I’ve never been one to let an animal lick me in the face. In fact I cringe everytime I’m watching one of those home video shows and they show somebody letting their pet eat directly out of their mouth. I mean don’t those people know what their pets spend all day doing? Well a recent study by Britain’s Department of Environmental, Food, and Rural Affairs at the University of Liverpool Veterinary School seems to have proven once and for all that those well intended puppy kisses may just be exposing people to a multitude of deadly illnesses. According to the study when an animal licks your face you stand a chance of contracting infections such as staph, salmonella, campylobacter (Most people who become ill with campylobacteriosis get diarrhea, cramping, abdominal pain, and fever within two to five days after exposure to the organism. The diarrhea may be bloody and can be accompanied by nausea and vomiting. The illness typically lasts one week. Some infected persons do not have any symptoms. In persons with compromised immune systems, Campylobacter occasionally spreads to the bloodstream and causes a serious life-threatening infection.)

and MRSA ( another variation of staph).  Although the study did note that the exposure to the deseases mentioned above are limited, chances do still exist that you may be exposing yourself to illness nonetheless.

As a pet owner myself just what I’ve seen my cat eat is enough to ruin me on the whole kisses thing and I can’t imagine what it does when I’m not around. The study does try not to cause a scare amoung pet owners and goes out of it’s way to point out that pets do provide many healthy benefits to their owners. Pet owners are typically less stressful,  recover faster when sent home from surgery, and generally happier. However if you are worried about catching an infection maintaining a weekly grooming routine including baths, combing, etc…is one sure way to keep your animal and yourself feeling fine all year round.