You need to consider the risk to your pets the next time youre scrubbing your house of coronavirus.
While youve been doubling down with hand sanitizer, disinfecting wipes, and heavy-duty cleaning products to kill COVID-19, a new casualty has arisen from the coronavirus pandemic that you likely hadnt considered: poisoning your pets. Veterinary toxicology specialists report a spike in calls from pet owners concerned about their dogs who have swallowed Lysol wipes or their cats who have gotten sick from licking disinfected floors. “Weve had a 100 percent increase in the number of calls involving pets exposed to cleaning items, including hand sanitizer and bleach,” says Ahna Brutlag, DVM, senior veterinary toxicologist and director of the Pet Poison Helpline.
Pet owners must be extra vigilant during the pandemic when using cleaners that contain ingredients toxic to animals, such as alcohol, bleach, hydrogen peroxide, and chemical compounds that contain the word “phenol,” says Barbara Hodges, DVM, director of advocacy and outreach for the Humane Society Veterinary Medical Association. “If you are washing the floor and the phone rings and you pick it up and go sit on the couch to talk, your dog or cat could be playing with that water, knocking it over, [or] licking it,” Hodges says.
Many hand sanitizers in particular contain very high concentrations of alcohol. “If a pet were to ingest too much, they can develop alcohol poisoning,” says Brutlag. “This is mainly an issue that occurs in dogs if they chew a bottle of hand sanitizer.” But if your pet simply licks your hand after youve used hand sanitizer, that shouldnt be a problem, she says.
But the biggest danger may be with pets swallowing cleaning wipes, which typically happens when a wipe was used to clean up food spills, Brutlag says. “If ingested, the cleaning agents can cause severe irritation to the stomach,” she says. Not only that, but “the fibrous material of the wipe may cause a blockage in the stomach or intestines that could require surgery to remove.”
Additionally, some strong cleaning products, such as those for toilets, ovens, and drains, can also cause chemical burns to the mouth, stomach and eyes. Other highly dangerous products include rust removers, lime/calcium removers, paint strippers, and pool shock.ae0fcc31ae342fd3a1346ebb1f342fcb
Brutlag warns that cats are especially sensitive to cleaning chemicals containing hydrogen peroxide, phenols, pine oils, and quaternary ammonium compounds. Toxicologists arent sure why, but it may have something to do with cats unique liver metabolism, she says.
To keep your pets safe, make sure they are not in the room you are cleaning. Discard paper towels that are wet with cleaner and keep used sanitizing wipes in covered trash cans that cant be reached by dogs.
“If your pet is accidentally exposed to a cleaning product, wipe it off immediately, if safe to do so, and offer your pet water to drink if the product was ingested,” says Brutlag.
Call your veterinarian, the Pet Poison Helpline, or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center, so an expert can determine if any at-home treatments should be tried or if your pet needs to go to a veterinary clinic.
Never induce vomiting after a cleaner has been swallowed without speaking to a veterinary professional, Brutlag warns, since some cleaners will cause more harm if vomited up. “Its dangerous to mix chemicals together so it may not be safe to give your pet something by mouth to induce vomiting because it could lead to a dangerous chemical reaction in the stomach,” she explains.
And for additional information on pets amid the pandemic, check out These Are the Pets Most Likely to Get Coronavirus. Best Life is constantly monitoring the latest news as it relates to COVID-19 in order to keep you healthy, safe, and informed. Here are the answers to your most
What are the signs of an intestinal blockage?
So your dog has dodged a bullet as far as the wipe getting stuck in their throat but there are plenty of other places for a wipe to get stuck within a dog’s body.
And in this section I will look at the signs of an intestinal or bowel blockage.
If your dog suffers from a blockage in their digestive tract, signs of this may appear hours or even a few days after the incident.
Unfortunately, there are many signs of a blockage.
Which are much the same as symptoms for other health issues with your dog.
Which is why it is important to know for a fact that your dog ate a Clorox wipe.
And the most important symptoms of an intestinal blockage are things like loss of appetite, vomiting and straining to poop.
And all of this heartache and stress begs another obvious question, which I will answer in the next section.
What are the ingredients in a Clorox wipe?
There are two main groups of ingredients in a Clorox wipe.
Firstly are the chemicals that are impregnated within the cloth.
And secondly are the ingredients that make the cloth.
There are four active chemicals in Clorox wipes.
There are two types of n- Alkyl and two types of ammonium chlorides.
As these ingredients are all chemicals, which makes it a bit dry and scary to try and describe but I will do my best below.
The n- Alkyls are used because they will kill bacteria.
The two ammonium chlorides are used because they are disinfectants.
The cloth is made of polyester which is non biodegradable because it is a by-product of petroleum.
Can I wipe my dog with a Clorox wipe?
It’s probably not a good idea to use a disinfecting wipe, like a Clorox Wipe or a Lysol Wipe, on your dog’s paws. The same chemicals that do the disinfecting are harmful if ingested… like if the dog licks the paws after using that kind of wipe.
The exposure of bleach to your pet can be harmful; ultra-concentrated bleach can result in severe lesions on the skin, and in lesser cases, skin irritation. If your furry friend happens to ingest any of these products, toxicity could result in complications within the digestive and respiratory systems.
As we’ve mentioned before products such as bleach can cause permanent and even life-threatening damage to a pet’s skin or insides if swallowed. If you do use bleach, make sure that your dog never comes into contact with it in its concentrated form (same goes for any cleaning product that needs to be diluted).
FAQ
What happens if my dog eats a Lysol wipe?
Are Clorox wipes toxic for animals?
Is Clorox harmful to dogs?
Are antibacterial wipes toxic to dogs?