Don’t Let Your Pet Lick Your Wound
When you were younger, did you ever let your dog lick your bleeding wound because you thought it would help it heal? It’s likely it became infected soon after. There’s no reason to let your dog lick your bleeding wound. It’s an opening for infection and bacteria, and if your dog’s dirty mouth licks it, it’s going straight into your bloodstream. There’s a host of bacteria living in dog’s saliva, like Pasteurella, that can grow and replicate in areas of your body that don’t have air. This can lead to a severe infection that’s difficult to treat and needs prompt medical care, and in the worst case, you’ll have to get an amputation. In one example, a woman who let her dog lick her burn wound lost all of her fingers. Even though that’s a rare scenario, it’s best not to listen to the myth and instead clean your wounds with clean water and soap (Graysong263).