Fleas … protect your pet and your child

What mother's heart has not swelled with emotion at the sight of her youngster romping in the yard with the beloved family pet; yet this playful, emotional scene may be a prelude to tragedy. Rover, with his glistening coat and apparently healthy appearance, may be harboring an infestation of fleas powerful enough to inflict serious malady on the youngster.

Fleas belong to the order Anthropoidea or "joint-looted" creatures which amazingly comprise some 80% of the earth's population. The flea shares the Insecta classification with such common creatures as bees, wasps, ants and lice. Appropriately categorized in the order Siphonaptera, they are perfectly adapted to siphon blood - be it from wild mammal, domesticated animal or human.

We must take this tiny insect seriously for although rat fleas prefer rats, cat fleas prefer a feline host, and dog fleas certainly prefer canine quarters, fleas will attach themselves to any available mammal if their hunger or thirst is strong enough.

Why be concerned? Because in the last several years more cases of typhus have been documented in the United States than in the entire last half century - and fleas are the culprits. Rat-hosted fleas were recognized as the perpetuator of the Black Plague which wiped out a quarter of the population of Eastern Europe during the fourteenth century.

It seems strange that anything as small and insignificant as a flea could almost bring human civilization down and, in fact, did bring it to a standstill more than once.

A flea is small and flat, covered with a hard exoskeleton and, when magnified, somewhat resembles a grass hopper run over by a steam roller. It is hardy and cannot be squashed or slapped out of existence.

What happens when a flea bites?

Actually, it does not bite as much as it saws the skin open with its rather specialized equipment which consists of several stylets or tubes. Then it draws up the blood from the wound and secretes an irritant in its place.

The flea is not content with one spot, but moves restlessly about the skin, feeding now here, now there; thus, a single flea can be responsible for a number of itchy bites. To those who develop a sensitivity to the secretions, the resuits can be more than just a nuisance.

The secretions have a sensitizing effect that sometimes results in a delayed reaction. No noticeable reaction occurs on the skin for awhile, but within a few days sensitivity develops.

Bites that are at first unnoticed may flare up later and become red and itchy. A regular pattern has been noted among those who have become sensitized: at first they suffer a delayed reaction: then they go through a period during which they suffer both an immediate and a delayed reaction. Finally, they develop some immunity and during this grace period flea bites are again scarcely noticeable. Then, during periods of warm weather when flea larvae hatch (in as little as eighteen days or as long as twenty months) the cycle is repeated over and over again.

In general, the worst a fleabite can do is become infected. Since it itches mightily, this is a good possibility, especially among small children. Parents should watch for signs of impetigo following flea bites, for this is a fairly frequent consequence.

Scrupulous cleanliness to prevent infection is the first treatment. Then the itching can be relieved with oral antihistamines or topically application of a cortisone cream or other over-the-counter anti-itch medicine. Of course, the best treatment is prevention.

Recent studies of oral thiamine chloride as a repellent against such insects as fleas have demonstrated some effectiveness, although conelusive proof has yet to be compiled. Consult your physician about this nontoxic preventive drug if fleas and their bites are a real problem, especially if children are involved.

Pets should be kept as free of fleas as possible by periodic dusting, spraying or anti-flea bathing; the key to success is persistence and thoroughness. Be sure to treat pet beds and all "curling-up" places.

Frequent vacuuming of the home is encouraged for those who share quarters with pets, as this is an excellent way to get rid of flea eggs and larvae. But if we control the fleas for no other reason, it is because typhus and the plague still lurk among us, ready to blossom in our modem world even as they have in past centuries.

COPYRIGHT 1995 Pediatrics for Parents, Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning