Animals and CF

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baco623

New member
Has anyones doctor said anything about having or working with animals and having CF? I know we have compromised immune systems and we have to be careful but I'm not sure what the rules are for us. Does anyone on this forum have CF and work with animals? Any further information you could give me would be very helpful. Please please please.

26 F w/ CF/CFRD/double lung tx on 9/23/2010
 
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occupyjapan

New member
I was a vet tech for a while. I always had EXTREMELY good PFTs (FVC 120%, FEV1 121%) for years. While I worked as a vet tech, I contracted a new strain of PA that was resistant to a lot of stuff (Amikacin, Tobramycin, etc.) that resulted a MASSIVE exacerbation (FVC 70%, FEV1 41%). Doctor put me on a month of Merapenem, Fortaz, Cefepime and Vancomycin along with inhaled Tobi and then another month of Levoquin and Doxycycline. I still never fully recovered. Right now, my FVC is around 102% and my FEV1 is mid 80's. Luckily, the resistant strain of PA was eradicated and hasn't shown up again a year and a half later.

Staph (including MRSA), PA and several other CF pathogens (including Aspergillus fungi) are very common animal pathogens. We would always find PA, Staph and usually yeast when we'd do ear swabs. There isn't a doubt in my mind that this is where I got the nasty strain that ruined my lungs. It's okay to own a pet, but it's a different matter all together to be around dozens or hundreds of sick animals for a prolonged period of time.
 
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Melissa75

Administrator
I read somewhere that the Frito smell of some dogs' feet is pseudomonas. My dog's feet smell like mud. Love him too much to think about this a lot. I agree with Occupy that work at a vet clinic, shelter, or zoo would be risky.
 
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azdesertrat

New member
Give up my dog? No way! My dog is part of why I'm still alive.
She was just a puppy when I started getting really sick. I was dying.
When we got this Austrailian Cattle Dog puppy, she had so much personality I kept telling myself, 'I can't die now, I gotta see how this dog turns out!'
She has NOT disappointed.
I haven't had many lung issues post-transplant so I don't think having a dog is a bad thing. I was told by my transplant pulmonologist to get rid of the dog. I told him, 'forget it'. I haven't regretted that decision.
 
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setLOVEfree

Guest
I have a 4 pound chihuahua. I don't generally smell her feet because her breath is so bad I get distracted. Yes, it's THAT bad.
 
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bloggymom

Member
I have a dog. I am more afraid of her walking in our muddy backyard. Our dog is a little princess and she keeps herself very clean.... we think she is part cat the way she keeps herself so clean.

There is no way I would give up my dog. She has gotten me through the tough stuff the past few months. She knows when I am sick. She won't leave my side when I am having a bad day. When I get home from the hospital she sits beside me... when I did my IV's she laid under the table beside my chair.... when I sit on the stairs she sits behind me and lays her head on my shoulder.
 
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occupyjapan

New member
The "frito" smell is a chemical dogs secrete from their foot pads. It's very similar to a chemical in corn, hence why some people say they smell like Fritos. It isn't pseudomonas.

Pseudomonas usually grows in the ears. It has a kind of grape-y, fruity smell. Yeast can also grow in the ears and smells, well, yeasty. I'm not sure what staph smells like.

It's extremely, extremely common to find PA, Staph or yeast in dog's ears. It doesn't mean they have an active infection; it's just a damp area with poor ventilation and they're able to thrive there.

If you've ever taken your dog to the vet and had an ear swab done, the vet will usually tell you if there are "rods" (pseudomonas), "cocci"(staph aureus) or "yeast" and how heavy the count was (rare, few, lots, OTS (off the scale)), etc.
 
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