According to some studies, your love for animals is apparently written in your genes. No wonder so many of us cherish our pets! But keeping pet animals comes with its fair share of responsibility, such as ensuring you keep your pets away from common household foods which are toxic to them, or learning how to best support your pet through their final moments.
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There are also a lot of pet hygiene related things you should know. One of them is to learn how to safely and responsibly discard animal poo.
As reported by LadBible, flushing your pet's poo down the toilet is actually a terrible idea, and could seriously impact your health. Read on to find out all the details.
Why not to flush animal poo down a toilet
A veterinary doctor who posts videos on TikTok under the handle @ben.the.vet, and shares a ton of information related to pet health, gave people some crucial information about the dangers of animal poo.
As per the vet, flushing animal poo down the toilet could be very harmful to people, and especially children, because animal poo contains parasites called toxocara which could seriously impact health. The vet explains,
This is because of the presence of toxocara, a worm parasite in animal faeces, which is tolerant to the high temperatures and harsh conditions found in the final stage of processing used water.
The reason toxocara is a worry is because it’s zoonotic, we can pick it up and children are particularly susceptible.
People can contract diseases from animal poo
The disease that is contracted as a result of the parasites is called toxoplasmosis. The vet further explains the process through which humans contract the disease,
It means we don’t develop the adult worms in our intestines - but what happens is that we accidentally swallow the eggs (in poo particles) which hatch into larvae and these move around inside our bodies.
On children, the impact of exposure to toxocarareduce can be extremely serious, even resulting in impairing their cognitive development and IQ.
Humans could also contract an infection called visceral larva migrans from animal poo. One way to combat this is by regularly worming your cats and dogs.
Instead of flushing your pet's poo in the toilet, as per Spruce Pets, you should be scooping animal waste, double wrap it, and then dispose of it in the garbage.
Read more:
⋙ Woman reveals how she got infectious parasite and bacteria from her pet cats
⋙ Sleeping with your dog at night: Everything to know before letting your pet inside your bed
⋙ These are the worst animals to keep as pets
Sources used:
TikTok: @ben.the.vet
LadBible: ' Vet shares grim reason why you should never flush animal poo down the toilet'
Spruce Pets: ' The Best Ways to Dispose of Dog Poop'
