Out and About
Safety with animals
If you haven’t had pets before, or haven’t spent much time with other people’s pets, your parents should check if any member of your family is allergic before you bring a pet home. One way is to visit the RSPCA – if you leave with red, itchy eyes and a runny nose, you probably should have a potential allergy checked by a doctor.Even children who have grown up with animals and know how to act around animals can be attacked by one they don’t know. If a dog appears to be acting strangely, stand still, and never interfere with a dog fight – if your dog is attacked by another animal, get help from an adult immediately.
Pet hygiene
Pets carry a lot of germs, and it’s important you don’t transfer
these germs to your food, mouth or other people. You can reduce the risk by:
- Washing your hands after playing with your pet
- Wearing gloves or using a scooper to pick up faeces, and using gloves and an anti-bacterial product when cleaning up faeces, urine or vomit
- Birds can carry the disease ‘parrot fever,’ which has symptoms similar to the flu. You should be careful to follow guidelines about hand washing when handling birds.
What should I do if I’m bitten by a dog?
If bitten, the important thing is to stay calm and seek someone to help. Then, with or without assistance:
- Wash the area with cold running water
- Cover broken skin with a dressing
- Apply firm pressure with a pad and if bleeding is profuse and continues, call an ambulance
- Lie down, and if you begin to feel sick raise the bitten area and cover yourself with a blanket.
Farm animals
Unless you’ve grown up on a farm, or perhaps have a horse cared for on a property, it’s likely you don’t come into contact with farm animals very often. The most important thing to remember is that like any animals, they can be unpredictable, reacting suddenly for no apparent reason or in response to no apparent change in their surroundings.
Young children should be kept away from farm animals, unless held by adults who know the animals. If you wish to approach a horse or other animal, ask the owner or trainer if it’s okay.
Most horse-related injuries on farms are the result of falls, bites and kicks. If you are going to ride, make sure the horse is of a suitable size and temperament and will respond to your riding ability. Always wear a helmet, suitable footwear and long pants.
Bites and stings
Spending time outdoors brings with it the possibility of being bitten or stung by a variety of creatures. The particular animals and insects will depend on whether you’re at home, at a camp or park, in the bush or in the city, and what region or state you’re in.
General safety guidelines to be followed wherever you are include:
- Empty soft-drink cans or cover them when not in use – open cans may attract European wasps and other insects. A sting in the mouth can be very dangerous
- Drink from paper cups rather than cans when outdoors
- Learn the correct first aid for a bite or sting – the exact procedure will depend on the creature
- Display emergency telephone numbers near the telephone at home
- Take your mobile phone with you, or make sure at least one person has a mobile phone, on any outdoors outing away from home.
What should I do if I’m stung?
If you are stung by a bee, wasp or ant, stay calm and:
- Don’t squeeze the sting out - use a fingernail to remove the sting with a flicking motion, or ask someone else to do it for you
- Wrap a wet cloth around an icepack and place on the sting area
- Tell your parents and see a doctor if the pain and swelling continues
- If you are allergic to any insect bite, wear an identification bracelet.
In Australia, many people report snake and spider bites each year. It’s important to follow safe procedures when walking in long grass or bushland, particularly in warm weather:
- Always walk with an adult nearby
- Wear protective footwear
- Never poke a stick, or put your hand, in unusual holes in the garden or bush
- Never pick up, poke or otherwise provoke reptiles, snakes, bees or spiders.
What do I do if I’m bitten by a spider or snake?
As mentioned in the Bites and Stings section, you should take precautions against bites in the bush – wear protective clothing and make sure someone with you has a first-aid kit and a mobile phone.
Unlike what we see on TV, a bite isn’t usually indicated by paired fang marks, and the site may not even hurt.
Often a bite is only diagnosed through symptoms that come on within an hour – including but not limited to headache, irritability, nausea, vomiting or diarrhoea, confusion and fainting. As time increases, symptoms may include paralysis, abdominal pain and haemorrhaging.
Unlike what we see on TV, a bite isn’t usually indicated by paired fang marks, and the site may not even hurt
If there are more than two people in your group, have one person call for an ambulance and try to identify or describe the snake or spider if it’s safe to do so, while you and another person attend to your bite:
- Don’t wash the bite – traces of venom are important for snake or spider identification
- Keep still, to minimise the spread of the venom
- Apply a firm bandage over a folded pad on the bitten area and bandage as much of the surrounding area as possible. If bitten on the head, neck or back, apply a bandage and firm pressure – or have someone else do it if you can’t reach
- If bitten on an arm or leg, use a splint to immobilise the limb if possible – wrap a stick or similar object to the limb to keep it still
- If at all possible, have someone bring transport to you, so you don’t have to move – walking should be avoided
- Don’t take the bandage off until under medical supervision – the release of pressure could cause the venom to spread faster.
Ticks are insects that are usually bluish-black or reddish-brown, oval and flat. They are difficult to detect on your body unless they have consumed blood and become engorged – then they become globular and about 0.5 cm in diameter.
Ticks tend to seek body creases and crevices, where they bury their heads into the skin.
Check your skin for ticks after you’ve been bushwalking, and make sure any small children don’t have them on their skin.
What should I do if I’m bitten by a tick?
Remove the tick by pressing tweezers into the skin around the head of the tick and gently lever the tick out.
Don’t pull the tick with the tweezers – this can leave the head in the skin and cause the release of more toxins. If a small child with you is bitten, or if a tick enters your ear, seek medical advice.
Check your skin for ticks after you’ve been bushwalking, and make sure any small children don’t have them on their skin.
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