{"id":6174,"date":"2019-04-30T04:05:28","date_gmt":"2019-04-30T04:05:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/simplyhealth.today\/?p=6174"},"modified":"2021-04-01T17:48:15","modified_gmt":"2021-04-01T17:48:15","slug":"14-prevention-tips-for-toxoplasmosis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/simplyhealth.today\/14-prevention-tips-for-toxoplasmosis\/","title":{"rendered":"14 Prevention Tips for Toxoplasmosis"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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When it comes to toxoplasmosis infections, most adults who become infected can expect to get away with absolutely no symptoms at all, living with the infection but having an immune system that is more than capable of fighting it off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On some occasions, the parasitic disease will cause people to experience relatively mild, flu-like symptoms for a short period of time. These symptoms include the relatively harmless swollen lymph nodes, headaches, and muscle pains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For a small group of people however, those living with HIV, or other immunodeficiency conditions, as well as pregnant women, toxoplasmosis can prevent a much more serious threat. This means that, where possible, steps should be taken to affect a vulnerable person from contracting the infection. Some of these prevention tips may seem more obvious than others, but they are all worth considering, after all, prevention is always significantly better than the cure. Read these prevention tips carefully.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1.     Reduce Risk From Food<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

One of the best ways to prevent the threat of a whole host of infections<\/a>, including toxoplasmosis, from entering the body via food, is to ensure that food is always cooked to safe temperatures. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Food thermometers are the safest, most scientific kitchen tool to ensure this, as simply observing the color of an item of food is far from reliable when it comes to indicating the necessary. In this case, the necessary indications would be that the food has been cooked up to a hot enough temperature in order to kill potentially harmful pathogens, toxoplasma included. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meat, in particular, should never be sampled until it is properly cooked, if this prevention method is to be fully effective, however, it isn’t just when cooking meat that one must abide by the rule of cooking food to the right temperature. It just so happens that meat is the most likely transmitter of toxoplasmosis, in terms of food sources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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2.     Reduce Risk From Meat<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

With the information that meat is a potential transmission risk in mind, successful prevention of infection requires certain cooking rules to be observed and followed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whole cuts of meat, not including poultry, should be cooked to a temperature of at least 145\u00b0 F (63\u00b0 C), and again, this should be tested with a food thermometer. Placing the thermometer in the thickest part of the meat <\/a>is the only way to be as accurate as possible. Where poultry is concerned, an even higher temperature than that for whole and ground meats is necessary to ensure pathogens are killed off. The process of checking the temperature of a cooked chicken should involve readings being taken from the innermost point of both thighs, the inside edges of both wings and from within the thickest part of the breast. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following these temperature guidelines when cooking meat is a very effective way of reducing the risk of infection from toxoplasmosis causing parasites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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3.     Food Preparation<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Food preparation is another area to consider when it comes to preventing infection from toxoplasmosis. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For a start, all cooking and preparation implements such as chopping boards, dishes and utensils should be kept clean as often as possible. Kitchen sides and work surfaces too should be cleaned as regularly as possible, to avoid the build-up of potentially harmful infection-causing parasites<\/a>. Following contact with raw meats, poultry, most kinds of seafood and unwashed fruits and vegetables, a person should ensure that their hands are washed thoroughly with warm, soapy water. Hand washing is such a simple measure to put in place to prevent infection taking hold and spreading, but it is often overlooked or done incorrectly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When teaching children about hand washing, there are neat jingles and videos on the internet which can help take the chore element out of this very necessary prevention method. Wash, wash, wash your hands, wash them nice and clean.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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4.     Reduce Risk From the Environment<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Having addressed and reduced the risk of infection with toxoplasmosis from food, it would be negligent to fail to address the risk posed by the environment, and so this group of prevention methods addresses that issue head-on. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In order to reduce the risk of toxoplasmosis infection from the environment, people are encouraged to refrain from drinking untreated water. Treatment <\/a>methods could include filtration, sterilization or the use of iodine tablets, but to be certain, avoid untreated altogether. Gloves should be worn when gardening or when a person is coming into regular contact with soil, sand or gravel, on the assumption that somewhere along the line you’ll come into contact with cat feces. There are a few prevention points that concern children predominantly worth considering. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Covered in further detail below, it is important to teach children about the potential for their environment to cause them to become ill, and so things like hand washing should be taught explicitly. Where outdoor play areas exist, such as sandboxes and water trays, every effort should be made to covert these when not in use, to prevent roaming cats from using them as a litter box on the go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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5.     Reduce Risk From Pets<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

We might not like to admit it, but our pets themselves could also pose a risk in terms of transmitting an infection of toxoplasmosis. Pregnant women and those with weaker immune systems especially should refrain from chores such as emptying the cat litter box, to avoid any potential contact with the infection causing parasite<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When it comes to feeding cats, raw or undercooked meats should be avoided completely, with canned or dried cat food being used as the first choice. Well cooked meats and other food can be given in some circumstances, but when we\u2019re talking about prevention, it\u2019s better to play as safely as possible. No one likes to do it, but emptying the litter box should be a daily thing. This is a particularly effective prevention method, as the Toxoplasma parasite only becomes infectious after at least one day following being shed in cat\u2019s feces. Sometimes this journey to becoming infectious takes up to 5 days. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It just makes sense to clean the litter tray daily, bite the bullet and do it. Or get someone else to do it for you<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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6.     Reduce Risk From Pets (when pregnant)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

As touched on briefly, being pregnant <\/a>increases the risk of becoming infected with toxoplasmosis, not just for the mother, but for the baby also. With this in mind, there are some golden rules that expectant mothers should follow when it comes to looking after pets and preventing infection. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first of these rules is to avoid changing cat litter entirely. If you’re pregnant, this simply cannot be your chore to do. If you live on your own or are unfortunate enough to have no other choice but to do this yourself, wear disposable gloves and paper face masks. Hands should be washed with soap and water afterward in any case. The second rule would be to keep cats indoors, in order to prevent them from following their hunting instincts and becoming infected through the prey they catch and eat. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, if you can resist the cuteness, pregnancy is not the time to adopt a new cat, or stroke stray cats and kittens. It just isn’t worth the risk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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7.     Education<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In school, at home or out and about in public, children should be well versed in the importance of proper handwashing and personal hygiene <\/a>regimens. If they are not, then parents and teachers alike need to combine forces and head a two-pronged attack, aimed at reinforcing the idea that washing your hands is something that simply can’t be avoided. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s not just toxoplasmosis that can be spread due to a lack of clean hands, but many other infections are passed on from person to person via either direct skin to skin contact or following nondirect routes, such as when children share a toy or use the same door handle. There are lots of neat little experiments involving bread and sandwich bags that can be done with children, to show them the benefits of washing their hands. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The best is when three identical slices of bread are sealed in the bags under slight variables. One bag has a slice of bread that has been handled by unwashed hands, one a slice that has only been touched by clean hands, and the third containing a slice of bread untouched by human hands. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The results are astounding and a cool way to reinforce this prevention method.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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8. Wear Gloves When Gardening<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Being green-fingered doesn’t mean that a person has to actually dig their bare hands into the dirt in their efforts to become an authentic gardener. There is absolutely nothing wrong with donning a hardy pair of gardening gloves to tackle the sewing and the planting with. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some pairs of gloves actually aid dexterity, with their waterproofness and added grip, just two of the features which can help a person out in the garden. The main reason for this is down to those pesky cats again. A law unto themselves, your typically arrogant feline will wander in and out of flowerbeds and vegetable plots, happily doing their business wherever they fancy. Any contact with contaminated <\/a>soil, that contains cat feces, has the potential to cause infection toxoplasmosis. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once a pair of gloves have been used once, it\u2019s important to wash them, as otherwise when pulling the gloves back on to your hands on your next visit to the garden, you\u2019ve already defeated the object by potentially touching the infected fabric of the gloves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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