how do you keep your dogs/pets healthy while in vet school??

[gogreenfolks]

---

Members do not see this ad.

we are expose to numerous diseases. a lot more now than before..
in my case, i live in a condo where 90% of the tenants are vet students and most(if not all of them) have pets of their own. we bring home with us virus or bacteria from school and cases we handle and study..
i have been fearing for my own dog's health and safety from day one.
i always change my clothes and wash my hands or shower right when i get home from school or duty.
last week, a vaccinated pet dog in our building/floor was diagnosed with distemper and it is freaking the heck outta me. they only live 3 doors down from me!! took my dog to the vet and my dog is clear(for now). my dog's vaccines are complete and up to date but living in such close quarters with the contaminated dog has been making me really REALLY uneasy. i have been boosting my dog's immune system with ascorbic acid, antioxidants and omega 3&6s to hopefully prevent anything from contracting her. a classmate suggested asking a vet to give my dog another series of vaccines instead of just giving my dog her yearly boosters. another dog died late last year from parvo..its a trend in our area thats been scaring the **** out of me! what do you guys do??

 

[WhtsThFrequency]

I don't see how we are exposed to "more" diseases nowadays. With the advent of advanced medical care and vaccination, we're exposed to much less TBH. Although one could make the argument that the pathogens we are exposed to now tend to be more resilient.

First of all, with proper hospital procedures you should not be bringing any bacteria or viruses home from work anyway. This includes wearing gloves, washing hands, bleaching farm boots, etc.

Secondly, in terms of coming into contact with other animals that might have diseases, that's kind of unavoidable no matter what school you're in. That's part of life. Just because one dog out of hundreds (probably thousands) who had been vaccinated for distemper got it, doesn't mean your dog will - every vaccine has a failure rate, however small. Plus you have no idea what may have been going on with that dog's immune system. Please do not give vaccines that aren't needed. It won't do any good if the titers are already adequate and all you will do is waste money.

Thirdly, you sound way too freaked out about this. Like anxiety disorder level.

 

[Bearby]

1. Take a breath.

2. I've been working in veterinary medicine for many years, worked in areas where the incidence of parvo was ridiculously high, handle FeLV+ cats frequently, lepto has been more prevalent than ever, and I'm constantly in contact with ringworm it seems. The thing is, I've never spread any of these diseases to my animals, my family's animals, or other patients that I'm aware of. If I came in contact with any potentially contagious animals during the day, I immediately put my clothes in the washer so that my animals don't have the chance to roll around on them. Being aware of your hygiene is the most important thing and it sounds like you are. Lower your stress level, be mindful of what you're doing and if something does happen see your vet. Like WTF said, you can't completely avoid coming in contact with diseases, taking your dog outside at your apartment complex where other dogs have urinated and defecated is a risk, but if vaccinated appropriately, the likelihood is low that he/she will contact one of the diseases covered by the vaccines.