What Are the Signs and Symptoms of Bleach Poisoning?
The ultra-concentrated bleach will cause chemical burns and lesions both internally and externally. Color-safe bleach generally causes vomiting, and if it has a high concentration, blood might appear, Wismer says.
For the majority of cases, which involve household bleach that has been diluted in water, symptoms begin within minutes. These include heavy drooling (especially in cats) and redness and irritation on the skin and in and around the mouth. Hovda says you may also notice your pet pawing at her mouth or in other ways acting abnormally. Vomiting is less common in these cases, but for the Labrador-type pets who consume a lot, it may come back up.
Cases involving ultra-concentrated bleach are emergencies. If you think your pet has consumed or been topically exposed to concentrated bleach or has potentially gotten any type of bleach in her eyes, you should consult a veterinary professional immediately.
Exposure to diluted household bleach and color-safe bleach can sometimes be treated at home. If the irritation is limited to the skin, give your dog a long bath with lots of water and a little bit of dog shampoo or mild dishwashing soap, Hovda says. Pets who have ingested a small amount of color-safe bleach will usually vomit a few times and then return to normal.
If your dog or cat drank some bleach and is drooling but not vomiting, you want to encourage him to drink to rinse off any bleach that is still in contact with the lining of his gastrointestinal tract. This is easier for dogs, who usually eat and drink anything you put in front of them, than it is for cats. Hovda suggests using a little bit of tuna water to make it more appealing for cats to drink. Giving your dog or cat a small bowl of milk can also encourage him to drink and help neutralize any bleach that is still present.
For most of these cases, the symptoms should subside 30 to 45 minutes after treatment, Hovda says. If they do not, it’s best to consult your vet who can evaluate your pet’s condition and, if necessary, prescribe medications to relieve discomfort and help the lining of the gastrointestinal tract heal.
Can Bleach Kill a Dog?
While you may consider it unlikely that your canine friend would be drawn to a cleaning product, there are a number of ways that you might find your dog drinking bleach! Some dogs play with empty milk cartons or plastic bottles as toys. They could easily mistake a bottle of bleach-containing product for a toy, especially if the bottle is brightly colored! Dogs explore with their mouths, which can lead to punctured bottles and ingested bleach.
Some cleaning products are designed to make our homes smell sweet, which may attract your pet. If your dog walks through some bleach while you are mopping the floor, this can cause problems for their skin. It may also cause them to attempt to groom off the bleach, leading to accidental ingestion. Some dogs have a habit of drinking from toilet bowls – if newly cleaned, this is a potential source of exposure.
Remember that tooth whitening products often contain bleach. These are often flavored and may smell appetizing to your dog! Of course, there are some breeds (Labrador springs to mind) that may just drink from a bucket of bleach water!
Diluted bleach or mild cleaning products can cause some nasty symptoms. Concentrated bleach products can cause more serious symptoms and potentially be fatal. A common question since the pandemic started is, “Can I put a little bleach in my dog’s bath water?” The answer is no! There is no need, there are plenty of effective pet-safe shampoos on the market that kill the virus more effectively than bleach. You risk harming your pet, which of course, no pet parent would want. Despite some misleading articles you might come across online, bleach should never be used to bathe your dog, treat fleas, color their fur, or treat parvovirus.
What to Do if Your Dog Ingested Bleach
Fortunately, in most cases, the bleach is diluted with water when its used to mop the floor and dogs will only give a lick or two. This leads to milder cases of bleach poisoning.
What should dog owners do in the case their dog ingested bleach? In the case of mild bleach ingestion, dog owners can try to treat it at home. As a starting point, rinsing the mouth with water if the bleach was recently ingested can help minimize the amount that is swallowed.
Dog owners may want to encourage the dog to drink milk or water so to dilute any ingested bleach solution, suggest veterinarians Dr. Seth Chapman, Dr. Mary Nabity and Dr. Jennifer Pittman in an article for DVM360.
If your dog is reluctant to drink, you can encourage him by tossing in the water a few pieces of kibble or you can add some meat broth with no salt, no onion or garlic added. Do not give water or milk if the dog is exhibiting symptoms of convulsions, or a decreased level of alertness. Such dogs may be unable to swallow effectively and may choke.
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Inducing vomiting in dogs who have ingested bleach is not recommended, unless told to do so by Poison Control or a veterinarian. This because vomiting would expose the dogs throat and mouth again to its caustic action. On top of that, vomiting may lead to breathing difficulties if the vomit is accidentally aspirated in the lungs. Aspiration pneumonia is a risk when bleach is inhaled.
For digestive issues, affected dogs may benefit from a bland diet for a dogs upset stomach. Veterinarian Dr. Altman recommends starting the bland diet at least 4 hours after vomiting has subsided if a dog who ingested bleach is showing this symptom.
Pepcid (famotidine) for dogs may be also helpful to protect the stomach. This over-the-counter drug is preferably given 20 minutes before food so to allow better absorption. Of course, a vet should be consulted prior to giving any over-the-counter drugs which can be a problem in a dog with health issues or on other medications that may interfere.
At the Vets Office
If your dog ingested large amounts of bleach or is showing worrisome signs such as blood in the vomit or stool, coughing up blood, weakness, stumbling, reduced appetite, panting, restlessness you need to see your vet. Your vet will ask several pertinent questions such as the name of the product ingested, when it was swallowed and the amount swallowed.
The vet will check the dogs vital signs, including temperature, pulse, breathing rate. The vet may take blood samples, such as a complete blood count (CBC) and a serum chemistry profile.
A dog who ingests considerable amounts may show increases of sodium and chloride in the blood (hypernatremia and hyperchloremia).
Fluid therapy using dextrose 5% in water in lieu of lactated Ringers solution may be more appropriate in this case considering the rise in sodium concentration in the blood.
Unfortunately, there is currently no antidote for chlorine ingestion in dogs. If your dog ingested bleach, veterinary treatment consists mostly of removing traces of chlorine from the body and providing supportive care.
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Bleach Poisoning in Dogs – an everyday danger
If your dog ingested bleach, you might be wondering “is bleach toxic to dogs?” Yes, bleach is toxic to dogs and bleach can cause serious complications and even death in dogs, especially when it is consumed straight from the bottle in an undiluted form and in large quantities. Fortunately, most dogs end up ingesting bleach that has been diluted and only end up ingesting small amounts. Dogs may accidentally ingest bleach by licking a floor that was recently mopped with diluted bleach or they may drink diluted bleach from a bucket when the owner steps away for a few seconds. Following is some first aid information if your dog ingested bleach.