The COVID-19 pandemic has clearly made us more conscious about our safety and hygiene. The virus has made face masks and hand sanitizers must-carry items in our bags.
Studies and researches say that washing our hands and using hand sanitizers frequently, practicing social distancing, and ensuring to check for symptoms can keep the virus at bay. However, there have been constant worries about hand sanitizers and pets during this virus outbreak. Many pet parents worry that touching their pets after using hand sanitizers can affect their skin and fur. Can sanitizer be used on dogs?
NO. The usage is highly prohibited. Firstly, it is not scientifically proven that COVID-19 can affect dogs. And on top of that, you cannot use hand sanitizers on dogs to avoid the virus. If your dog accidentally licks off the solution from their body, it could lead to toxic complications.
The proven fact is that hand sanitizers consist of chemical ingredients that are toxic and poisonous to our pooches when it is in direct contact with them. Since the product consists of 95% alcohol and constitutes ethanol, they are strong enough to damage your dog’s footpads and cause flakiness in the skin. Licking or consuming even a tiny amount of hand sanitizer can lead to issues like diarrhea and vomiting in dogs.
The symptoms to find if your dog has consumed sanitizers could be excessive drooling, collapsing, low blood sugar and pressure, lower body temperature, and faint breathing. Take him immediately to the veterinarian if you suspect sanitizer intake.
Also, if you touch your dog after using the sanitizer, it is said to not have any negative effects. This is because your hands are dried after its usage. Some dogs might not prefer to be touched if you use the product on your hand due to the foul smell. Therefore, you can wash your hands with normal soap and water.
If you wish to pet your dogs after coming back home, do it, but you should wash your hands before and after walking, touching or feeding them to eliminate any microbes, including coronavirus, if it has come into contact with you or your pet, according to World Health Organisation’s guidelines. Also, it is still recommended that people who are sick with this disease restrict contact with animals until further information about the virus is available. In this way, we watch for ourselves and for them.
We advise you to store the hand sanitizer solutions away from dog’s reach to avoid toxic shock. This pandemic, let us try to keep the environment safer for both our dogs and for ourselves. Take these preventative steps and follow the instructions to avoid complications.