Your dog's lick can make you sick! Here's why

3 UNEXPECTED THINGS THAT MAY HAPPEN IF YOUR DOG LICKS YOUR FACE: That feeling is absolutely overwhelming when you enter your home and your dog comes running to you and starts licking your face. Though the affection may make you feel loved at the moment but you may regret it later. This is because there are a lot of bacteria and germs in dog’s saliva that can make you sick.

HOW? There are extremely less chances of dog’s saliva causing any problem if it touches the intact human skin and especially when a person is healthy. This is because there is a very little absorption of saliva through the skin. But a dog’s saliva can be absorbed easily through the mucous membrane of mouth, nose, eyes, cuts and wounds. That is why it is more dangerous when a dog licks your face.

IT'S NOT COMMON BUT HAPPENS: It’s not really common that you get sick with a dog’s lick, but it does happen. This is more likely to happen to people who have a suppressed immune system. And that is why your parents have always been telling to wash your hands with soap after petting a dog or any other pet in general.

WORST CASES: But in the worst scenario if a dog’s saliva enters your body, it may result in an infection, upset stomach or a rash.

INFECTION: Roundworm and hookworm are transmitted from dog to dog when they eat each other's stool or lick each other’s anuses. And we all have seen this happening. So as you must have guessed by now that dogs can transmit these parasites when they lick you. If these parasites infect you then it might cause rashes, itchiness, cough, stomach ache, diarrhoea, fever and fatigue.

UPSET STOMACH: As dogs eat, lick and put their nose into things and places where they shouldn’t, some of the bacteria coming from these contaminated things are zoonotic, which means they can be transferred from animals to humans and cause problems.

These bacteria can cause upset stomach, diarrhoea, nausea, fever and vomiting. The bacterial infections may include Giardia, Clostridium, E.coli, Salmonella, Leptospira and Campylobacter.

A kiss from your pup is not worth these infections.

YOU CAN GET A RASH: When ringworm is passed from dogs to humans, it causes fungal infection which creates rashes on the skin. If your face becomes red and inflamed within minutes after your dog licks you, this indicates that you have caught an allergy.

The infection can be treated with anti-fungal creams and oral medicines. But it’s better to avoid that kiss than to eat these medicines.