Most people know that smoking and secondhand smoke can have harmful health effects on humans, but did you know that pets can also be affected by secondhand smoke? Most pets will show negative side effects when their owner smokes. This article will focus on the harmful side effects most commonly shown in a dog. Cats may also experience many of these same issues.
Eye Infections
Smoke particles in the air can irritate the eyes in both humans and dogs. Over a long enough amount of time, this can lead to an eye infection. Treating these eye infections will most often require a visit to the vet’s office, as well as giving your dog eye drops or other medications. If the dog’s owner continues to smoke, then the dog is likely to keep getting eye infections on a regular basis. Over time, this can cause the dog to have vision problems, which will lower its quality of life.
Allergies
Some dogs may show allergy-like symptoms if their owner smokes around them on a regular basis. The most common allergy symptoms in dogs include sneezing, vomiting, diarrhea, and itchiness. The itchiness will result in scratching. Depending on the severity of the symptoms, your pet may need to see the vet. Most likely, your dog will need to begin taking allergy medication to work through the symptoms. The symptoms are not likely to subside until the dog’s owner stops smoking and does a thorough cleaning of the house.
Hives are one thing to watch out for if your dog is constantly itchy. Your dog is likely to scratch at them, and may do so until they bleed. This can cause further health problems, such as infections. Itchy dogs may also obsessively lick themselves. Not only can this remove skin and also make them vulnerable to bleeding, but it also means they are ingesting some of the smoke particles, This can lead to internal health problems as well, including digestive problems.
Respiratory Problems
Just like smoking and secondhand smoke can cause respiratory problems in humans, it works the same way with dogs. Smokers are likely to notice that their dog coughs or has more trouble breathing than the average dog. Dogs who live with smokers may develop asthma.
The longer the dog lives with someone who smokes, the worse asthma if likely to get. If you are worried that your dog is having breathing problems, take them to the vet as soon as possible, as it may be a sign of a bigger health problem. One potential health problem that can happen if a dog suffers from respiratory problems for long enough includes cancer.
Cancer
Unfortunately, dogs who live with smokers can also develop lung cancer. Just like people who are diagnosed with cancer, dogs can go through chemotherapy to treat it. However, this doesn’t always work to cure the dog. More often than not, the dog will have a reduced quality of life for the rest of its life if it goes on to develop cancer. The earlier the cancer is caught, the better the chance of the dog’s recovery. Of course, this is will vary between different types of dogs. Make sure to talk to a vet about all of your options when it comes to treating a dog with cancer.
If you are trying to quit smoking, it is helpful to use nicotine gum, patches, a variety of home remedies, and mindfulness activities. Before using any drugs to treat your addiction (including patches and supplements), make sure to ask your doctor if they are safe for you. Also, make sure to look up any gum, patch, supplement, or thrive side effects before using any of these products.
Quitting smoking is difficult, but it is not impossible. Hopefully, your furry friend can help to give you more motivation to quit. The sooner you quit smoking, the sooner both you and your pet will be feeling better.
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