JOSH'S CONDITIONS & TREATMENTS BLOG

Pets Linked to Urinary Tract Infections

Pets, man's best friends, furry little pals who mooch, co-dependent evolutionary offshoots or whatever you call them, are non-human creatures who you share your life, your love and your space. Humans and pets share more than space. They share germs.

One of those germs is E. coli. Your pets are lousy with E. coli. Your pets are gross.

Nearly 70% of domesticated animals have some E. coli in their bodies.  The pets spread that germ to humans and, sometimes, it causes low-grade urinary tract infections in those humans.

Doctors are hoping to find ways to prevent pet-borne, E. coli-caused urinary tract infections, but only in their spare time and only if it is raining.

It has long been known that owning excessive amounts of cats results in husbandlessness in some women, and that men who wear black, sleeveless fishnet shirts and bring their pet snakes to the parks and show them off to passersby are often stricken with wifelessness. The researchers plan to see if there is a similar root cause at work here.

Urologists can treat urinary tract infections, and Infectious Disease Specialists can treat E. coli.

Find a local doctor near you.

It Is What It Is.

  A California produce company has recalled over eight thousand cases of spinach, the vegetable, because a sample tested positive for the salmonella virus. Spinach, a flowering and usually harmless plant, is considered healthy by most doctors because of its high vitamin A content. The high iron content of the plant is a myth. A misplaced decimal in the 1870’s was to blame. (Sorry, Popeye.)

Last year, spinach, the vegetable, became tainted with E coli. The contamination was caused by cattle waste in irrigation water. That outbreak killed three people and sickened hundreds, but eating spinach, the vegetable, already given a bad rap in the media by former presidents and fussy children, shouldn’t be considered analogous to playing Russian roulette.

This current salmonella outbreak has caused no deaths or illness. It has been more of an inbreak so far. Only a tiny sample of the entire crop has been polluted. Chances are, the produce company caught it, recalled it and warned the public before it can do any real damage. Buyers should, however, beware.

Click here to find a physician with which to talk about spinach consumption and all its possible pitfalls.