As we all know, smoking is harmful to health, not only for people, but also for furry children. If a curious child eats cigarettes and cigarette butts, or drinks the water in which the cigarette butts are soaked, he or she may be poisoned!
# 01
The ingredient in cigarettes that causes pet poisoning is nicotine , which we usually call nicotine . The extent to which pets are affected by nicotine depends on the amount ingested and their body weight. According to reports, a dose of 1 mg/kg can cause symptoms of poisoning in pets, and the average fatal dose for dogs is 9.2 mg/kg. The nicotine content in a cigarette is about 1-3mg, and nicotine is concentrated in the cigarette butt, so a cigarette that has been smoked is still very dangerous, especially for petite pets.
Many people like to use paper cups filled with water instead of ashtrays. There are often ten cigarette butts in them, and this cup of yellow water contains a lot of nicotine!
# 02
No one smokes in that house. Isn’t it impossible for the baby to have such a problem? What about nicotine poisoning? ——It’s not that simple, you also need to be careful with green plants and lawns! We have flowers and plants at home, and sometimes they are infested with insects, so we buy some medicine to kill them, not to mention the outdoor green plants.
Now most of the ingredients in green plant insecticides are low-toxicity cypermethrin (this type of drug is also used in mosquito coils and insecticidal sprays), but it can easily produce drug resistance, so some pesticides also neonicotinoid insecticides will be added. Neonicotinoid insecticide products include imidacloprid , thiamethoxam , clothianidin , dinotefuran , acetamiprid , thiacloprid, nitenpyram , chlorothiazide Tricholine, piperamid, flonicamid and sulfoxaflor , etc., are "close relatives" of nicotine and have similar poisoning mechanisms.
# 03
Nicotine is easily absorbed by pet skin and mucous membranes. It can first excite the nervous system, and then turn it into anesthesia. Large doses of nicotine can block the conduction impulses of autonomic ganglia and muscle ganglia.
Symptoms can appear in pets within one hour of consuming nicotine. The greater the intake, the faster the onset of symptoms. At first, they may be very excited and start drooling, their pupils may become smaller, and then they may experience vomiting or diarrhea.
Trouble breathing and Muscle tremors are also common. In the middle and late stages, symptoms such as poor mental health, dilated pupils, uncoordinated limbs and twitching when walking may also occur. Accelerated heart rate, collapse, coma and even death may occur.
# 04
There is no specific antidote for nicotine poisoning . The treatment principle is to prevent the continued absorption of poisons, accelerate the excretion of poisons, and control the development of symptoms. Specific measures include inducing vomiting, controlling convulsions, treating heart and blood pressure abnormalities, oxygen inhalation, diuresis, and Intravenous infusion , etc. As with any other poisoning, early treatment and diagnosis are crucial. As soon as your pet shows symptoms, bring items that may cause poisoning to your pet, and please rush to the pet hospital as soon as possible.
# written at the end
If sometimes you cannot avoid smoking, you should try to reduce the harm of second-hand smoke to your child. Try to do the following:
1. Do not smoke indoors
Sometimes for convenience, just light up a cigarette in the room or living room , although there is an electric fan or the ventilation is good, there is still a big gap compared with going outside to smoke.
2. Change and wash your clothes quickly after smoking.
After smoking, some smoke smell will remain in clothes or hair. Don’t rush to play with your furry children at this time. Remember to wash and change clothes first~
3. Put away the surroundings after smoking.
No matter what It is best to place cigarette butts or ashtrays out of reach of furry children to prevent them from touching them when they are curious or playing.
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This article is reviewed by the Mengbang team of practicing veterinarians for pet owners to learn and refer to. Some of the pictures in this article are from the Internet. If there is any infringement, please contact us to delete them.
