Contents:
- Medical Video: toxoplasmosis
- Toxoplasm in cats
- How big is the risk of toxoplasma from playing cats while pregnant?
- How to prevent toxoplasmosis during pregnancy if I have a cat?
Medical Video: toxoplasmosis
Can you play cats while pregnant? The answer, may. If you care for or play cats while pregnant, and the myth will have a negative impact on your pregnancy, it's a good idea to refer to the following article.
Toxoplasm in cats
If you hear playing cats while pregnant can bring parasites that cause harm to you and your baby, it's true. But there must be straightened out, in fact the toxoplasma parasite in cats, the main source of transmission comes from cat feces. Indeed there is a risk if playing cats while pregnant and getting toxoplasma, this can cause birth defects seriously. The resulting birth defects can be damage to the eyes and brain in the fetus.
Toxoplasma parasites in cats are actually contagious if you are dirty in cleaning cat feces or not your cat's cage is unhygienic. This parasite is transmitted by hand contact with feces, then carried into the mouth into the body, which will cause infection.
If you keep cats and play with cats while pregnant, that is permissible. It's just that you need extra attention when cleaning cat feces. Ask others to clean if possible for prevention of transmission. But if it's not there, and you have to clean your cat's city, at least do it every day.
Actually this parasite will spread over a period of one to five days. So if you clean it before 24 hours after the stool has been removed, this will prevent transmission to humans.
How big is the risk of toxoplasma from playing cats while pregnant?
Only about 15 percent of fertile women are immune to toxoplasm, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the number of women affected by Toxoplasma infection during pregnancy is still relatively small, and not all of these infections have an impact on pregnancy.
In fact, if you are infected with Toxoplasma in the first trimester, the fetus will only be at risk of getting around 15 percent. If you are infected in the second trimester, your baby's risk of toxoplasama is around 30 percent, and 60 percent is at risk in the third trimester.
There is also a very small risk of infecting your baby when you are infected a few months before becoming pregnant. If you have been infected before becoming pregnant, some experts recommend waiting for six months before trying to get pregnant.
How to prevent toxoplasmosis during pregnancy if I have a cat?
Not that you can't play with your favorite meow when you are pregnant. However, to reduce the risk of getting toxoplasmosis, do the following as prevention.
- Regarding cleaning cat feces, ask someone else to clean it every day. If you are the only person who has to clean it, do it carefully. Use disposable gloves when you clean dirt and cat cages. Don't forget to wash your hands with antiseptic soap and water afterwards. Some experts also recommend wearing a mask to prevent the entry of parasites through breathing when you clean cat feces.
- To prevent your cat from being infected with toxo when you are pregnant, make sure your cat does not eat carelessly and only eats special store-bought cat food, or leftovers from properly cooked home people. Avoid feeding raw meat cats.
- Keep your cat in the house so that it will not interact with wild animals outside the home such as birds or mice. If you have mice in your home, make sure your cat does not interact with house mice while you are pregnant.
- Keep cats away from your dining table and kitchen.
- Even though parasites rarely appear on cat fur, you should still wash your hands immediately after stroking the cat, especially before you eat or touch your mouth with your hands.
- Do not buy or adopt a new cat while you are pregnant, and avoid interacting with wild cats during pregnancy, because it is different from a pet cat that you can protect and monitor its health, we never know its condition with wild cats.
If you are worried that you might have been exposed to toxoplasmosis, you can consult a doctor, then do a blood test to find out if you are immune to Toxoplasma virus infection.
