Protecting your pet from infection

Prevention is better than cure, See Top Ten Tips for keeping your pet healthy.

Healthy pets have a better resistance to fight off infections as they have a stronger immune system. Diseases can also be spread from pets to people in many different ways: see want you can do to prevent disease through a few simple measures. Take the following steps to prevent diseases:

1. Preventing disease: A pet which is  up to date with their disease prevention, including vaccination, will be better able to fight off dangerous infections.
    
2. A healthy diet and maintaining an ideal weight will help your pet fight off disease and avoid illness.
    
3. Make sure your pet gets enough exercise and play time as this will help it stay the right weight, be healthy and recover well from illness 
    
4. What you do can also affect your pet’s health. For example, passive smoking can affect pets as well as people. Think about your pet’s environment.
    
5. Getting your pet checked by your vet is important if you think the animal is unwell. Their professional advice can be the fastest way to recovery.
    
6. Thinking about antibiotics – right drug for the right bug. Antibiotics are very useful drugs, but they have to be used carefully. We should all be trying to prevent  the bugs becoming resistant to antibiotics. This means giving the full course of medication as prescribed by your vet and not using left over drugs in the cupboard from previous illnesses.
    
7. Superbugs – the complicated information! There is a lot of information available about the different types of superbug and the antibiotics that are out there. You need to make sure it’s a reputable source.