Dog Bite Treatment in India

Arjun Garcia, a 58-year-old retired postal...

Arjun Garcia, a 58-year-old retired postal worker, lives alone with his elderly terrier, Max. While trying to break up a fight between Max and a neighbor's larger dog, Arjun was bitten deeply on his right forearm. He cleaned the wound himself but avoided the doctor due to fear of Max being reported. Three days later, he presented to the Internal Medicine clinic with a fever, severe redness, swelling, and throbbing pain radiating up his arm. His doctor, noting Arjun's history of Type 2 diabetes, expressed grave concern about the rapid cellulitis and risk of sepsis. She urgently recommended a thorough wound exploration, irrigation, and debridement under local anesthesia to remove infected tissue and assess for tendon or bone involvement, stressing that his diabetes made him exceptionally vulnerable. In the procedure room, Arjun was anxious but comforted by the nurse. The doctor meticulously cleaned the jagged puncture wounds, removed necrotic tissue, and left the wound open to drain. A tetanus booster and a course of intravenous antibiotics were started immediately. Recovery was slow and required daily wound care by a visiting nurse. Arjun felt profound guilt ('I should have known better') and loneliness during this period. After two weeks of diligent care, the infection cleared, and the wound began to granulate healthily. The emotional turning point came when his doctor praised his compliance, assuring him the incident was an accident. Arjun felt a weight lift, replaced by a cautious relief and a renewed commitment to managing his health proactively.