26
Jan
Is It Good For A Dog To Lick A Human Wound. It is common for animals like cats primates and rodents to lick their injuries. Licking wounds is an instinct that many mammals including dogs have. The saliva disinfects and cleans the wound. For healthy children and adults dog saliva is not a health risk for intact skin.
A more recent study warns that because of the difference in bacterial flora naturally occurring bacteria in a dogs mouth in comparison to human skin it is not a good idea to allow dogs to lick human wounds for fear of a zoonotic disease resulting. If not they might just dog for any available patch of skin such as hands arms legs. A good amount of licking can be helpful for small wounds. Dogs might lick your face if they can get to it. These days cleaning the wound with an antiseptic solution and then leaving it alone to heal is the far superior course of action. Why do dogs lick human wounds.
A dog will instinctively lick at a wound but this can seriously delay healing.
When your dog licks a wound there are healing capacities in their saliva and it can also help cleanse the area. It is not healthy however to allow your dog to lick an open wound on your skin. Even if you have a strong immune system if a pet licks an open wound wash it with soap and water right away just to be safe and keep an eye out for any symptoms of infection. Thats where the cone is for. My blog from two week ago looked at new research suggesting that dog intestinal bacteria may have a protective role against asthma in children. A more recent study warns that because of the difference in bacterial flora naturally occurring bacteria in a dogs mouth in comparison to human skin it is not a good idea to allow dogs to lick human wounds for fear of a zoonotic disease resulting.