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February 8, 2012
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Human Bites

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Human Bites Overview

Human bites can be either quite serious or relatively harmless. It is important to know which ones need medical attention. Human bites consist of a range of injuries, they include intentionally inflicted bites, but also any injury caused by coming in contact with the teeth. For example, if two children collide and the tooth of one causes a cut on the other, this is classified as a human bite.

Human Bites Causes

Human bites can be either accidental or intentional.

  • Intentional bite injury: This generally happens during fights and can result in a wide range of injuries from minor bruising to partial loss of body parts (for example, ears or nose). Unfortunately, this can also be an injury seen in child abuse, sexual abuse, and rarely, self-mutilation.
  • Seemingly intentional bites: Some bites may not be easy to classify as intentional because there is not a conscious decision on the part of the biter. Two of the most frequent situations are among very young children (often a new addition to the household is the recipient of a bite from a sibling), and among people who are mentally handicapped.
  • Closed fist injuries: This bite occurs when someone punches another person in the mouth or, occasionally, accidentally strikes another in the mouth during sports or horseplay. These bites can cause damaging hand injuries and can be very serious if not properly treated. It is important to share this information with your health care practitioner as a cut secondary to contact with a person's mouth is treated significantly different from a cut due to a sharp surface or knife. 
  • Accidental bites: Typical head or other body part bites occur when clashing with another person's tooth. These can be minor or, in the case of a head wound in young children, very serious.
  • "I didn't know it was a bite!" category: Yes, we frequently run the risk of problems from doing things to ourselves that technically qualify as bites. For example, it is not a good idea to bite your nails because this can lead to an infection known as paronychia or a hangnail. Similarly, it is almost a reflex to suck on wounds or to kiss a child's boo-boo, but if you introduce mouth bacteria, it could lead to problems such as an infection.
  • Love bites (for example, hickeys): These qualify as a human bite. However, if bruising is the only sign with no skin break, these are largely harmless. Other "love bites" cross the line into intentionally inflicted wounds and may be more serious. Any bite marks in the genital area in children need to be evaluated as a possible sign of abuse.

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Human Bites

Head Injury Overview

Traumatic head injuries are a major cause of death, and disability but it might be best to refer to the damage done as traumatic brain injury.

The purpose of the head, including the skull and face, is to protect the brain against injury. In addition to the bony protection, the brain is covered in tough fibrous layers called meninges and bathed in fluid that may provide a little shock absorption.

When an injury occurs, loss of brain function can occur even without visible damage to the head. Force applied to the head may cause the brain to be directly injured or shaken, bouncing against the inner wall of the skull. The trauma can potentially cause bleeding in the spaces surrounding the brain, bruise the brain tissue, or damage the nerve connections within the brain.

Caring for the victim with a head injury begins with making certain that the ABCs of resuscitation are addressed (airway, breathing, circulation). ...

Read the Head Injury article »


Read What Your Physician is Reading on Medscape

Human Bites »

Human bite wounds are notoriously deceptive and are perhaps the most potentially disastrous type of bite wound because of the abundant pathogenic oral flora found in humans.

Read More on Medscape Reference »

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