General Chat

well we have just got back from pets at home
we went to see the pets
and yes we had a touch

though they do have hand sterilizing liquid on hand
i do feel
it should be situated lower down
so its easier for the children to use

I also think that over prescribed antibiotics in the past 20/30 years or so has not helped, There was a school of thought that said that if we kept on giving people antibiotics bugs would become resistant to them. I always refused to take my children to the doctors for a common sore throat and on the very few occasions that they needed antibiotics they worked after the first dose.

The trouble is that while children may be made to wash their hands after touching the animals no doubt their little fingers will have been near their mouths all the time they are with the animals. Just watch a young child, fingers are constantly near their mouths or up their noses.
Ann
Glos

Dr Daff lol

Marion, I was neutropaenic for a few months.... that is, I had less than 0.1% of an immune system, lol.... I knew everything there is about it in lay terms, lolol I still only have half an immune system..... and a very low platelet count, so don't clot easily, either.

I had a list a mile long of foods I couldn't eat!! Places I couldn't go.... still have to avoid crowded public transport, for instance, and crowded shops/places.

Love

Daff the know it all, lololol xxxxx

That is true, Mac... when I was in hospital, all visitors had to wear an apron... all staff changed apron for each patient they attended. Most of us were immuno-suppressed, and at times living in a virtual bubble of sterility, lolol

But children wouldn't normally chew on their clothes... but their hands will handle their food, go into their mouths, etc... so by handwashing alone this reduces the risk hugely!!

Many many people do not know how to wash their hands correctly... and *normal* handwashing generally misses out the thumbs and between the fingers, as well, lolol

Love

Daff xxxxx

Oh you are a mind of information Daff lol ;)) You are right enough in what you say.


Marion

I think what has happened is that due to intensive farming methods, including the prophylactic use of antibiotics for meat and dairy animals, some of the bugs which cause a problem, such as some strains of e-coli and C Diff (I have had the latter) have mutated, and are now resistant to most of the frontline antibiotics..... this is why it is so difficult to kill them off. And the anti-b's that are being resorted to are the ones which have the most horrendous side effects of their own!! I believe the e-coli strain that Mac is talking about is one of those mutant strains? As was my C Diff.

Also, our children are increasingly brought up in a more sterile atmosphere...... and there is a corresponding increase in allergies, asthma etc.

Research has shown that children brought up in a pet or multi pet household, where normal precautions such as handwashing are encouraged, have healthier immune systems, fewer bugs and diseases, and are generally all around healthier... of course there will always be those youngsters who fall either side of that broad statement, lol!! But in general this is true.

If we cast our minds back to smallpox... one of the reasons a vaccine was discovered was because it was noted how clear the milkmaid's skins were, and this led to the discovery that they had mainly had a virus called cowpox... this seemed to give them an immunity from the dreadful smallpox, which would pit and horrifically scar the sufferer, should they survive.

I think that there will be a move totally away from intensive farming... there are a lot of people who are now buying produce locally, and from ecologically farmed lands... growing their own veggies.... the tide is turning.

Children are safe with these animals, as long as they take the proper precautions. Even I am safe, as long as I take the proper precautions, lololol

Love

Daff xxxx

A bath in a tin bath in front of the fire every Sun....whether you needed it or not lol

I'm amazed I a still here. Having lived on a farm for about 4 yrs as a 6yrold. I used to pleat cows tails, feed the orphan lambs and let calves suck my hands. I dont remember washing my hands very often.
Sleeping with my then cat cant have been very healthy either lol.

My mum would always say to me that my kids needed a bit of dirt/germs....I think she was right.
Maybe I was just lucky.

Marion

That's why I won't eat any meat with blood seeping from it Joy........well cooked for me please.

Pets at home have it too. That's why the advice is to wash your hands after handling pets even lizards and chameleons.

Mac is right, especially where there is a significant risk like a farm.

*dons latex gloves*

well .............you just don't know who's been handling these threads lol

you can pick up ecoli from lots of different sources
but at least at a farm you know the risks
do you also know every time you buy meat
you are also at risk
does your butcher wash his hand regularly
you only have his word for this

or even a door handle can help spread it to
or a visit to the hospital to see a friend

e-coli is ever present on farms with livestock

FGS these animals poop in their enclosures - the same enclosures where they roll on the floor and graze from the floor - they're not going to be pristine!!

at the end of the day the onus is on the 'responsible adult' with the children to ensure they wash theirs hands........ the farm in Surrey where this started has ample signs AND facilities as Gypsywoman Pat states.

Why do people always want 'someone else to blame' and never take responsibility for their own actions or lack of?? grrrrr

when we go the beach my hubby tells the grandchildren
not to pick up pebbles on the beach that look like sausages

its much the same on a farm
there is a risk
but you try to minimise that risk by hand washing

but i am so into kids interacting with animals

This is another case of needing a scapegoat... children will always pet animals, pick up nasty stuff from the floor, etc etc.... but it is making sure that hands are washed that is the all important thing.

When will some parents take responsibility for their own shortcomings?

Oh... and if the children contract it during a school trip.... then the school staff are responsible for ensuring hands are washed... including their own!!... e-coli lives in our guts!! Many of us have it, and don't even realise it... hand washing is just soooo important!

Love

Daff xxxx

What a lot of nonsense!
Kids need contact with germs to stimulate their immune systems!

xxxxxx mick

Very sensible Joy:-))

I think its been blown out of all proportion,it makes sense that after petting animals you should always wash your hands.

we always touch the animals
and we also insist the kids wash their hands thoroughly

I agree with Maggie.
We have visited one of the farms that has been closed over this outbreak many many times, Both as a family and on shool trips. There has always been the handwashing facilities - Not just sanitisers but sinks and soap! The problem is that lots of parent don't bother making their children wash their hands - I have seen it with my own eyes.

Pat