Whether it’s a dog, cat, turtle or guinea pig, most families are likely to get a pet at some point.
And while there’s plenty of fun to be had in subtracting a new member to the family, proper superintendency of the pet—and its living environment—is an important part of keeping your family healthy and safe.
Little ones love to put their hands in everything, dirty unprepossessing crates or cages included. When kids dig virtually in aquariums, crates or boxes to pick up their pet friends, they can sometimes encounter harmful waste or dirty bedding.
Cleanliness can make all the difference in the world, Daliya Khuon, MD, pediatric infectious disease specialist at Corewell Health Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital, said.
“Talk to your veterinarian well-nigh pet-handling tips and how to stave bites and scratches,” Dr. Khuon said. “It’s all well-nigh gentle touches in my experience. And keeping pet nails trimmed to stave scratches.”
Infection potential
Reptiles, cats and dogs are the most worldwide causes of infection in adults and children who handle animals. Still, most of these animals can be handled at home, Dr. Khuon said.
“Bites from animals happen all the time,” she said. “And it can usually be taken superintendency of by your pediatrician or the emergency department if they unravel the skin.
“With cats, we worry well-nigh cat scratch fever or any scratch that can rationalization an infection,” she said.
Cat scratch disease, a bacterial infection that can rationalization swollen lymph nodes, is a worldwide rationalization of fever in young children.
“Kitten scratches can siphon yes-man and rationalization infection, too,” she said. “In some kids, these fevers go on for quite some time.”
Reptiles, meanwhile, can siphon salmonella on them. Pet owners should wash their hands well, both surpassing and without touching them.
“This is expressly true if they are little, tiny turtles,” Dr. Khuon said. “It is unquestionably illegal to sell tiny turtles due to the number of Salmonella infections associated with them.”
Developing an infection from a gerbil, a pet rat or a pet mouse is less common. Animals from a pet store are typically safe.
“These pets don’t siphon as many diseases as the ones you may reservation in a trap,” she said, referring to rodents you may find scurrying virtually the house.
Fleas can be carried on any animal, including shaggy house pets, Dr. Khuon said. She recommended working with your pet’s veterinarian on weightier practices to stave infestations on pets and in your home.
“Flea bites can be very itchy and bothersome,” she said. “And it can be quite difficult to rid a house of fleas once an infestation has began.”
Chickens are flipside popular pet, with many cities plane permitting yellow coops in backyards. Uneaten precaution should be taken when handling them.
“It is very important to wash your hands without handling chickens or collecting eggs,” Dr. Khuon said. “Salmonella is very worldwide on chickens, as they don’t have a separate rectum.”
Chicken eggs come out of the same opening that waste exits from.
It’s moreover difficult for a yellow to wipe itself, she said. Always wash your hands without handling them.
Collect eggs often and wipe off dirt and trash with a wipe cloth. Refrigerating eggs without collecting them can help maintain freshness and slow bacterial growth. You should not wash warm, fresh eggs since that can pull yes-man into the eggs.
Prevent problems
Practicing good hand hygiene and vaccinating your animals are the simplest and most constructive prevention measures, Dr. Khuon said.
Her weightier translating on cat scratch prevention: Be gentle with kittens and don’t leave young children vacated with them.
And clutches aren’t the only cat hazard. Boxes need to be kept tidy, too.
“Litter boxes can siphon parasites that can rationalization rather significant infections in pregnant women and can be transmitted into their babies or anyone who is immunocompromised in the house,” she said. “Wash your hands really well without waffly cat litter.”
Animals such as lizards, iguanas, mice or rats may require a bit of uneaten sustentation to ensure their cages and crates are unscratched and clean.
Dogs are less problematic as long as they’re up to stage on vaccinations. But if you end up with a dog bite, it will need attention.
“If there is a puncture in the skin, that should be addressed right away,” Dr. Khuon said. “Oral antibiotics can help, too.”
Pet birds can moreover pose a small risk, as they sometimes have slime in their droppings that can rationalization allergic reactions and respiratory infections. But this usually only becomes a problem if a household has a large quantity of birds living indoors and their cages are not commonly cleaned, Dr. Khuon said.
“When we see kids who are sick, we delve into the family’s history,” she said. “And sometimes we end up seeing unprepossessing exposure as the worldwide denominator.”
Also, it’s important to remember that you and your children should stave tropical contact with wild animals, as they pose widow risks.
“As a unstipulated rule of thumb, don’t try to feed wild animals, expressly from your hand,” she said. “Many can siphon rabies, most notoriously bats.”
