People with pets know how much amazing benefits having a pet brings. From the love they give to the way they teach us about responsibility and care. And as cute and fun as pets are, there are things you need to know before you get one, to be adequately prepared both for their sake and yours. Most importantly, you need to know what the health risks and benefits for you and them are and how to take care of them to make sure everyone stays safe.
Keep it clean
If you have a baby animal, you know they don’t know the rules yet, and that the beginnings are going to be, well… messy. They will need to learn where to pee and poo, but until then, you need to be ready and set with cleaning supplies. If they make a mess, you need to immediately clean and sanitize the area, preferably with a strong anti-bacterial concoction. Some people think that the way to avoid this is to put pet diapers on your pet, but this can create problems of its own – this time for the pet. If you don’t change their diapers often enough, they can get serious infections and get ill. So, while the pets are small, you’ll need to be on alert no matter what options you choose.
Physical injury
If you’re good to your pets, they will never want to attack you. However, there are situations in which they will. For example, if they get sick or scared and don’t know what is happening to them, they will attack out of fear, or if you have small children around, they might irritate or hurt them without realizing it. You could get scratched or bitten, and depending on the animal, it can be more or less serious. However, even the most superficial scrapes can cause issues if they get infected. If you do get injured, immediately disinfect it with hydrogen peroxide or alcohol and apply bandages if needed.
Allergens
For most people with allergies, having pets is a nearly impossible task, since even if you’re not allergic to some type of animal specifically, the amount of hair around the home and the dust that they throw in the air while they’re running around is enough to trigger your allergies. To take care of this, you want to look at the best air purifiers to make sure that the air in your home is clean and allergen-free. This will ensure that you don’t have to part with your pets just because they have fur.
Flea protection
Sure, fleas can be annoying, but the lotions and collars that people put on pets to prevent this can be even worse. The ingredients in anti-flea collars are pesticides, and they can be poisonous for you and your pet. Especially if you like to get really close and personal with your pets, putting your face into their fur, you can get poisoned by the thing that’s supposed to protect you all. If you’re not sure how to prevent fleas from attacking your pet without the collars, regular grooming and brushing will go a long way in protecting them, and if you really have to put some sort of protective gear on them, go for an organic, natural substance.
Parasites
Illnesses that attack multiple species are rare, but parasites are an exception to the rule, and many pets could be carrying parasites that they can pass on to you. Just petting an infected pet or walking barefoot on grass where feces infected with hookworm was could get you infected, and while it’s mostly not fatal, it can cause quite a few medical issues, and the best way to protect yourself and your children is to protest your pet with regular check-ups at the vet and prescribed therapy.
It might seem that there are too many risks associated with pets and that it’s easier just not to have any in your home, but the amount of joy and love they bring you balances it all out. Not to mention that kids who grow up with pets are more resistant to allergies and they have more compassion at an earlier age. So have a pet, just make sure you’re taking all necessary precautions to protect all of you.