Skin Disease and.... Yes, Cats Again

I have seen many patients especially women and children with skin diseases which if you do not ask more questions during history-taking, you will miss treating them definitively. As it is well known, many people with asthma are actually allergic to cat's danders in their home and frequent asthmatic attacks coupled with temperature changes is the usual feature in such cases.

Outdoor cats are also dangerous

I make it my business to go into the home environmental conditions of my patients suffering from asthma. To me they should not have to come and see doctors and other health workers often if they can help control or modify the trigger factors of their malady. Those asthmatic patients in close in contact with cats are counselled accordingly. But believe you me, some of these patients are not able to get rid of their cats due to emotional attachment.

Eschar- like lesions

Lately, I have come across patients, again women and children especially, coming in with strange looking skin lesions over the exposed parts of their bodies, on arms and legs. Some are so bad that they have pus over those lesions surrounded by black ominous looking borders. Some have multiple coin-like lesions and others also suffer from what look like an allergic reaction with numerous small blister-like eruptions.

Multiple skin eruptions which are itchy

My  nurse who herself is a cat-lover ( she bought a Persian cat for RM3k equivalent to approximately USD 970) and also care for other cats, told me about her problem with similar skin lesions ( but not too advanced like some of the patients) till she caged her cats and give them a bath regularly and her lesions gradually disappeared over several months.

Talking to those patients (and their parents) revealed that they all loved cats, even sleeping with them and their cats were of the wandering kind, mixing with all sorts of strays! These animals, while adorable and cute, have fleas and nits whatever you call them, infesting their bodies and unless taken care of, can also infest their human lovers and cause skin reactions.

I have yet to read about these cat-related skin diseases in the literature. But I found this very interesting article here  which makes me cringe and definitely will stay away from cats. The parasite associated with cats are dangerous to human. The parasite, the Toxoplasma gondii is only able to reproduce in a cat's gut and so you had better watch out for cats' droppings.