MEDICINE FOR ALL

DENTAL CARE

Why does your child need dental care before and after kidney transplant?

The mouth has a large number bacteria in it. The use of transplant medications after transplantation makes it harder for the body to fight infection. A bad dental cavity may turn into a tooth abcess if the immune system is low. Some of the drugs used after transplant, may cause gum swelling  and overgrowth. This, in turn can lead to gum disease. It is important for your child to be seen by a dentist before transplant. Have your child’s  teeth cleaned and all cavities filled. Following transplant, twice-yearly dental  visits with cleanings are recommended.

PET SAFETY

Potential animals to avoid for they are considered high-risk animals for immunocompromised people (including organ transplant patients)

• Reptiles, including lizards, snakes and turtles
• Baby chicks and duckling
• Exotic pets,  including monkeys

All persons should avoid direct contact with wild animals. Do not adopt wild animals as pets or bring them into your home. Contact with these animals and their environtments should be avoided  by people with compromised  immune systems. If you do touch these animals or their environtment (their food or cage, for example), wash your hands thoroughly with running water and soap. Additionally organ transplant patients should be extra cautious when visiting farms and when in contact with farm animals.

PET SAFETY

Just like people, pets can get diseases from eating contaminated food. By protecting your pet from food borne disease, you can protect  you own health as well. Pets should be fed only high-quality commercial pet foods. If eggs, poultry, or meat products are given to your pet as supplements, they should be well cooked. Any dairy products given to your pets should be pasteurized. Additionally, pets should be prevented from drinking toilet bowl water and from having access to garbage. Do not let your pet scavange for food, hung, or eat other animal faeces.

PET SAFETY

Birdcage linings should be cleaned daily and gloves should be worn whenever handled items contaminated with bird dropping. Children who are transplant patients should not be exposed to bird droppings. Routine screening of healthy birds for zoonotic diseases is not recommended.

It is recommended that children with transplants avoid cleaning fish tanks.

It is recommended that children with transplants not clean a cat’s litter box. If done, use careful hand washing afterwards.  You should consider not placing the litter box in kitchens, dining rooms or other areas where food is prepared or eaten.

PET SAFETY

Patients who have received organ transplants are more likely than most people to get disease from animals. However, simple tips can be followed to reduce their risk of getting sick after contact with animals. These recommendations were originally made for bone marrow transplant patients, but they may also may be useful for other organ transplant patients.

First and foremost keeping clean is essential to minimize the risk of spread of disease from your pet to a child with a transplant. Through hand washing with water and soap after handling animals and their feces (stool) is essential, It is recommended that the transplant patient avoid direct contact with animal faces. adults should supervise the hand washing of children after they have contact with animals.

Caring for your pet to minimize transmission of illness to your child includes seeking veterinary care for an ill pet as soon as possible. You should consider having any cat or dog that has diarrhea checked by a  veterinarian for infection .

Smoking and second hand smoke exposure

Your child should not start to smoke after a kidney transplant. If you smoke , you should quit. If you are unable to quit, you should not smoke around your child. Talk to your transplant team for resources that may available to help you quit.

Sports that are encouraged:

• Field hockey
• Running Jump rope
• Basketball
• Swimming
• Canoeing
• Rowing
• Weight lifting
• Volleyball
• Jazzercise
• Aerobics
• Cross-country skiing
• Skating
• Tennis
• Cycling
• Horseback riding
• Soccer
• Badminton
• Table tennis
• Golf