Beware of tapeworms: Everything you need to know about Echinococcus granulosus

I might give him an earful, but honestly, my health is the priority here. I don't know... I suppose going in for a checkup just to end up looking like a fool if everything turns out fine feels a bit pointless. How can you even go to the doctor when you've heard stories about some silent ailment living inside you for years without you noticing, only to suddenly strike out of nowhere?

It’s probably not very likely that you caught anything from him. Is the dog actually acting sick? Or is everything just... normal?

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Austin James5 said:Look, I can give him hell if I want, but my health comes first. I don't really see the point in going for an exam just to end up looking like an idiot if everything turns out fine. How are you supposed to catch something when doctors tell you these things can sit inside you for years without a single symptom, and then suddenly, out of nowhere, there it is?

It’s exactly like those "mad cow" scares—it sits there for years and you haven't got a clue until it's too late. 😱 😁

And you think worms are the only thing you'll pick up from an unvaccinated dog that hasn't been treated for parasites? 😁 You're being a bit dramatic here.

Did you actually notice the dog had parasites? If so, did you wash your hands after touching him? Did you kiss him? Does he lick the plates you eat off of? Look, my cats used to have worms and neither I nor anyone else in my house caught anything. Just practice some basic hygiene and you'll be fine.

Just give the little guy some dewormer and get him vaccinated.

I honestly think cats pose a bigger threat to human health than dogs do, especially when you consider how many diseases they can carry. Like, I feel like pregnant women shouldn't even be around cats in the house at all. If it were up to me, I’d happily have a Labrador, but a cat? Not really my thing. That said, it's probably pretty unlikely that you'd actually catch something, so I guess you can rest easy.

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Now we've officially reached the "pregnant woman vs. the cat" urban legend phase.😁

A healthy indoor cat isn't some kind of "public health threat,"
weird as that might sound, but it's true. ☕

Austin James5 said:Look, my vet told me rabies shots start at 10 months old... 🙂 if they're wrong, that's on them.

Per US regulations, vaccination is mandatory once they hit three months old.
If you picked up an older pup and they haven't been vaccinated yet, you need to get it done within two weeks of bringing them home.
If your dog happens to bite someone and isn't up to date on shots, you're the one held liable, not your vet.

Just take him to the vet for his shots and microchip (you really shouldn't do one without the other)... they'll usually include a deworming tablet with the visit, or you can just grab one at a Petco beforehand (standard dose is one pill per 10 lbs of body weight).

I haven't actually kissed my dog, but he has licked me twice. Every single time I touch him—whether I’m feeding him or just playing around—I make sure to wash my hands; I’m 100% consistent about that, I never forget. He doesn't even live inside the house because he’s this massive, long Turkish Karabas breed. He hasn't been licking plates either, and everything seems perfectly normal, but I suppose I don't really know how to tell if there's actually any risk here. What are the actual symptoms of echinococcus in dogs? Tomorrow I’m reaching out to the vet; I’m taking him in for vaccinations, but I’m honestly not sure what he needs. Should I be worried about rabies or something else? If I can settle it all at once by giving him pills and an anti-parasite collar, I probably will. My dog is always energetic and poops maybe 4 to 6 times a day, which I don't think is unusual. I haven't noticed anything out of the ordinary, except for when he got his first shots for distemper—he threw up a little then, but never again. I also have two cats that I've never vaccinated, though I tend to keep a very wide berth around them. Also, what are the symptoms of echinococcus in humans?

P.S. I've been feeding my dog cooked pork and lamb livers, along with some organ meats. Is that actually dangerous? I guess I should probably stop if it is.

Check out the Pets PDF down below. Dive into that if you want to ask anything about dogs—diet, health, vaccinations, all that stuff. We cover human health in this PDF too.

mistyjackal842 said:Cats are actually way more dangerous to human health than dogs and carry more diseases. For instance, pregnant women shouldn't even be in a house with a cat. I’d be fine having a Labrador, but a cat? No thanks. It's so unlikely you'd catch anything that I think you can just relax.

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Honestly guys, stop talking nonsense.

Where are you getting this idea that a pregnant woman can't live with a cat? And what "horrific" diseases are we even talking about here?

If you're talking about toxoplasmosis and pregnancy, maybe do a little research before you start crucifying innocent cats. You can get toxoplasmosis from eating unwashed salad (since people grow food in soil where all sorts of things live) or from undercooked meat—like sausages or hot dogs that haven't been heated enough.

By the way, do you even know how toxoplasmosis is actually transmitted? Cats pick it up from eating raw meat. So tell me, how is a cat that eats dry kibble or canned food (which is processed with heat) going to catch that, especially if it stays indoors? And how is a pregnant woman supposed to catch it from a cat if she washes her hands thoroughly after cleaning the litter box, or uses gloves? Or if she just washes her hands after touching the cat?

Can anyone perhaps give me some guidance on a few questions? 😁Regarding my health—should I actually go see a doctor for an exam because of this, or not? And specifically, what should I ask them to check if I want to find out whether I have toxoplasmosis? I was reading up on it, and apparently, it can cause swollen lymph nodes. I have one behind my ear, and maybe one or two on my head—I'm not entirely certain—and they've been there for over two years now. They don't bother me, honestly; they are quite small. I went to get them checked out a long time ago, but my doctor didn't really suggest anything. Sometimes things pop up on my neck and then disappear, but these couple on my head just never seem to go away. What do you all think?

By the way, how am I supposed to tell if my dog has worms? What are the symptoms in dogs? I can't seem to find a straight answer anywhere on the internet.

Austin James5 said:Can anyone answer my question? 😁DD, should I go see a doctor for a checkup because of this, and if so, what specifically should I have looked at...

If you're worried, just go. A doctor can give you the actual facts. No one on here can tell you for certain whether you need an appointment or not...

By the way, how can I tell if my dog has worms? What are the symptoms? I haven't been able to find anything helpful online...

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I’m not just talking about pregnancy and cats for the sake of it. I know a younger doctor who, during her recent pregnancy, made sure to leave her cat at her mom's place. I mean, she probably knows what she's doing. Then there's this friend from my elementary school days who actually got sick from a cat when we were just kids. She ended up with a fever and some kind of skin condition, and it kept her sidelined for quite a while. I can't recall the exact diagnosis, to be honest. Personally, I've never really been a cat person—I'm much more of a dog lover, especially when they're puppies. And I don't think I've ever heard of anyone getting sick from a dog, at least not among anyone I've ever known.

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Austin James5 said:Can anyone tell me 😁if I actually need to see a doctor for this? Like, should I go get checked out just because of what I read? What kind of tests would they even run to find out if I have a cyst (echinococcus)? Also, I was reading about toxoplasmosis and how it can cause swollen lymph nodes. I’ve had one behind my ear and maybe one or two on my head—not sure—and they've been there for over two years. They don't really bother me, they're tiny. I went to a doctor about it a long time ago and she didn't do anything. Sometimes things pop up on my neck and disappear, but these two or three never go away. Thoughts?

By the way, how am I supposed to know if my dog has tapeworms? What are the symptoms? I haven't found anything helpful online.

And what do you think a doctor is going to do? Send you for an MRI to look for a cyst just because you read something about tapeworms on the internet?

Maybe you'll get some meds to kill the parasites, but that's about it. No one is going to run a battery of tests or send you for imaging. Our healthcare system is pretty much a mess anyway. 😁

mistyjackal842 said:I'm not just bringing up pregnancy and cats for no reason. A younger doctor I know left her cat with her mom during her recent pregnancy. So, she clearly knows what she's doing. One friend from my class got sick from a cat back when we were kids in elementary school. She ran a fever, got some skin rash, and was sick for quite a while. I don't know the exact diagnosis. Personally, I'm not much of a cat person—I love dogs, especially puppies. And I've never heard of anyone getting sick from a dog, at least among people I know.

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You didn't answer a single one of my questions. You didn't mention which "terrible diseases" cats carry, nor did you explain how a cat can actually infect a pregnant woman with toxoplasmosis if it doesn't eat raw meat and stays indoors (toxoplasmosis is the whole reason uninformed idiots get rid of their cats during pregnancy).

And following your logic, I know plenty of girls who were pregnant and had cats or were around cats and gave birth to perfectly healthy babies. My sister was around three different cats and had two successful pregnancies without any issues. At the same time, I also know people who bought dogs that had everything from mange to tapeworms and worms.

You can hate cats all you want, but don't talk about stuff you don't understand. I've had cats for a long time now; trust me, I know what they can catch and what they can pass on to us. And look at me—I'm alive and healthy, at least regarding anything a cat could potentially give me.

I’m standing by everything I said. To be honest, I can’t recall the exact name of the illness anymore since I finished elementary school way back in the early '90s. But I do know this girl from my school days was sick for a long time—running fevers, feeling terrible... I think it might have been cat scratch fever, actually. She even had to miss school for a while. And keep in mind, that was a long-time family pet, not some stray off the street. Now, I never said every pregnant woman is going to catch something from a cat, but the risk is definitely there. As for that point you made about people eating cat meat—I haven't heard of anyone doing that here in the States; it's just not part of our culture. Regardless, toxoplasmosis is still a thing in America, even without any weird dietary habits. It hasn't been wiped out. That’s exactly why doctors test pregnant women for it, because it can be really dangerous during pregnancy.

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So, kitten meat 🤣 She claims that cats (obviously) can eat raw meat, which means they can catch toxoplasmosis
and then pass it through their waste.
Nobody mentioned anything about eating kitten meat, for God's sake. 😂

I was skimming through pretty quickly and I think I misread it as cat meat. But honestly, dogs can eat raw meat too. Some dogs actually prefer it.

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First off, cat scratch fever isn't some skin condition—it’s an infection that dogs can carry too. 😬 Second, maybe take a second to actually read this: Look, if you aren't a cat person, fine, but you clearly have no idea what you're talking about here. Pay close attention to the section on toxoplasmosis in that article, specifically where it talks about slicing salad on a contaminated surface. 😳 What, do you think shopping malls and pharmacies are just for decoration? You can grab stuff there. Obviously.

If I were pregnant, I wouldn't touch anything unless it was pre-packaged and sealed tight. I'd stick to things that aren't made from raw meat—like sausages or bacon or whatever. It's all about avoiding that toxoplasmosis crap. 😉

And what exactly is the doctor planning to do? Send me off somewhere? Is there even a way to cure this? 😢 Besides, how am I supposed to find any kind of peace if my blood is a complete mess? God knows what's happening inside.

Austin James5 said:What's a doctor actually going to do? Send me away somewhere? Is this even curable? 😢 How am I supposed to find any clarity if I have an overwhelming amount of blood before me?

Let a vet check if the dog has mange; if it doesn't, then all this worrying is just wasted energy.