Piranha bites: what to after it ?

Replies

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  zaveri

  no replies here ? too scary eh ? 😉😉
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  Ramani Aswath

  zaveri

  Now suppose you had a misadventure with this nature's killer, and yet you were lucky enough to escape with your life and suffer just a few bites. what should be done next ? reconstructive surgery ? Are tetanus shots necessary ?

  Tetanus shots are needed only when there is infection by anaerobic tetanus bacterium, which is unlikely on the teeth of piranha that live in flowing or oxygenated water.
  A lot of the deadliness of piranhas is Hollywood hype.
  
  

  Piranhas are commonly consumed by subsistence fishermen, and often sold for food in local markets. In recent decades, dried specimens have been marketed as tourist souvenirs. Piranhas occasionally bite and sometimes injure bathers and swimmers. A piranha bite is considered more an act of carelessness than that of misfortune, but piranhas are a considerable nuisance to commercial and sport fishers because they steal bait, mutilate catch, damage nets and other gear, and may bite when handled.
  There are various myths about piranhas such as how they can dilacerate a human body or cattle in seconds. These myths refer specifically to Pygocentrus nattereri, the red-bellied piranha. A recurrent myth is that they can be attracted by blood and are exclusive carnivores. A Brazilian myth called "piranha cattle" states that they sweep the rivers at high speed and attack the first of the cattle entering the water allowing the rest of the group to traverse the river. These myths were dismissed through research by Helder Queiroz and Anne Magurran and published on Biology Letters. Nevertheless, a study in Surinamefound that piranhas may occasionally attack humans, particularly when water levels are low. Attacks on humans are usually reported around docks where fish are frequently gutted and entrails are commonly thrown into the water.

  Piranha