Why you shouldn’t let your dog lick your face: expert opinion
'27.07.2017'
Source: The New York Times
If you allow your pets, in particular dogs, to lick your face, and it seems to you that this is a manifestation of affection and love of an animal, then be careful - experts advise to beware of such “kisses”.
Why and how much damage can saliva of a dog do to a person’s health, the newspaper found out The New York Times.
Dr. Nilanyan Nandi, Associate Professor of Medicine at Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia, wrote in an email that the mouth of most animals is "a vast collection of microorganisms, bacteria, viruses and yeast."
Dr. Nandi says dog saliva has squirrels that can help clean or heal their wounds, but in a paragraph titled “Why not kiss your pet,” he noted that there are some organisms that are unique to dogs that are not intended for people. These bacteria can be transmitted from animals to humans and cause diseases.
Some common zoonotic bacteria include clostridia, E. coli, salmonella and campylobacter, which can cause severe gastrointestinal diseases in humans, said Dr. Leni K. Kaplan, a teacher in Cornell University's College of Veterinary Medicine.
Is it necessary to forbid the dog to lick the face? Not really.
“When a dog's saliva touches intact human skin, especially in a healthy person, it is unlikely that it will cause any problems,” the expert added.
Saliva and pathogens are more readily absorbed through the mucous membranes of the nose, mouth and eyes. Although diseases transmitted in this way are rare, Dr. Kaplan recommends avoiding your dog licking these parts of his face.
John Oxford, professor of virology at Queen Mary University in London and a specialist in microbiology, said he would never allow a dog to lick his face, reports The hippocratic post.
“It's not just what's in the saliva,” he said. "Dogs spend half their lives sniffing around dirty corners or other dogs' faeces, so their faces are full of bacteria, viruses and all kinds of germs."
What other diseases can be transmitted?
Other infections, such as hookworms and roundworms, can be transmitted in a practice called coprophagy, in which animals eat each other's excrement or lick the anus from each other, Dr. Nandi wrote in an email.
Dr. Joe Kinnarni, former president of the American Veterinary Medical Association, said in an interview that it was estimated in one study that a puppy could have from 20 to 30 a million roundworm eggs in the intestinal tract within one week. He said that one child from Greensboro, North Carolina, almost lost an eye from a roundworm infection.
What precautions should be taken?
Experts recommend:
• Make sure your pet is vaccinated with all vaccines.
• New pets must be dewormed.
• Keep your pets away from the faeces of other animals.
• Wash your hands regularly with soap and water.
