Hydro-Nanogel, an Innovative Bath-substituting Product for Clean, Cuddly, and Healthy Pets

Give your pets smooth skin and a clean scent without a bath with Hydro-Nanogel from Chula Veterinary Science (CUVET).  Great for pet care when they are not allowed to bathe, and your four-legged friends that hate taking a bath, the Hydro-Nanogel is poised to be further developed for bedridden patients.

Many pets are brought to CUVET for various treatments, be it vaccinations, surgery, wound dressing, and healing of many ailments.  While being treated, sick animals may not get wet, and there is a problem with cleanliness from both the malodor and mosquito and insect bites, which can cause other serious diseases.

Dr. Teerapong Yata, Department of Physiology, CUVET has tried to solve this problem until he finally arrived at this cutting-edge innovation, “Hydro-Nanogel”, a bath-substituting cleansing product.

“If exposed to water, sick pets may get sicker, or the wounds may get infected and the infection may fester and this takes longer to heal,” Dr. Teerapong talked about the problems that sparked his interest in creating the innovation.

“Hydro-Nanogel makes it easy for pet caregivers to keep their pets clean when they are sick.  Owners of healthy pets can also use this product to keep their pets’ skin clean and healthy.”

Hydro-Nanogel replaces water with natural extracts

Hydro-Nanogel consists of 100% natural extracts and essential oils extracted as nanoparticles before blending to form an herbal cocktail.

“We use ‘allantoin’, a plant extract that has moisturizing, and anti-inflammation properties that can relieve skin inflammation that causes hair loss. We also mix in the extract from fragrant rice that animals like.”

Dr. Teerapong said that Hydro-Nanogel can be used in many types of pets including dogs, cats, and pet rodents such as guinea pigs to help reduce their body odor.

Based on the bath-substituting hydrogel product, Dr. Teerapong recently developed a formula that repels against mosquitoes and other insects that carry diseases, like heartworm disease, mosquito allergy, insect bites hypersensitivity, etc.

“A product with insect repellent property is essential for sick or vulnerable animals. We don’t use DEET to repel mosquitoes and insects like most products, because it may irritate animals. But we use a substance called “icaridin” which is colorless, odorless and has been tested to confirm that it is not harmful.”

Currently, the new Hydro-Nanogel with insect repellent property is being registered and expected to be available soon through small animal hospitals and veterinary clinics.

Pet Friendly

In addition to being made from natural extracts for the health and safety of pets, Hydro-Nanogel also has a design that bears the users in mind.

“In our research, we found that animals tend to be frightened of spray products, so we designed the packaging as a pump bottle.  Apart from not frightening the animals, another by-product is the bonding between the owners and the pets.  Through petting, caressing, and touching the animals, they will feel the love and warmth from their owners,” Dr. Teerapong added– with a smile.

All-in-One solution to cleanliness

Hydro-Nanogel is an all-in-one pet care product.  Dr. Teeraphong recommends that “it can be used twice a day, morning and evening. The amount of gel needed depends on the size of the pet: one portion for small animals, two for large animals, then apply the gel all over the pet. For mosquito and insect repellent formula, the gel should be applied every four to six hours for maximum protection.”

How to bathe your pets for their best health

Dr. Teerapong explained that pets’ body odor is a daily natural occurrence, both in sick or healthy animals, so daily or frequent bath is not necessary, and can even cause illness.

“Bathing dogs frequently will stimulate the sebaceous glands in their bodies and make them secrete more fat, which may cause skin disease. As for cats, bathing them often will cause fungal skin problems. In addition, not toweling them dry thoroughly can breed bacteria and skin diseases.”

Hydro-Nanogel is an alternative way to take care of the pets’ body odor and improve their cleanliness without bathing.

“If you bathe the pet every three days, or once a week (for healthy animals), you can use this product in between instead of bathing, to eliminate the pet’s malodor and maintain their healthy skin. However, we do not recommend using this product as a permanent replacement for bathing,” said Dr. Teerapong.

Extending the research to humans

With the properties and efficacy of Hydro-Nanogel, Dr. Teerapong has received a grant from the National Research Council of Thailand (NRCT) to extend the research to “Hydrogel bath-substituting product for bedridden, elderly patients.”

Dr. Teerapong revealed that such product will have both bath-substituting, and mosquito and insect repellent properties, and maybe produced in two forms: gel and wipes.

“All of the precursors we use in pet products are natural and already used by humans, so further development of human products is highly feasible. Currently, permission for human use is in progress”.

Those interested in the “Hydro-Nanogel” bath-substituting product can contact the Biochemistry Unit, Department of Physiology, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Chulalongkorn University, 39 Henri Dunant Road, Wang Mai, Pathum Wan, Bangkok 10330, Tel. 02 218 9543 during office hours.

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