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Nicklaus Children’s Hospital has several outpatient and urgent care centers throughout South Florida, including on-demand, virtual care.
Walk-in urgent care with no appointment needed.
Serving as your child's primary doctor's office.
Pediatric specialty consultations available closer to home.
A full range of comprehensive services all under one roof.
Connect with providers from the comfort of your own home.
With over 800 pediatric clinicians on staff, we’re dedicated to helping you connect with the right specialist for your needs.
We have expertise in treating children and educating families on hundreds of different conditions.
We use cutting-edge, specialized treatments and procedures to ensure the best care for your child.
Also known as: animal bites and scratches, dog and cat bite and scratches.
A bite is a wound inflicted by a mouth, while a scratch is a wound from paws or claws. These terms are usually used medically to refer to wounds inflicted by a pet or animal.
A wild animal or even a household pet can be the instigator of bites and scratches.
A mild bite or scratch will simply leave a mark or abrasion behind. However, bites and scratches can cause bleeding, infection or even deadly diseases such as cat scratch disease or rabies.
Bites and scratches may require first aid treatment in the form of cleaning and disinfecting the wound and applying antibiotic ointment and a bandage. Medical care should be sought to ensure that the animal in question did not infect the bite or scratch recipient with a more serious disease.
Reviewed by: Jose R. Rosa-Olivares, M.D.
This page was last updated on: October 16, 2019 01:26 PM