)

Sounds like a wonderful family in the UK. I'm sorry what happened to them but definitely an accident. They have a better attitude than a lot of people in the states, where the typical response is to seek blame and when a dog is blamed - "off with its head'. That's why if I ever get bitten by any of my dogs whether by accident or even on purpose, I'm not even going to the clinic or a doctor. If I had to because of the severity, I'm not telling anything.


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## Kayos and Havoc (Oct 17, 2002)

Very sad story, but it sounds as if they ignored the early symptoms. I get nipped all the time, Havoc is the mouthiest dog I have ever had and I hvae been nipped by him a few times just grabbing for toys. We do work on easy and it has gotten better. 

I usually just use soap and water and some neosporin.


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## squirl (Dec 20, 2005)

> Originally Posted By: Angel RBut....I thought dogs mouths were cleaner than peoples?
> I kiss my dog ALL THE TIME....wouldnt I be sick by now?
> So was it a random germ his dog was carrying?
> Or a weak immune system?


Unfortunately dogs mouths are rather dirty much like cats. Just like with cat bites that need attention when they happen so do dog bites or serious infection can occur like in this situation. Are bodies naturally carry staph which is a bacteria that for many lay dormant for forever or for a long time until they have somewhere they feel like invading. They can invade as small as thing as an ingrown hair follicle like happened with me. So a dog bite or any animal bite for that matter can be very devastating.


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