Wound licking - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Wound licking is an instinctive response in humans and many other animals to an injury

Injury

-By cause:*Traumatic injury, a body wound or shock produced by sudden physical injury, as from violence or accident*Other injuries from external physical causes, such as radiation injury, burn injury or frostbite*Injury from infection...

. Dogs, cats, rodents and primates all lick

Licking

Licking is the action of passing the tongue over a surface, typically either to deposit saliva onto the surface, or to collect liquid onto the tongue for ingestion, or to provide pleasure. Many animals both groom themselves and drink by licking....

wounds. The enzyme, lysozyme which is found in many tissues is what is the aid for the wounds. (Tears are also beneficial to wounds due to the lysozyme enzyme.) The reason for aid in healing is, lysozyme attacks the cell walls of many gram-positive bacteria.

Wound licking can clean wounds and accelerate healing, so it can be thought of as a form of animal self-medication (zoopharmacognosy

Zoopharmacognosy

Zoopharmacognosy refers to the process by which non-Human animals self-medicate, by selecting and using plants, soils, and insects to treat and prevent disease. Coined by Dr...

). There are a number of components of saliva that have been shown by scientific research to act against infection or to promote wound healing

Wound healing

Wound healing, or cicatrisation, is an intricate process in which the skin repairs itself after injury. In normal skin, the epidermis and dermis exists in a steady-state equilibrium, forming a protective barrier against the external environment...

. In contrast to the benefits of wound licking, there is also a risk of serious infection due to the introduction of bacteria and other disease organisms into the wound, and animals may exacerbate wounds by excessively licking them.

Mechanism

Oral mucosa

The oral mucosa is the mucous membrane epithelium of the mouth. It can be divided into three categories.*Masticatory mucosa, para-keratinized stratified squamous epithelium, found on the dorsum of the tongue, hard palate and attached gingiva....

heals faster than skin

Skin

-Dermis:The dermis is the layer of skin beneath the epidermis that consists of connective tissue and cushions the body from stress and strain. The dermis is tightly connected to the epidermis by a basement membrane. It also harbors many Mechanoreceptors that provide the sense of touch and heat...

, suggesting that saliva may have properties that aid wound healing. Saliva contains many compounds that are antibacterial or promote healing. The enzymes lysozyme

Lysozyme

Lysozyme, also known as muramidase or N-acetylmuramide glycanhydrolase, are glycoside hydrolases, enzymes that damage bacterial cell walls by catalyzing hydrolysis of 1,4-beta-linkages between N-acetylmuramic acid and N-acetyl-D-glucosamine residues in a peptidoglycan and between...

and peroxidase

Peroxidase

Peroxidases are a large family of enzymes that typically catalyze a reaction of the form:For many of these enzymes the optimal substrate is hydrogen peroxide, but others are more active with organic hydroperoxides such as lipid peroxides...

, lactoferrin

Lactoferrin

Lactoferrin , also known as lactotransferrin , is a multifunctional protein of the transferrin family. Lactoferrin is a globular glycoprotein with a molecular mass of about 80 kDa that is widely represented in various secretory fluids, such as milk, saliva, tears, and nasal secretions...

, defensin

Defensin

Defensins are small cysteine-rich cationic proteins found in both vertebrates and invertebrates. They have also been reported in plants. They are, and function as, host defense peptides. They are active against bacteria, fungi and many enveloped and nonenveloped viruses. They consist of 18-45 amino...

s, cystatin

Cystatin

The cystatins are a family of cysteine protease inhibitors with homology to chicken cystatin. Cystatins typically comprise about 115 amino acids, are largely acidic, contain four conserved cysteine residues known to form two disulfide bonds, may be glycosylated and/or phosphorylated, with...

s and an antibody

Antibody

An antibody, also known as an immunoglobulin, is a large Y-shaped protein used by the immune system to identify and neutralize foreign objects such as bacteria and viruses. The antibody recognizes a unique part of the foreign target, termed an antigen...

, IgA

IGA

Iga or IGA may stand for:-Given name:* a female given name of Polish origin. The name originates from the female given name Jadwiga and stands for gia,or gina in the USA....

, are all antibacterial. Thrombospondin

Thrombospondin

Thrombospondins are secreted proteins with antiangiogenic abilities. TSP was discovered by Nancy L. Baenziger.-Types:The thrombospondins are a family of multifunctional proteins...

and some other components are antiviral

Antiviral protein

Antiviral proteins are proteins that are induced by human or animal cells to interfere with viral replication. These proteins are isolated to inhibit the virus from replicating in a host's cells and stop it from spreading to other cells...

. A protease inhibitor

Protease inhibitor

Protease inhibitor can refer to:* Protease inhibitor : a class of medication that inhibits viral protease* Protease inhibitor : molecules that inhibit proteases...

, secretory leukocyte protease inhibitor

Secretory leukocyte protease inhibitor

Secretory leukocyte protease inhibitor is a highly cationic single-chain protein with eight intramolecular disulfide bonds. It is found in large quantities in bronchial, cervical, and nasal mucosa, saliva, and seminal fluids. SLPI inhibits human leukocyte elastase, human cathepsin G, human...

, is present in saliva and is both antibacterial and antiviral, and a promoter of wound healing. Nitrates that are naturally found in saliva break down into nitric oxide

Nitric oxide

Nitric oxide, also known as nitrogen monoxide, is a diatomic molecule with chemical formula NO. It is a free radical and is an important intermediate in the chemical industry...

on contact with skin

Skin

, which will inhibit bacterial growth

Bacterial growth

250px|right|thumb|Growth is shown as L = log where numbers is the number of colony forming units per ml, versus T Bacterial growth is the division of one bacterium into two daughter cells in a process called binary fission. Providing no mutational event occurs the resulting daughter cells are...

. Saliva contains growth factors such as epidermal growth factor

Epidermal growth factor

Epidermal growth factor or EGF is a growth factor that plays an important role in the regulation of cell growth, proliferation, and differentiation by binding to its receptor EGFR...

, VEGF

Vascular endothelial growth factor

Vascular endothelial growth factor is a signal protein produced by cells that stimulates vasculogenesis and angiogenesis. It is part of the system that restores the oxygen supply to tissues when blood circulation is inadequate....

, TGF-β1

TGF beta 1

Transforming growth factor beta 1 or TGF-β1 is a polypeptide member of the transforming growth factor beta superfamily of cytokines. It is a secreted protein that performs many cellular functions, including the control of cell growth, cell proliferation, cell differentiation and apoptosis...

, leptin

Leptin

Leptin is a 16 kDa protein hormone that plays a key role in regulating energy intake and energy expenditure, including appetite and metabolism. It is one of the most important adipose derived hormones...

, IGF-I

Insulin-like growth factor 1

Insulin-like growth factor 1 also known as somatomedin C is a protein that in humans is encoded by the IGF1 gene. IGF-1 has also been referred to as a "sulfation factor" and its effects were termed "nonsuppressible insulin-like activity" in the 1970s.IGF-1 is a hormone similar in molecular...

, lysophosphatidic acid

Lysophosphatidic acid

Lysophosphatidic acid is a phospholipid derivative that can act as a signaling molecule.-Function:LPA acts as a potent mitogen due to its activation of three high-affinity G-protein-coupled receptors called LPA1, LPA2, and LPA3...

, hyaluronan

Hyaluronan

Hyaluronan is an anionic, nonsulfated glycosaminoglycan distributed widely throughout connective, epithelial, and neural tissues...

and NGF

Nerve growth factor

Nerve growth factor is a small secreted protein that is important for the growth, maintenance, and survival of certain target neurons . It also functions as a signaling molecule. It is perhaps the prototypical growth factor, in that it is one of the first to be described...

, which all promote healing, although levels of EGF

EGF

EGF can refer to several things:*Epidermal growth factor, a growth factor in biology*Exponential generating function, a function in mathematics*European Gendarmerie Force, a European intervention force...

and NGF in humans are much lower than those in rats. In humans, histatins

HTN1

Histatin-1 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the HTN1 gene.-Further reading:...

may play a larger role. As well as being growth factors, IGF-I and TGF-α

TGF alpha

Transforming growth factor alpha is upregulated in some human cancers. It is produced in macrophages, brain cells, and keratinocytes, and induces epithelial development. It is closely related to EGF, and can also bind to the EGF receptor with similar effects...

induce antimicrobial peptides. Saliva also contains an analgesic

Analgesic

An analgesic is any member of the group of drugs used to relieve pain . The word analgesic derives from Greek an- and algos ....

, opiorphin

Opiorphin

Opiorphin is an endogenous chemical compound first isolated from human saliva. Initial research with mice shows the compound has a painkilling effect greater than that of morphine. It works by stopping the normal breakdown of enkephalins, natural pain-killing opioids in the spinal cord...

. Licking will also tend to debride the wound and remove gross contamination from the affected area.

In non-human animals

It has been long observed that the licking of their wounds by dog

Dog

The domestic dog is a domesticated form of the gray wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The dog may have been the first animal to be domesticated, and has been the most widely kept working, hunting, and companion animal in...

s might be beneficial. Indeed, a dog's saliva is bactericidal against the bacteria Escherichia coli
Escherichia coli
Escherichia coli is a Gram-negative, rod-shaped bacterium that is commonly found in the lower intestine of warm-blooded organisms . Most E. coli strains are harmless, but some serotypes can cause serious food poisoning in humans, and are occasionally responsible for product recalls...

and Streptococcus canis
Streptococcus
Streptococcus is a genus of spherical Gram-positive bacteria belonging to the phylum Firmicutes and the lactic acid bacteria group. Cellular division occurs along a single axis in these bacteria, and thus they grow in chains or pairs, hence the name — from Greek στρεπτος streptos, meaning...

, although not against coagulase positive Staphylococcus
Staphylococcus
Staphylococcus is a genus of Gram-positive bacteria. Under the microscope they appear round , and form in grape-like clusters....

or Pseudomonas aeruginosa
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a common bacterium that can cause disease in animals, including humans. It is found in soil, water, skin flora, and most man-made environments throughout the world. It thrives not only in normal atmospheres, but also in hypoxic atmospheres, and has, thus, colonized many...

.
Wound licking is also important in other animals. Removal of the salivary glands of mice

MICE

-Fiction:*Mice , alien species in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*The Mice -Acronyms:* "Meetings, Incentives, Conferencing, Exhibitions", facilities terminology for events...

and rats

RATS

RATS may refer to:* RATS , Regression Analysis of Time Series, a statistical package* Rough Auditing Tool for Security, a computer program...

slows wound healing, and communal licking of wounds among rodents accelerates wound healing. Communal licking is common in several primate

Primate

A primate is a mammal of the order Primates , which contains prosimians and simians. Primates arose from ancestors that lived in the trees of tropical forests; many primate characteristics represent adaptations to life in this challenging three-dimensional environment...

species. In macaques, hair surrounding a wound and any dirt is removed, and the wound is licked, healing without infection.

Risks

Too much licking of wounds can be harmful. An Elizabethan collar

Elizabethan collar

An Elizabethan collar or space collar is a protective medical device worn by an animal, usually a cat or dog...

is sometimes worn by pet

PETS

PETS may be an acronym for:* Pet Travel Scheme, which allows animals to travel internationally without quarantine* Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards Act...

animals to prevent biting or excessive wound licking, which can cause a lick granuloma

Lick granuloma

A lick granuloma, also known as acral lick dermatitis, is a skin disorder in dogs resulting from an urge to lick the lower portion of the leg. The lesion from the incessant licking is a thickened, firm, oval plaque.-Causes:...

. These lesions are often infected by pathogenic bacteria such as Staphylococcus intermedius. Infection is another risk. Horses that lick wounds may become infected by a stomach

Stomach

The stomach is a muscular, hollow, dilated part of the alimentary canal which functions as an important organ of the digestive tract in some animals, including vertebrates, echinoderms, insects , and molluscs. It is involved in the second phase of digestion, following mastication .The stomach is...

parasite, Habronema

Habronema

Habronema muscae is an internal stomach parasite that is most commonly found in Horses.-Eggs:The adult worms lay eggs within the horse's stomach. The eggs are later excreted through the feces...

, a type of nematode

Nematode

The nematodes or roundworms are the most diverse phylum of pseudocoelomates, and one of the most diverse of all animals. Nematode species are very difficult to distinguish; over 28,000 have been described, of which over 16,000 are parasitic. It has been estimated that the total number of nematode...

worm. The rabies

Rabies

Rabies is a viral disease that causes acute encephalitis in warm-blooded animals. It is zoonotic , most commonly by a bite from an infected animal. For a human, rabies is almost invariably fatal if post-exposure prophylaxis is not administered prior to the onset of severe symptoms...

virus may be transmitted between kudu

Greater Kudu

The Greater Kudu is a woodland antelope found throughout eastern and southern Africa. Despite occupying such widespread territory, they are sparsely populated in most areas, due to a declining habitat, deforestation and hunting....

antelopes by wound licking.

In humans

In an unusual case, an Oregon

Oregon

Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...

teacher was reprimanded after licking blood from wounds on a track team member's knee, a football player's arm, and a high school student's hand. An Oregon public health officer

Environmental health officer

Environmental health officers are usually employed by local government or state health authorities to advise on and enforce public health standards...

commented that "We do know that animals lick their own wounds, and it may be that saliva has some healing properties. But my very strong recommendation is that you confine yourself to licking your own wounds."

In legend

There are many legends involving healing wounds by licking them or applying saliva. The Saint

Saint

A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...

Magdalena de Pazzi

Saint Maria Magdalene de Pazzi is an Italian saint of the Roman Catholic Church.- Life :...

is said to have cured a nun

Nun

A nun is a woman who has taken vows committing her to live a spiritual life. She may be an ascetic who voluntarily chooses to leave mainstream society and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent...

of sores and scabs in 1589 by licking her limbs. The Roman Emperor

Roman Emperor

The Roman emperor was the ruler of the Roman State during the imperial period . The Romans had no single term for the office although at any given time, a given title was associated with the emperor...

Vespasian

Vespasian , was Roman Emperor from 69 AD to 79 AD. Vespasian was the founder of the Flavian dynasty, which ruled the Empire for a quarter century. Vespasian was descended from a family of equestrians, who rose into the senatorial rank under the Emperors of the Julio-Claudian dynasty...

is said to have performed a healing of a blind man using his saliva. Pliny the Elder in his Natural History reported that a fasting woman's saliva is an effective cure for bloodshot eyes. A Filipino

Culture of the Philippines

Philippine culture is related to Micronesian, Bornean, Mexican and Spanish cultures. The people today are mostly of Malayo-Polynesian origin, although there are people with Spanish, Mexican, Austro-Melanesian and Chinese blood. Geographically, the Philippines is considered part of Southeast Asia...

belief, usog

Usog

"Usog" or balis is a topic in psycho-medicine in Filipino Psychology where an affliction or psychological disorder is attributed to a greeting by a stranger, or an evil eye hex...

, holds that a child afflicted by the evil eye

Evil eye

The evil eye is a look that is believed by many cultures to be able to cause injury or bad luck for the person at whom it is directed for reasons of envy or dislike...

by a stranger can be relieved of their distress by applying the stranger's saliva to their body.

Risks

There are potential health hazards in wound licking due to infection risk, especially in immunocompromised

Immunodeficiency

Immunodeficiency is a state in which the immune system's ability to fight infectious disease is compromised or entirely absent. Immunodeficiency may also decrease cancer immunosurveillance. Most cases of immunodeficiency are acquired but some people are born with defects in their immune system,...

patients. Human saliva contains a wide variety of bacteria that are harmless in the mouth, but that may cause significant infection if introduced into a wound. A notable case was a diabetic man who licked his bleeding thumb

Thumb

The thumb is the first digit of the hand. When a person is standing in the medical anatomical position , the thumb is the lateral-most digit...

following a minor bicycle accident, and subsequently had to have the thumb amputated after it became infected with Eikenella corrodens from his saliva. The practice of metzitzah during circumcision is controversial as it can transmit the herpes virus

Herpes simplex virus

Herpes simplex virus 1 and 2 , also known as Human herpes virus 1 and 2 , are two members of the herpes virus family, Herpesviridae, that infect humans. Both HSV-1 and HSV-2 are ubiquitous and contagious...

to the infant. Attempting to suck out venom

Venom

Venom is the general term referring to any variety of toxins used by certain types of animals that inject it into their victims by the means of a bite or a sting...

following a snakebite may also introduce infection.

In history and legend

Dog saliva has been said by many cultures to have curative powers in people. "Langue de chien, langue de médecin" is a French saying

Saying

A saying is something that is said, notable in one respect or another, to be "a pithy expression of wisdom or truth."There are a number of specific types of saying:...

meaning "A dog's tongue is a doctor's tongue", and a Latin quote that "Lingua canis dum lingit vulnus curat" or "A dog's tongue, licking a wound, heals it" appears in a 13th century manuscript. In Ancient Greece

Ancient Greece

Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...

, dogs at the shrine

Asclepieion

In ancient Greece and Rome, an asclepeion was a healing temple, sacred to the god Asclepius....

of Aesculapius were trained to lick patients, and snake saliva was also applied to wounds. Saint Roch in the Middle Ages

Middle Ages

The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...

was said to have been cured of a plague of sores by licking from his dog. The Assyria

Assyria

Assyria was a Semitic Akkadian kingdom, extant as a nation state from the mid–23rd century BC to 608 BC centred on the Upper Tigris river, in northern Mesopotamia , that came to rule regional empires a number of times through history. It was named for its original capital, the ancient city of Assur...

n Queen Semiramis

Semiramis

The real and historical Shammuramat , was the Assyrian queen of Shamshi-Adad V , King of Assyria and ruler of the Neo Assyrian Empire, and its regent for four years until her son Adad-nirari III came of age....

is supposed to have attempted to resurrect the slain Armenia

Armenia

Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...

n king Ara the Beautiful

Ara the Beautiful

Ara the Beautiful is a legendary Armenian hero. He is notable in Armenian literature for the popular legend in which he was so handsome that the Assyrian queen Semiramis waged war against Armenia just to get him.He is sometimes associated with the historical king of Ararat known as Arame who...

by having the dog god Aralez lick his wounds. In the Scottish Highlands

Scottish Highlands

The Highlands is an historic region of Scotland. The area is sometimes referred to as the "Scottish Highlands". It was culturally distinguishable from the Lowlands from the later Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Scots replaced Scottish Gaelic throughout most of the Lowlands...

in the 19th century, dog lick was believed to be effective for treating wounds and sores. In the Gospel of Luke

Gospel of Luke

The Gospel According to Luke , commonly shortened to the Gospel of Luke or simply Luke, is the third and longest of the four canonical Gospels. This synoptic gospel is an account of the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth. It details his story from the events of his birth to his Ascension.The...

(16:19-31), Lazarus the Beggar

Lazarus and Dives

The Parable of the rich man and Lazarus is a well known parable of Jesus which appears in one of the Four Gospels of the New Testament....

's sores are licked by dogs, though this does not seem to be curative.

Modern cases

There are contemporary reports of the healing properties of dog saliva. Fiji

Fiji

Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...

an fishermen are reported to allow dogs to lick their wounds to promote healing, and a case of dog saliva promoting wound healing was reported in the Lancet
The Lancet
The Lancet is a weekly peer-reviewed general medical journal. It is one of the world's best known, oldest, and most respected general medical journals...

medical journal

Medical journal

A public health journal is a scientific journal devoted to the field of public health, including epidemiology, biostatistics, and health care . Public health journals, like most scientific journals, are peer-reviewed...

. A man suffering from Sudeck's atrophy, with nerve trauma and necrotising

Necrosis

Necrosis is the premature death of cells in living tissue. Necrosis is caused by factors external to the cell or tissue, such as infection, toxins, or trauma. This is in contrast to apoptosis, which is a naturally occurring cause of cellular death...

flesh on his right leg, recovered after his dog licked the leg and foot for hours each day.

Risks

As with the licking of wounds by people, wound licking by pets carries a risk of infection. Allowing pet

PETS

PETS may be an acronym for:* Pet Travel Scheme, which allows animals to travel internationally without quarantine* Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards Act...

cats or dogs to lick open wounds can cause cellulitis

Cellulitis

Cellulitis is a diffuse inflammation of connective tissue with severe inflammation of dermal and subcutaneous layers of the skin. Cellulitis can be caused by normal skin flora or by exogenous bacteria, and often occurs where the skin has previously been broken: cracks in the skin, cuts, blisters,...

and septicemia due to bacterial infections. Licking of open wounds by dogs could transmit rabies

Rabies

, although this is said by the CDC

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are a United States federal agency under the Department of Health and Human Services headquartered in Druid Hills, unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia, in Greater Atlanta...

to be rare. Dog saliva has been reported to complicate the healing of ulcers. Another issue is the possibility of an allergy

Allergy

An Allergy is a hypersensitivity disorder of the immune system. Allergic reactions occur when a person's immune system reacts to normally harmless substances in the environment. A substance that causes a reaction is called an allergen. These reactions are acquired, predictable, and rapid...

to protein

Protein

Proteins are biochemical compounds consisting of one or more polypeptides typically folded into a globular or fibrous form, facilitating a biological function. A polypeptide is a single linear polymer chain of amino acids bonded together by peptide bonds between the carboxyl and amino groups of...

s in the saliva of pets, such as Fel d 1

Fel d 1

Fel d 1 is a protein that in cats is encoded by the CH1 and CH2 genes.Fel d 1, produced largely by cat saliva and sebaceous glands, is the primary allergen present on cats. The protein is of an unknown function to the animal but causes an IgG or IgE reaction in sensitive humans...

in cat allergy and Can f 1 in dog allergy. Cases of serious infection following the licking of wounds by pets include:

A diabetic man who was infected by Pasteurella
Pasteurella
Pasteurella is a genus of Gram-negative, facultatively anaerobic bacteria. Pasteurella species are non-motile and pleomorphic. Most species are catalase-positive and oxidase-positive....

dagmatis due to the licking of his injured toe by his dog, causing a spinal infection.
A woman recovering from surgery for endometrial cancer suffered from Pasteurella multocida infection
Pasteurellosis
Pasteurellosis is an infection with a species of the bacteria genus Pasteurella, which is found in humans and animals.Pasteurella multocida is carried in mouth and respiratory tract of several animals, notably cats. It is a small Gram negative bacillus with bipolar staining by Wayson stain...

causing an abscess
Abscess
An abscess is a collection of pus that has accumulated in a cavity formed by the tissue in which the pus resides due to an infectious process or other foreign materials...

after her cat licked the incision.
A woman recovering from knee surgery suffered a persistent infection of the knee with Pasteurella after her dog licked a small wound on her toe.
A dog lick to an Australian woman's minor burn caused septicemia and necrosis due to Capnocytophaga canimorsus
Capnocytophaga canimorsus
Capnocytophaga canimorsus is a Gram-negative bacillus bacterium that causes a zoonotic disease, most commonly in asplenic patients. It is a member of the normal gingival flora of dogs and cats...

infection, resulting in the loss of all her toes, fingers and a leg.
C. canimorsus caused acute renal failure
Renal failure
Renal failure or kidney failure describes a medical condition in which the kidneys fail to adequately filter toxins and waste products from the blood...

due to septicemia in a man whose open hand wound was licked by his dog.
A 68 year old man died from septicemia and necrotizing fasciitis
Necrotizing fasciitis
Necrotizing fasciitis , commonly known as flesh-eating disease or Flesh-eating bacteria syndrome, is a rare infection of the deeper layers of skin and subcutaneous tissues, easily spreading across the fascial plane within the subcutaneous tissue.Necrotizing fasciitis is a quickly progressing and...

after a wound was licked by his dog.
A blood donor whose cat licked her chapped fingers passed on Pasteurella infection to a 74-year old transfusion
Blood transfusion
Blood transfusion is the process of receiving blood products into one's circulation intravenously. Transfusions are used in a variety of medical conditions to replace lost components of the blood...

recipient.
A seven-week old boy contracted meningitis
Meningitis
Meningitis is inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, known collectively as the meninges. The inflammation may be caused by infection with viruses, bacteria, or other microorganisms, and less commonly by certain drugs...

due to Pasteurella from contact with pet saliva.
A patient with a perforated eardrum developed meningitis after his dog passed on a Pasteurella multocida infection by licking his ear.

Idiomatic use

To "lick your wounds" means to "to withdraw temporarily while recovering from a defeat"

The phrase was spoken by Antony in John Dryden

John Dryden

John Dryden was an influential English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who dominated the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the period came to be known in literary circles as the Age of Dryden.Walter Scott called him "Glorious John." He was made Poet...

's 17th century play All for Love:

Mechanism

In non-human animals

Risks

In humans

In legend

Risks

In history and legend

Modern cases

Risks

Idiomatic use

See also

Further reading