Teach children proper hygiene around animals
February 17, 2010 10:53 am AdvicePets bring a lot of joy, love and excitement into a household. However, pets may carry infections that could be harmful to you and your child. Transmission of infection may occur through contact with pets, their feces, bites, scratches, licking of open wounds and tick/flea bites. Infants and children younger than 5 years of age as well as pregnant women have a higher risk of getting sick from pets.
“While pets such as dogs, cats and birds can transmit infection, it is unlikely that you or your child will get sick from touching these animals. Some infections caused by pets are common, such as salmonellosis, roundworm and hookworm infections, and cat scratch disease, while others like plague are rare,” says Dr. Colette Pienaar of LifeLabs.
LifeLabs conducts more than 50 million, physician-requested diagnostic tests on more than 10 million Canadians every year, so this laboratory is in a prime position to identify various health trends, including infections caused by pets.
“The best defence against transmission of infections by pets is hand washing,” Dr. Pienaar emphasizes.
Other LifeLabs tips to prevent infection in you and your child include:
• Teach children to wash their hands well with soap and running water after handling pets, their feces and pet chews.
• Supervise children younger than 5 years old while they are playing with pets.
• Keep your pet(s) healthy to ensure the health of your family, by keeping up to date with vaccinations, deworming, tick and flea control as well as regular visits to the vet.
• Teach children not to kiss or share food with their pet.
• Teach children not to play rough with their pets to prevent bites and scratches. If bitten or scratched, immediately clean the affected area with soap and water.
• Keep children away from dog and cat feces, indoors and outdoors. Litter trays should be placed where your kids do not play.
• If older children are responsible for cleaning litter boxes, teach them to wear gloves while cleaning up, and to wash their hands afterwards.
• Help your pet stay clean. Remove dirt from their paws and fur. Teach your child how to bath and groom their pet regularly.
• Keep children’s sandboxes covered and teach your children not to eat dirt so as to avoid potential contact with animal feces.
