Joint relief creams toxic to animals

[Catherine]

There are a large number of joint relief or pain relief creams available without a prescription. Because they are sold openly we tend not to think of then as dangerous.
Sadly that is not true. Pets can become quite ill after ingesting even a small amount of the product.

http://news.google.ca/news/url?sr=1&ct2=...t=2&at=dt0


Any medication no matter how harmless for us, can prove quite deadly for our pets. We need to be careful when we use these products.

[LPC]

That's a very useful warning. I don't use any creams on the skin at all and treat the odd sore on the skin with propolis. However, I am sure that there are many pet owners who do use such creams and they would need to be very careful indeed about washing thoroughly after treatment, or if that is not possible then not allowing a pet to lick treated parts. Unless the hands are painful and the cream needs to remain for a long time, it would seem best to wash them very thoroughly before having any contact with a pet.

Thank you for drawing attention to this issue, Catherine. I certainly didn't know or think about it.

[Tobi]

Thank you Catherine, because I didn't know that.
But most of those liniments and joint/muscle creams all say on them "toxic if ingested" and "wash hands after use."
If ever I needed to use any of them (Deep Heat, and Tiger Balm etc) when I had Misty (which I did!) I would never use the sprays because I didn't want her to breathe it in. And I would use the liniment in the next room, always washing my hands well after using it before doing anything else.
I guessed if it was toxic for us to eat it might be even worse for an animal.

Fortunately Misty wasn't the slightest bit interested in eating inedible things or experimenting by chewing on things. But many dogs do, and especially pups!

It stands to reason that ALL human medicines, even if they are natural, like Tiger Balm, should be kept away from animals!

[Catherine]

I never use topical creams or liniments. The most I ever did was use some essential oils in the bath or to rub on my skin. They were edible oils so they were safe. I used rosemary and that is safe for animals. I used it to remove mites from hamsters. They were fine and it worked.

Maybe some of these joint creams are too strong and dangerous to be used regularly. Do you really want to rub something on your skin that can kill a dog or cat.

You were smart not to use sprays around Misty. I think few people realize that the fine mist from a spray ends up in your lungs.
That would absorb into the body faster than through the skin.

I think products need better warning labels and I think people need to be more careful.

[Tobi]

People ought to think about spray deodorants and colognes as well. If you spray stuff like that and an animal happens to be in the same room, it will breathe it in! In fact I am amazed how many people can happily spray stuff in their armpits, (right next to their breathing!) and not even feel the horrible feeling from breathing it in. Reading the ingredients and imagining a pet breathing that in is a wake-up call!
Roll on or stick deodorants are better because they don't end up in the air all around.

Also, neither humans nor animals need spray air fresheners, and those plug-in ones are just as bad. Read the ingredients on those!

Sally-cat's human returned one day, and brought a plug-in deodoriser, and set it into the socket 2ft away from Sally's food bowls. She said the room smelled like cat food.....
I said nothing, but removed it as soon as she left. The poor cat wouldn't go anywhere near her food dishes! Of course not!

[Catslave]

Animals absorb things through the soles of their paws so you have to be careful what you do your floors, decks outside concrete with,there was a case of a cat getting sick from walking on a wet floor that had been mopped with disinfectant.

[Catherine]

You are right, stuff absorbs through the paws.
I have heard of wild mice dying when they ran across a floor that had been washed with a strong cleaner.  Any pet walking on that would be in trouble. So would a small child.

Anything that you spray into the air ends up in your lungs. Maybe all the spray products we use explains why so many people have breathing problems. We are damaging our lungs and the lungs of our pets.

Poor Sally Cat. She wouldn't want to smell that stuff spraying near her food. It wouldn't be healthy for her either.
Good thing you removed it.

[Tobi]

(11-27-2016, 02:13 PM)Catslave Wrote: Animals absorb things through the soles of their paws so you have to be careful what you do your floors, decks outside concrete with,there was a case of a cat getting sick from walking on a wet floor that had been mopped with disinfectant.

Yes you are right catslave. And cats have quite sensitive systems. Even for dogs it is dangerous. I often think about all the cleaning products we use, and how dangerous they are for our animals. The way around that is to use a steam cleaner on everything, which contains no chemicals. Only the disinfectant properties of boiling steam.

Cats also lick their paws regularly. Moreso than dogs do. We have to remember that.

[Catherine]

You can clean anything with vinegar and baking soda. Both products are safely edible so cleaning with them is not going to harm you or your pet. I refuse to use really toxic cleaning products. I won't use hand sanitizer either. It can cause problems for humans. I am sure they are bad for cats and dogs.

[Ruth]

I was worried about wearing perfume around my birds and an avian tech told me not to worry about it. But I don't go soaking myself in perfume that's for sure, just a dab here and there.

I never use linaments and wouldn't let my pets near them