There are as many as three million animal bites in the United States each year with dogs responsible for up to 90%. Bites occur most frequently on the fingers of the dominant hand of children. The major concern of all bite wounds is infection. In the United States, about 1% of dog bites and 6% of cat bites require hospitalization. Infections occur more frequently in cat bites because cats have extremely sharp, pointed teeth that can cause deep puncture wounds. Because most pets in the United States are vaccinated, most cases of rabies result from the bite of a wild animal, not a domesticated pet. Report animal bites to your public health department. Human bite wounds may not seem dangerous, but the risk of infection is high. These wounds contain very high levels of bacteria. A human bite wound can be caused directly – a child bites another child – or indirectly – a hand strikes a tooth, breaking the skin on the hand. Even though the wound may appear minor, an infection can lead to a severe joint infection. About one third of all hand infections are caused by human bite wounds. What to do after an incident:

• Apply firm, direct pressure with sterile gauze or clean cloth until bleeding stops.
• Cleanse the bite wound thoroughly with mild soap and water.  Rinse for several minutes under running water.
• Apply antibiotic ointment to prevent infection.
• Watch for signs of infection such as redness, pain, swelling, or pus. If you see them, get medical help right away.
• Be sure the child has an updated tetanus vaccination

  Even if a bite does not break the skin, it may cause a crushing and tearing injury to underlying bone, muscles, tendons, ligaments and nerves. If the tendons or nerves have been injured, additional treatment will be necessary. Follow-up care is crucial in the case of bite wounds, to ensure that infection is diminishing or has not developed, and to restore the hand as much as possible to its former condition. No Bake Play Dough Recipe For rainy / indoor day fun! Materials:

• large mixing bowl
• 1 cup water
• 4 cups flour
• 2 to 4 tablespoons of cooking oil (we used Canola)

• 1 1/2 cups of salt
• food coloring (we used red and blue to make purple)
• glitter

Instructions: Pour water into a large mixing bowl. Next add food coloring. We added generous amounts of red and blue food coloring to make purple, which seemed like a galactic color! Once you add the food coloring to the water, stir well. Add the dry ingredients ( flour and salt) to the mix. You can stir a little at this point to begin blending the ingredients. Next add 2 to 4 tablespoons of oil. You can add more oil later if the mix seems to dry. Oil is the secret to keeping this “no cooking required” recipe soft! If you don’t add enough oil, the mix will be very crumbly. This next step is a big hit with kids! Add generous amounts of glitter to your mix and begin mixing everything together. Knead the ingredients together until a soft dough is formed. To store, simply roll the dough into small balls and keep in plastic bags or a plastic container! Committed to your health, Team Rejuv   (sources: Lee Phillips, MD | WebMD | PBS.org)