Often in the rush of life, we long for a comfortable space where we may decompress. Lighting a scented candle seems to help to release any tiredness and anxiety by letting the wispy smoke and subdued perfume fill the room. Scented candles have become a little but certain pleasure in many people's life, whether they are used for peace during yoga meditation or to accentuate tea and reading time. But when we let our cherished dogs and cats live in our homes, have we ever thought about how silently dangerous some apparently benign scented candles could be for their health?
Hypersensitivity of Cats and Dogs to Scent
Dogs and cats have smell capacity much beyond that of humans. With an olfactory epithelium area three times that of humans, almost 30 square centimeters, and a "vomeronasal organ" in their brain helping them better perceive scent information, cats have about 20 million olfactory cells. More than forty times that of humans, dogs' sense of smell is even more strong thanks to olfactory epithelium regions of around 200 square centimeters and almost 200 million olfactory cells. An essential survival ability they have evolved through natural evolution is this very powerful sense of smell. Dogs can be search and rescue dogs as well as explosive and poison detection dogs, spotting minute scents that people find difficult to notice; cats can identify different prey by scent and precisely locate it in the dark.
The Subtle Risk Factors of Scented Candles
Scented candles burn to produce a range of dangerous chemical compounds. Common solvent benzene, for instance, can harm cat and dog kidneys and liver; formaldehyde, a preservative, can irritate their respiratory tract and potentially cause cancer; phenolic compounds can interfere with the normal operation of the nervous system.
For dogs and cats particularly, some essential oil components are quite dangerous. For example, lavender essential oil's eucalyptol and camphor damage livers and neurological systems in cats, therefore perhaps leading to poisoning or even death. While menthol ketone in mint essential oils can impact cats' respiration and central nervous system, limonene in citrus essential oils has a possible harm on livers of cats. With its terpinen-4-ol and cineole, tea tree oil is poisonous to cats and could cause respiratory issues.
One instance involved a once-active and healthy cat showing symptoms of lethargy and loss of appetite after its owner regularly used lavender essential oil scented candles. The owner first paid little attention, believing it was only a shift in temperature or some small problem. But the cat's symptoms got worse with time; convulsions and vomiting started. After a battery of tests and diagnosis, the veterinarian thought lavender essential oil intoxication was present when the owner hurried the cat to the pet hospital. Notwithstanding all attempts to preserve the cat, its liver and nervous system functions could not completely recover, therefore drastically lowering its quality of life.
Possible Safety Concerns Regarding Various Scented Candle Types
conventional Burning Scented Candles
Conventional burning scented candles generate a lot of dangerous smoke and particulate matter during the burning operation. These compounds not only contaminate indoor air but also directly aggravate dogs' and cats' respiratory tracts. One of the main ingredients in many candles, paraffin wax burns to produce dangerous toxins including benzene and toluene. Those regularly exposed to the smoke from burning scented candles may also show symptoms including coughing, sneezing, and wheezing, and in severe cases may even develop pneumonia or pulmonary edema, same as long-term exposed to smoking environments are prone to respiratory diseases.
Reed Diffusers:
Although reeds diffusers look safer, their volatile solvents and certain components can also endanger dogs and cats. To cut expenses, several low-quality reed diffuser devices contain inexpensive volatile solvents including phthalates. These plasticizers might influence the health of the reproductive systems of dogs and cats, therefore causing problems. Furthermore included in certain reed diffuser products are components derived from essential oils that could also be harmful to dogs and cats.
Scented Candles from Essential Oils
Though their complicated components and toxicity to dogs and cats vary with the oil, essential oil scented candles have been somewhat popular recently. Cats and dogs can be seriously harmed from tea tree oil, eucalyptus oil, mint oil, and other common essential oils as was before described. Through skin contact, inhalation, or unintentional intake, these vital oils can enter the bodies of dogs and cats and cause symptoms like vomiting, diarrhea, trouble breathing, seizures, and perhaps fatal diseases.
Pet Poisoning and Comforts: Symptoms
Once dogs and cats come into touch with or eat scented candles, they could show a range of upsetting poisoning and discomfort signs. As if their throats were being choked by an unseen hand, they may pant fast, cough constantly, and sneeze continuously; their nose may also runny, as a chronic cold never gone away. With regular vomiting and diarrhea, the digestive tract can also be in anarchy and leave one tired and worn out. The skin might reveal redness, swelling, and itching, which would make one restless and always scratching. More importantly, convulsions—whose bodies shake uncontrollably—or behavioral abnormalities—where once energetic dogs become lethargic or anxious—may strike. These symptoms seem as a red flag telling us that scented candles might have already seriously damaged their bodies. Thus, when using scented candles, we have to always be aware of the subtle changes in pets and act immediately to preserve their health as soon as any anomalies are found.
Policies for Safe Scented Candle Use
Please use scented candles according to these safety rules if you truly cannot give up the pleasant environment they create:
Select Products Conscientiously Give natural scented candles—made from soy wax, beeswalk, or other plant waxes top priority, and steer clear of items including synthetic perfumes, essential oils, or unpleasant chemicals. Examine product labels to be sure they do not have dangerous components for dogs including benzene, formaldehyde, phenols, and several essential oils (including tea tree oil, eucalyptus oil, mint oil, etc.). Choose goods especially marked as "pet-friendly," generally tested and certified to be less detrimental to animals. Some firms, for instance, provide reed diffusers using safe solvents and natural plant extracts, so somewhat lessening of pet irritation.
Keep fragrant candles out of pet reach in high locations or enclosed areas to stop them from touching, knocking over, or swallowing. Make sure the special candle holders or hanging scented candle gadgets are sturdy and not readily reachable for pets. For example, arrange fragrant candles on a mantel or high cabinet top and be sure the cable of plug-in diffusers is out of reach for pets.
Key is to keep decent indoor ventilation. Use air purifiers, open windows or scented candles to assist distribute smoke and hazardous gasses, therefore lowering the concentration of interior dangerous pollutants. In small rooms or confined areas especially pay great attention to ventilation. For instance, open a crack in the window to let fresh air in the bedroom when lighting scented candles.
Control Time and Frequency: To prevent chronic long-term use of scented candles, cut their frequency and time of usage. Every usage should be sporadic and short enough to let the environment regain freshness. Use scented candles, for instance, for no more than one to two hours daily, or every few days.
Watch carefully how your pet reacts, breaths, and changes in skin tone when you use fragrant candles. Stop burning the aromatic candles right once and bring your pet to a well-ventilated location to see whether any unusual symptoms—such as coughing, sneezing, rapid breathing, skin itching, vomiting, diarrhea, etc.—appear easeable. Take your pet to the pet hospital for evaluation and treatment right away should symptoms continue or get worse.
Strategies for Emergency Reactivity
Should you discover that your pet has come into touch with or consumed scented candles, gently and fast act.
Move your pet to a well-ventilated space far from the scented candle source right away to stop more contact with dangerous chemicals and stop more degradation.
If conditions allow, try gently rinsing your pet's mouth and stomach with lots of water to help to eliminate the residue and absorption of the scented candles in the body. Be cautious, though, not to choke someone else while doing so.
Though this is a dangerous operation and not advised for inexperienced pet owners to try on their own, cautious inducement of vomiting should be considered within 1-2 hours following consumption. Should you choose to induce vomiting, a syringe can be used to gradually pour in the suitable dosage of water or 3% hydrogen peroxide (peroxide). Before usage, peroxide should be diluted with pure water in a 1:2 ratio; its acceptable dose per kilogram of body weight is 1–2 milliliters. then, apply a needle-free
syringe for the pet's administration. To prevent eating in a lying-down or head-down posture, try to straighten the pet's neck and raise the head. Note that dogs may not be able to taste peroxide and it is practically useless for cats. You need someone to help manage the pet so it won't wander about while you're working. If the pet has consumed acidic or alkaline cleaning agents (such as Mr. Muscle, 84 disinfectant, etc., batteries, hydrocarbons (fuel, oil, paint, etc., human antidepressant drugs, poultry bones, or sharp objects like toys and stationery, and when the pet has swallowed a large item and is coughing and gasping fiercely. Because after vomiting these objects could induce aspiration, inhalation, corrosion, or scratching of the digestive tract and internal organs.
Should vomiting prove ineffective and within one hour of consumption, you can have gastric lavage under veterinary direction to eliminate as much toxins from the stomach as feasible. Though activated carbon is useless against cyanide poisoning, the lavage liquid should be 5–10 milliliters per kilogram of body weight, regularly flushed, and supplemented with 0.02%-0.05% activated carbon to improve the effect of gastric lavage.
After implementing first treatments, keep a close eye on your pet's symptoms—including nausea, vomiting, red eyes, throat inflammation, trouble breathing, convulsions, aberrant behavior, etc. To give reliable basis for later veterinary diagnosis, carefully note changes and progression of symptoms.
See a local pet hospital right away to seek medical treatment; pay close care to maintaining the pet's comfortable and unhindered breathing during the travel. Bring the fragrant candles or comparable objects the pet has consumed or come across at the same time so the doctor may precisely identify the components of the poison and create focused treatment plans to raise the success rate of rescue.