Heartworm preventative measures include the drugs Ivermectin, Milbemycin, and Selamectin, and in all cases it is much better to use heart worm protection for dogs rather than cure the infestation once established.
Treatments using heart worm medications for existing infestations are lengthy, and your pet may require surgical intervention too. As you can imagine even with pet insurance, things can add up, so it's best to seek out some heartworm prevention rather than wait and risk your luck (and your pet's health).
Many brands of heartworm medications are available for you to choose from. Be aware that heartworm treatment medications differ from the heartworm prevention medications.
In the past, arsenic medications were used for heartworm control once the infection had arisen, but many cats and some dogs suffered from pulmonary issues several days after the treatment, so generally speaking, these arsenic compounds are not used in feline heartworm treatment.
When using a weaker form of heartworm protection, you can expect the treatment to last 18 months, which is not acceptable except in a few cases.
Heartworm medication just like any medicine can be hard to administer, especially if you are dealing with another species who don't understand you are trying to help them. Heartworm pills are probably not in the top ten of favorite dog tastes, so fortunately companies such as Merial who make Heartgard canine heartworm prevention manufacture chewable Heartgard Plus in beef flavor.
Unfortunately for heartworms, Heartgard has been proven to be an effective treatment. In addition to preventing heartworm, this medicine also protects your pet from roundworms.
Heart worm disease is one of a number of parasites that the Revolution program flea control tackles, although if your aim is solely to get rid of fleas you may find Advantage for dogs a better option. Advantage flea control for dogs however, will not protect against heartworm, which Revolution does.
Sentinel is an all-in-one medication that handles roundworms, fleas, and many other parasites. Sentinel and Revolution are the only ones that offer both heartworm and flea protection. Since you have to protect your pets against heartworm you might as well get flea protection at the same time.
