Drink a factor in human bite cases

ALCOHOL-fuelled aggression among young men means males are 12 times more likely to have to undergo surgery for a human bite wound than females.

That’s according to a study of 92 patients referred to the plastic surgery unit at St James Hospital between January 2003 and December 2005 and reported in the Emergency Medicine Journal. Of the patients surveyed, 85 were men.

All the wounds were the result of an assault — there were no self-inflicted injuries reported. Between them the patients had 96 bite wounds. The majority (70%) were injuries to the face. The ear was the most common area for attack (65%).