Pet theory

They are our best friends and companions, always there to offer a friendly paw or a lick on the face whenever we feel down in the dumps. We love our pets so much so that we share our living rooms and often our beds with them.

But the next time you get ready to curl up with your furriest friends, think about this: If you have a skin disorder you can pass it on to your pet and the same disorder can be 10-20 times more troublesome for your pet than you. Vice-versa; there are plenty of skin diseases that you can get from your infected pets.

Your pets can carry a variety of creepy crawly critters that could make your skin sick. As they roam your yard or floors, cats and dogs can pick up bacteria, fungi and a variety of bugs (ticks, mites and worms) that they can then pass on to you. These bugs can lead to a host of zoonotic disorders or conditions that are passed from animals to humans. Sometimes your pets can even pick up germs from you and then return them.

One needs to be aware of the skin infections one can catch from pets, so as to prevent your best friend from giving you a nasty skin rash.

More precaution

You might have heard of a condition called ringworm. Despite its name, ringworm isn’t an actual worm. This skin condition is actually caused by a type of fungus called a dermato-phyte.

This fungal infection is very contagious. It can pass quickly from pets (mainly cats) to person in close quarters. If you do catch ringworm, you’ll notice red, possibly ring-shaped rashes on your skin. Dermatophytes like warm, moist areas, so you may find these itchy, scaly rashes on areas of your body that tend to sweat more such as the groin area (where it’s known as jock itch), feet (also called athlete’s foot) and scalp. Ringworm on the scalp can create bald patches along with the rash.

You can catch ringworm if you touch an infected animal’s skin or fur. Dogs and cats can carry ringworm, especially when they’re young. The mites that cause cheyletiellosis tend to hang out in open environment where pets can pick them up and bring them home with their owners. The result is a red, bumpy rash and white flakes that appear to be moving (which is why cheyletiellosis is sometimes known as “walking dandruff”).

Treatment line

Treatment is infection-specific, although many infections are self-limited. Prevention involves common sense measures such as adequate hand washing, proper disposal of animal waste, and ensuring that infected animals are diagnosed and treated. Special precautions are indicated for immune-compromised persons. Increased communication between primary care physicians and veterinarians could improve treatment and prevention of these conditions. Pregnant women should keep their cats indoors, should avoid handling cat litter, and should not feed cats uncooked meat.

(Dr Sharma is a Chandigarh-based skin specialist)