treatment and pets

Curious about whether or not close contact with pets should be limited while on INF/Riba drugs.

[Mary4now]

I think just keep it clean,

[Bill1954]

I don’t think there’s anything of concern. Occasionally, our immune response is suppressed as a result of the interferon; but there aren’t many zoonotic diseases present in domestic animals.

Your doctor will tell you if you need to limit contact with places like day care centers or hospitals where disease really can be an issue; but more than likely they’ll initiate a drug to increase white cells so it’s not an issue.

Was this your concern?

-Bill

[Trish77]

Wow Bill...I've never heard that word before!  Love it when a man can make me go to dictionary.com  :)  

[JRenquist]

I was volunteering at a cat adoption for an animal shelter every week.  The person who I was working with got scratched by a cat and I felt like I shouldn't help her, in case it scratched me, too.  My concern was that I could pretty easily get her infected, too (the person, not the cat) Not sure if that was a valid concern - maybe someone here knows
Got so worried , I quit.

Also, remembering how it was the last time I treated, and planning to try again this summer, I'm going to lay in a year's supply of kitty litter and dry food ahead of time. They seemed to just get heavier and heavier every week.

To Bill1954

I did not know that about the immune response suppression from interferon ; thought it worked the other way, since it "ate" my thyroid. I work  in an elementary school. Should be interesting.  Thanks for the info.  

[James10500]

My dogs were very important to me during tx, couldn't have done it without them.  

[babs824]

if u have cats it is a good idea to always wear gloves to change litter.  otherwise cats are quite clean. i have never seen a cat eat poop as i often witness in dogs so dont kiss dog on mouth!!! i think i may have started an interesting thread here!!
pet/human relations are wonderful and usually produce oxytocin which is very good for health. like james i think pets help the emotional side of tx. just my opinion, good luck, babs

[babs824]

ps i would not handle animals who are likely to scratch or bite during tx. as my skin was very prone to break outs and did not heal easily., babs

[Bill1954]

JRenquist- interferon as used for HCV can cause significant neutropenia (reduction of certain white blood cells) in about 25-30% of HCV patients undergoing antiviral therapy; and to some degree in nearly all. It’s managed with another injectable drug ‘Neupogen’, or by dose reduction of interferon. This can make us more susceptible to bacterial infection.

Trish- my daughter also works for a vet :o)

--Bill

[spectda]

Come on bill, living a quiet life with lots of sheep around kind of necessitates your knowledge of zoonotic diseases. BAAAAA :)

[Bill1954]

Pretty tough talk from a guy that keeps a 180 pound mastiff around the house, wouldn’t you say :o)?

--Bill

[spectda]

Ruff :)

[willbb]

From what I read yesterday ...I think you are supposed to stay away from  any chimpanzees tho   :)

[Mary4now]

wouldln't humans fall into that category, oh thats apes

[oneofthree_]

Thanks for the laughter this am. You guys are great!   I think the animal lover in me is taking a front seat. I was initially concerned about whether or not my meds would be harmful to my pets through me. You know like maybe when i sweat? If they lick me are they gonna "catch a contact" through my skin?  wouldnt want to put my four pound Chihuahua in a thyroid tail spin.

[Anne1717]

For me it is a risk worth taking. I am so cold all the time now that cuddling up with my 180 pound  St Bernard is one of my few vestiges of humanity left. Ruff ruff!!!

[desrt]

My understanding is that neutropenia doesn't make us "more susceptible to bacterial infection" - it just makes infections harder to get rid of if you do become infected.

[spectda]

http://www.neulasta.com/patient/about/about-low-white-blood-cell-count.html?src=ppc&WT.srch=1


About Low White Blood Cell Counts

Chemotherapy can weaken your natural defenses

Chemotherapy (also known as chemo) works by killing fast-growing cancer cells. Unfortunately, chemotherapy drugs can't always tell the difference between cancer cells and fast-growing healthy cells, including red and white blood cells. As a result, one of the potential side effects of many types of chemotherapy drugs can be a low white blood cell count.1 Chemo that causes this side effect is described as myelosuppressive (my-eh-low-suh-PRESS-iv), because it suppresses your production of white blood cells. A low number of a specific type of white blood cells called neutrophils—also known as neutropenia (new-tro-pee-nee-uh)—can put some patients at risk for infections and may interrupt chemo treatment.1 In fact, complications associated with a low white blood cell count are the most common causes of dose reductions or delays in chemotherapy.2 A sufficient white blood cell count may enable your doctors to administer chemotherapy according to their treatment schedule.

A low white blood cell count can interrupt chemotherapy

The fewer number of white blood cells you have and the longer you remain without enough, the greater your risk for developing an infection, some of which may be life threatening, potentially resulting in hospitalization for febrile neutropenia (fever and neutropenia) and administration of IV antibiotic therapy.1,2

Therefore, your doctor may need to delay chemo treatment or reduce your chemotherapy dose until your white blood cell count increases and the possibility of infection is reduced.3

Healthy vs. Neutropenic Immune System1

[spectda]

http://www.merckmanuals.com/home/sec14/ch174/ch174b.html

"Neutropenia is an abnormally low number of neutrophils in the blood.

Neutropenia significantly increases the risk of life-threatening infection.
Neutropenia is often caused by cancer chemotherapy or radiation therapy.
Doctors suspect neutropenia in people who have frequent or unusual infections.
A blood sample is used to make the diagnosis of neutropenia, and a sample of bone marrow is needed if the cause is not obvious.
Treatment depends on the cause and severity of the disorder.
Neutrophils serve as the major defense of the body against acute bacterial and certain fungal infections. Neutrophils usually constitute about 45 to 75% of all white blood cells in the bloodstream. When the neutrophil count falls below 1,000 cells per microliter of blood, the risk of infection increases somewhat; when it falls below 500 cells per microliter, the risk of infection increases greatly. Without the key defense provided by neutrophils, people have problems controlling infections and are at risk of dying from an infection."

[Bill1954]

That’s interesting, Desrt. As with most folks in here, don’t have authoritative knowledge of how this works; I parrot what I’ve read as well as what I recall from conversations from my doctor.

Anecdotally I know of two folks here locally that work in the regional hospital. Both of their doctors expressed concern that their occupations might put them at risk of bacterial infection, and therefore put them on disability for the later part of their treatment because of it. I assumed the concern was because neutropenia literally *increased* the risk of infection; but of course I could have been mistaken. If I recall, while both were taking Neupogen, their white cell count remained low.

I guess either way a person should discuss this with their doctor if there’s any doubt.

Thanks for the thoughts,

-Bill

[eureka254]

My understanding is that neutropenia doesn't make us "more susceptible to bacterial infection" - it just makes infections harder to get rid of if you do become infected.
--------------
There's infected, and then there's infection. :)  It's all semantics, really...

What we do know is that neutropenia compromises our immune response.  The fact is, we all come into contact with infectious agents every day; what keeps us healthy in cases of exposure is an adequate immune response mounted against those exposures.  From a strictly technical standpoint, we are constantly *infected*: exposed to bacteria, viruses, fungi... all kinds of micro-organisms that can cause *infection*, but adequate immune response keeps colonization from taking over and causing an active disease state. Neutropenia is simply a fertile an environment where infectious organisms can more easily override the immune response.  Just my half-penny.

[spectda]

You go girl :)