Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Dog First Aid - Splinters

By Jerry Welsh


Splinters are foreign bodies that get partially or totally embedded in the skin. A splinter can be a sliver of wood, a broken glass or a small piece of metal. Splinters are commonly lodged on the hands and on the foot. Thorns of plants can also cause a splinter. The foreign body under the skin will create pain every time the skin is touched.

A splinter embedded on the skin is obvious if the tip is protruding though very small splinters that are lodged deeply in the skin would be rather hard to see. A splinter though would be painful. Unless the splinter is quite large, the foreign body would not result to heavy bleeding, some splinters would not bleed at all. The splinter may not be noticed until it becomes infected and there is swelling, tenderness and pus discharge.

Like humans, dogs can get splinters too. Dogs are known for their very active and explorative nature. Bones and dogs go together because these animals love licking and gnawing bones. Because of these behaviors, dogs often sustain various kinds of injuries. A dog would not let a path littered with dirt, broken glass and thorns stand in the way of snaring the prey on the other side of the road. Splinters on the mouth can occur when the dog enthusiastically gnaws and breaks bones.

Splinters in the foot will make the dog limp. Splinters on the mouth will make the dog incessantly paw the mouth in an effort to remove the foreign body. A splinter on the foot will bother the dog every time it moves thus the dog will lick and bite the affected area. Self mutilation can lead to infection. Removing the splinters of the dog would not be a hard task. A dog owner with first aid know how up his sleeve can easily deal with the injuries of the pet.

Removing a splinter is easy especially if the end of the splinter is sticking out but the owner has to be careful so as not to push the splinter deeper into the dog's skin. The splinter can be seen clearly if the fur around the affected area is trimmed. Use antiseptic cleaner on the affected area. With clean tweezers, pull the protruding end out.

Fully embedded splinter can be quite difficult to remove. A needle can be used to pry the tip of the splinter from the skin and once it is sticking out, it can be pulled with the tweezers. Clean the skin again with antiseptic cleaner.




About the Author:



No comments: