DOG POO - RISK TO YOUNG CHILDREN.....?

[RoseQuartz]

Can anybody tell me, please, if dog poo is still a health risk to children after the actual poo has been cleaned up????
We are super keen and always go round checking garden before we allow kids out to play - always getting rid of any dog mess immediately, so there's no chance of kids finding any, or accidentaly fall onto it etc whilst playing.
What really bothers us though, is the fact that someone has told us that wherever the dogs do their business continutes to be high risk to kids, by putting hands in their mouth, even though its been removed, as the 'worms' and al that's associated with it, are still active, for some time afterwards?
Can anybody tell me if this is true? If so, how long is it likely to be risky for them, and what can we do about it, apart from getting rid of dogs.
I would appreciate any help, as desperately worried, as been told it can cause blindness in kids etc. Are there any vets on mumsnet, who would be happy to help, or anybody with a bit of knowledge on this matter....thanks x

also, can anybody please tell me, how soon would any symptoms be noticeable if one of the kids had got anything nasty from playing where dog poo was recently cleaned up, like in a matter of minutes prior to them playing on ground...........grass and concreted areas??? And what on earth could we do, if anything to prevent serius consequences such as blindness and whatever else it can cause. thanks.

as in toxoplasmosis?

Hi Frizbe,
not actually sure what these things are called, what is this, and how wuld it affect a child, do you know?
thanks for helping

www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dpd/parasites/toxoplasmosis/factsht_toxoplasmosis.htm#spread as in this, but it says cat poo not dog so ? sorry but I have to go give dh some attention now, but hope I've helped a bit!

thankyou 4 your help xx

I found this which implies that it is ok if cleared up fairly quickly:

"What is Toxocara canis?

It is a rare infection which can be transmitted through dog faeces. However the eggs of the worm take over two weeks to hatch and do not provide any immediate health risks if you clear up immediately after your dog. It is a rare infection, only about 5% of dogs tested where found to expel the worm eggs, however the eggs can lay dormant in the ground for up to three years, if the conditions are right. The potential harm to human health from this infection is quite high, and can cause blindness in some cases.

How can I avoid any health risks?

There is no risk to your health if you clean up after your dog immediately. Eggs from Toxocara worm take 2-3 weeks to become infectious, and land will only become contaminated after this time. If dog owners immediately cleaned up after their dogs the threat of Toxocariasis would be virtually eradicated."

My initial reaction to your OP was "I would not let my children play in areas where dogs have pooed", but I guess we all do this every day in parks and so on. Do you clean up after straight away each time your dog has been in the garden? This sounds a wise precaution if you don't already do it.

didn't think dog poo was particularly dangerous

cat poo can be though

please remember that children who live on farms are the healthiest and undue worry over things like this is fairly futile

I'd clean it up so they didn't get it on them .. but if they do wash 'em off .. they'll be fine

thanks for your help everyone - its something that's always on our minds really, if the risk is gone once the poo is done away with, then ok, but we hav read different things on the web some of whom state that it can still be a health risk up to a couple of years or more, especially if the poo has been left without clearing it up for over a fortnihgt in those 2-3 years....before we had gates all sorts of dogs used to come into garden and do their business and as we were away for long periods of time in those days, it was often left for a few weeks until we returned to clean it up.
anyway, thanks for helping again, xx

Yes the link I read stated that if left for over 2 weeks the eggs could become infectious and pose a risk to human health, also that that the soil could then be infected for up to 2 years

toxicaria is certainly serious and can cause blindness in children as you state RQ

I don't know how you would spot symptoms, sorry

again I understand why you are worried, but I would imagine much of the soil in UK parks must be infected from what we have found by googling

please don't forget it is a 'rare infection'

I think that is important

so as long as basic clearing up after your dog is in place then there is nothing to worry about

more chance of being hit by a bus .. developing cancer .. yadda yadda

precautions such as regular worming of your dog and prompt cleaning of poo is all you can do - and should be enough - it is rare.

I used to be a vet nurse and the vet explained it to me as follows:- Most people in their lives have come in contact with one of these worm thingies. It will travel around your body and come to rest somewhere where it eventually dies. If it rests at the end of your finger you may have had an itchy finger but thought nothing more of it. Only if it decided to rest near the nerves in the eye could you possibly have problems.

We are out and about with our kids all the time in areas where dogs have been. We simply can't allow ourselves to worry too much about it or we will prevent our kids from having fun. I've just done things like - tell kids to try not to put hands to mouth, wash hands before eating, ...just the general stuff. Also when out and about we need to instill the importance of not eating any berries etc.

I've known children die from eating berries. I've known people get ill from contact with common garden plants. I've never known anyone go blind from the poo-worm.

Plants in the garden was my BIG concern when ds was young.

I know a child who lost an eye because he was play-fighting with sticks with a friend

so what?

there are many gruesome horrible things that can happen .. the important thing, I think, is to try to get it into perspective and reduce the worry rather than increase it

I agree it is very worrying when you read about the worms, and the fact that the soil can become infected for 2 years, that freaked me out a bit

However it did say only a small percentage of dogs were infected to begin with, and when I think of all the places ds has played which must have had thousands of dogs crapping on it over the decades....

Well I worry about dog poo. The same way that I worry about busy roads, open water (reservoirs, pools, garden ponds) sharp objects, fire, paedophiles and continuous childcare. So I do think your worry is valid, and would not want to minimise it, but this risk is pretty rare.

It kind of sounds like de-pooing people's gardens or parks etc isn't going to work, because of the dormancy risk. I just try to make sure that my children wash their hands lots, and are aware of the risk.

I did carry out a bit of a one-woman campaign to try to get the council and water company to deal with the issue of irresponsible dog-owners around our local doggy toilet (a reservoir FGS) but that's another story ...

Hi Everyone,I took my 2 year old son to the nursery yesterday for his settling in Session,whilst the kids were playing at the garden area I noticed something that looks like dog faeces at the middle of the garden.I immediately called one of their staff and told her about it,she went inside and brought some tissues to clean the faeces,I was expecting her to use some cleaning spray or antiseptic afterwards but I'm so surprise that nothing else was used to clean the area afterwards and the this was on a rug.I'm thinking of reporting it to the manager and withdrawing my ds my from there.what do you think i should do