Can dogs’ saliva heal their own wounds?

Saliva contains various substances such as amylase, lysozyme, immunoglobulins and mucins. The saliva in the mouth can moisten and dilute food, help the stomach absorb it, and kill bacteria that enter the mouth. There is also a salivary growth factor in the saliva. It can significantly shorten the healing time of skin wounds and maintain skin elasticity. So saliva has a bactericidal effect. But it is not a disinfectant and has little effect on larger wounds.
Quiz: “Teacher Ding, do you think dog saliva can heal your wounds?”
Ding, a lifelong VIP user of the study club:
“No! Dog saliva contains a lot of bacteria and viruses! The reason why dog bites are easily infected and why dogs are prevented from licking the wounds after all surgeries is because the saliva is really dirty. , the canine distemper virus test is collected from the saliva of dogs! Rabies virus also exists in saliva! There are also many bacteria!!! In the animal world, it is said that there is no way for wild animals to rely on their own saliva to sterilize. Their resistance It’s super strong, and it’s beyond the reach of pet dogs.”
Xiaoqi commented:

“This is a very unscientific view. Don’t follow it. Don’t touch it casually even if you don’t have a wound, let alone a wound.”

It is not recommended to let your dog lick his wounds.

Generally, when a dog is injured, the dog should wear an Elizabethan collar, disinfect the wound, and provide medication as appropriate.
If your dog is in unbearable pain or itching, he will lick the wound constantly, which often makes the condition more serious. My dog got eczema some time ago. At first, it was a small patch of redness. Maybe it was too itchy and he licked it at night. Then the next day, I found a large patch of redness, and the hair was all wet. In severe cases, the skin even suppurated. It stinks.
Later, he was sent to a pet hospital to shave all the hair on the affected area, put an oversized Elizabethan ring on it, disinfected it, and applied ointment to keep the wound as clean and fresh as possible. On November 1, we drove the dog back to our hometown. Except for taking off the Elizabethan ring when playing with it, he wore it at other times. He disinfected/applied medicine once a day. The dog’s self-healing ability is very strong, and his skin healed in about seven days. Scabs began to form, so I stopped taking the medication, and the shaved hair began to grow back. In about 12 days, the scabs also fell off, and the Elizabethan Circle was completely removed.

Many people should have heard that dog saliva can sterilize, but in fact, the sterilization effect of dog saliva is very small, and other pathogens may be carried in the mouth, which will increase the risk of wound infection. Therefore, it is generally not recommended to let dogs lick their wounds unless the wounds are very minor. As for minor trauma to dogs, let’s share with you some experience in dealing with it:

Clean the wound

First of all, the pet owner should calm down the dog and put a collar on it to prevent it from licking or not cooperating with the wound treatment. Next, shave off the hair near the dog’s wound to expose the wound. Then use saline to clean the wound and remove the dirt and blood near the wound. Afterwards, use a cotton swab dipped in iodophor or hydrogen peroxide to smear it for disinfection.

Dressing and caring for wounds

In the next step, you can use sterilized gauze to gently wipe away the excess water, and then sprinkle it on the injured surface. If the wound is large, it needs to be wrapped with sterile gauze. When bandaging, attention should be paid to maintaining blood circulation in the wound. If the wound is relatively small, there is no need for bandaging.
After that, you should pay attention to observe the healing status of the dog’s wound every day, help it disinfect and replace it with new gauze. When recovery is good, the frequency of care can be appropriately reduced to promote wound healing and scabbing.

Get more rest and replenish nutrients

For a dog that is recovering from an injury, the pet owner should reasonably limit its behavior and activities to prevent it from engaging in too intense exercise. It is also best not to let the wound touch water. Secondly, it is necessary to provide it with appropriate nutrition, such as chicken, ribs, fruit and vegetable puree, nutritional paste, canned food, etc., so that the wound can heal as soon as possible.