Your pet can help you cure diseases!

Listen this article

According to studies, pets can improve the health and life quality of their owners, helping with diseases such as depression or even preventing allergies

Pets, especially dogs and cats, are usually a company for their owners. Even so, this is not the only thing they can give humans. Over the years, while the tenure of animal companions increase more and more, studies have been conducted that show the multiple benefits of having a pet. These range from stress reduction, to improvement in cardiovascular diseases, or the development of social skills.

Leer en español: ¡Tu mascota puede ayudarte a curar enfermedades!

Recently, the pharmaceutical Boehringer Ingelheim published the results of a study entitled 'A unique link', in which the perception of those with pets showed that "more than 96% of dog owners and 91% of cats surveyed confirm that pets help them feel more relaxed, to carry out more physical exercise and provide them with a better quality of life," according to the statement released by the pharmaceutical company.

The pharmaceutical company has established itself as the second largest company in medicines for animals, so they have focused on researching the relationship between these two types of clients (humans and pets). The purpose, in addition, is "to know more deeply our final customers, the pet owners, to anticipate and cover better their needs", according to the company's Animal Health manager, Ana Morcate.

The multiple benefits of pets lie in the emotional bond that is consolidated with the owner. This link is the one that can get to treat diseases, for example, depression, by having next to the person an animal that represents company and closeness. According to the study, these emotional supports especially help children, and may end in the decrease of medicines of the different diseases that they suffer.

Also read: Dogs, cats and street dwellers in the same shelter

Similarly, previous studies have discovered some benefits of pets in their owners:

1. A study from the Applied Developmental Science magazine showed that people who were closer to their dog or cats and cared for them tended to participate more in communities and show leadership. In addition, it showed that closeness to a pet as a child can create more self-confidence and empathy in adult life.

2. Mental illnesses and the relationship with pets has a high level of relationship. According to a study by the journal BMC Psychiatry, 60% of pet owners who have a mental illness consider that their pets help them control their disease. Whether depression or other diseases, the company of an animal on a daily basis helps people reduce symptoms.

3. As contradictory as it may seem, since dogs and cats can produce allergies, they also reduce the risk of developing allergies, according to the Muy Interesante portal. This has to do with the contact of animals (not only pets) since childhood, so it creates "changes in intestinal bacteria associated with childhood allergies," according to the same media. Contact from an early age helps strengthen the immune system and be more resistant to allergies.

As a result of the whole study, the company also seeks to raise awareness in society about the importance of animals in human life and to develop more medicines for them, so that animals can help their owners more and more.

LatinAmerican Post | Juliana Suárez

Translated from "¡Tu mascota puede ayudarte a curar enfermedades!"