Sleeping with a dog or cat can be very bad for your health and even dangerous. This is why RIVM advises against doing this on the Veronica Inside Morning Show. “They are not babies, the animals belong in a basket or in a box,” researcher Paul Overgau says.
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Animals can carry all kinds of diseases or parasites. When you sleep in bed with an animal, there is a good chance that you will take over and could become very ill. Cats and dogs take all kinds of things inside them, especially under their feet. You can think of tube bacteria, but also, for example, roundworm eggs. So walking is not always without risks, both for humans and pets.
These worms can make you blind. Then there are the parasites. “Lice, fleas, ticks and mites still occur regularly. They can all jump to humans and transmit diseases as well. Just think about Lyme disease, which is transmitted by ticks,” Overgau says. Infections such as fungal skin infections also pose a risk to humans.
However, thirty percent of the Dutch occasionally sleep with a pet. Thirteen percent do this every night. “It’s not fresh and it’s not hygienic. They don’t wipe their feet when going in. And then you can lie under the duvet with your shoes on.”
Despite all the risks of sleeping with a pet, Overgaauw especially recommends acting wisely. “It’s not shocking and it won’t happen often, but keep them nice in the living room or the kitchen. Not in the bedroom.”
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