What may increase your risk for problems from a bite?
Many conditions, lifestyle choices, medications, and diseases interfere with your ability to heal or fight infection. You may be at risk for a more serious problem from your symptoms if you have any of the following. Be sure to tell your health professional.
Conditions
- A problem or condition present since birth (congenital defect)
- Age over 60
- Artificial joint or heart valve
- Bitten while traveling in a foreign country or in the United States near the border with Mexico
- Child younger than 6 months old
- Malnutrition
- Obesity
- Previous mastectomy, if the bite is near the area
- Previous similar injury
- Previous surgery to injured area
- Previous surgery to remove the spleen
- Swelling (edema) in the limb where the injury occurred
- Unknown or uncertain tetanus immunization history
Lifestyle choices
- Alcohol abuse or withdrawal
- Drug abuse or withdrawal
- Smoking or other tobacco use
Medications
- Anticoagulants, such as:
- Aspirin
- Enoxaparin (Lovenox)
- Heparin
- Warfarin (Coumadin)
- Corticosteroids, such as prednisone
- Medications to prevent organ transplant rejection
- Medications used to treat cancer (chemotherapy)
- Radiation therapy
Diseases
- An eating disorder, such as anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa
- Autoimmune diseases, such as lupus
- Bleeding disorder, such as hemophilia or von Willebrand's disease
- Cancer
- Decreased blood flow (venous insufficiency)
- Diabetes
- Heart disease
- Hemophilia
- Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection
- Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP)
- Kidney disease
- Liver disease
- Multiple sclerosis (MS)
- Osteoarthritis
- Osteomyelitis
- Peripheral arterial disease
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Sickle cell anemia
| Author: | Jan Nissl, RN, BS | Last Updated: June 10, 2008 |
| Medical Review: | William M. Green, MD - Emergency Medicine H. Michael O'Connor, MD - Emergency Medicine | |
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