# Query for the Medicos: any health risk from exposure to pet urine smell? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 13, 2009, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/query-for-the-medicos-any-health-risk-from-exposure-to-pet-urine-smell/502825 "2009-07-13T03:53:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/query-for-the-medicos-any-health-risk-from-exposure-to-pet-urine-smell/502825/1 "2009-07-13T03:53:23Z")
Every once in a while, we read about some cat lady or dog person whose home is overwhelmingly stinky from urine/feces odors. Does this indoor air pollution pose a direct health risk to a person breathing that crap? Are there specific allergies to these things where the average person might endure it just fine? ---
**Author:** ![Nunavut\_Boy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e95f7d/32.png) [@Nunavut\_Boy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nunavut_Boy)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/query-for-the-medicos-any-health-risk-from-exposure-to-pet-urine-smell/502825/2 "2009-07-13T03:58:06Z")
I’m guessing no. Allergies are usually due to dander. Urine starts out sterile. It smells bad from all the ammoniacal products in it, but I doubt that anyone, except for extremely rare cases, is allergic to it. ---
**Author:** ![Pullet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Pullet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pullet)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/query-for-the-medicos-any-health-risk-from-exposure-to-pet-urine-smell/502825/3 "2009-07-13T04:04:31Z")
Ammonia concentrations can build to high levels when you have a bunch of urine sitting around. That shit’s dangerous. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/query-for-the-medicos-any-health-risk-from-exposure-to-pet-urine-smell/502825/4 "2009-07-13T04:37:50Z")
Feces is going to leave contaminants all over the place so the airborne factor isn’t all that relevant. As noted, urine is sterile when discharged from the body and doesn’t usually present a problem at all because it is a type of disinfectant itself although it can smell very bad because of ammonia if enough is allowed to permeate an enclosure. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/query-for-the-medicos-any-health-risk-from-exposure-to-pet-urine-smell/502825/5 "2009-07-13T04:40:38Z")
> [@Pullet](#): > > Ammonia concentrations can build to high levels when you have a bunch of urine sitting around. That shit’s dangerous. Try walking through a barn or other concentrated animal enclosure. It smells terrible but it won’t hurt you. You would have to have a sealed room with very large amounts of deposited urine before it would affect most anyone except for the gross smell factor. ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/query-for-the-medicos-any-health-risk-from-exposure-to-pet-urine-smell/502825/6 "2009-07-13T04:46:15Z")
Dried feces and urine will likely form some aeresolized powder when disturbed. I suspect lung issues would be a problem among other things. ---
**Author:** ![MarcinCiez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b38774/32.png) [@MarcinCiez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MarcinCiez)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/query-for-the-medicos-any-health-risk-from-exposure-to-pet-urine-smell/502825/7 "2009-07-13T05:29:01Z")
The only thing I can think of is [Taxoplasma](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toxoplasmosis), but this is not airborne. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/query-for-the-medicos-any-health-risk-from-exposure-to-pet-urine-smell/502825/8 "2009-07-13T15:17:40Z")
> [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](#): > > Every once in a while, we read about some cat lady or dog person whose home is overwhelmingly stinky from urine/feces odors. Does this indoor air pollution pose a direct health risk to a person breathing that crap? Are there specific allergies to these things where the average person might endure it just fine? IANAD, but as a humane investigator I have been involved with a couple of extreme hoarding situations which sound more like what you’re referring to. In extreme cases, where there are over 100 animals and the home is completely overrun with them, the stench and filth are unbelievable. In these cases, yes, the ammonia is a very real health risk. Protective clothing, eye goggles and respirators are necessary. Without them, no one would be able to go inside for more than a few minutes. There is very real risk of causing chemical burns to mucous membranes, nose, mouth, eyes, lungs. The properties are not salvageable and need to be condemned and torn down. The animals often are suffering from chemical burns where they’ve been in contact with urine/feces - ulcerations on the skin and eyes, many of them have chronic respiratory diseases for the rest of their lives, if they even survive the removal process and recover afterward. That stuff is no joke, and “overwhelmingly stinky” doesn’t even come close to describing it.