Regular Use Of Heartworm Medicine For Dogs Protects Your Pet From Painful Treatments

Prevention of heartworm disease is an important part of the health care of your dog. Heartworm medicine for dogs is not only widely available but easy to apply. Spot on products such as Revolution, flavored tabs offered by Sentinel and Interceptor, and tasty wafers of Heartgard are aimed at preventing heartworms from infesting your best friend. Protection from hookworms, roundworms and even fleas are also included in the formula of some heartworm preventive medicine.

Treatment is available for dogs suffering heartworm disease but is an expensive option that is easily avoided. The treatment is straightforward with the goal of destroying the parasites living in the animal but treating dogs with severe heartworm disease or with other health problems can be challenging.

The number of worms present in the animal indicates the severity of the disease but the activity level of the dog also plays an important role. As the heartworms die they decompose and the fragments can lodge in pulmonary arteries and block blood flow. This blood flow increases during period of physical activity which can increase the chances of clogged arteries that potentially can cause heart failure. Dogs undergoing treatment to cure heartworm disease must be restricted or confined to prevent high levels of activity that could increase blood flow.

Melarsomine is the only medicine approved for heartworm treatment in dogs. The treatment recommended by the American Heartworm Society recently changed. Previously, Melarsomine was administered in two injections 24 hours apart. Now, the protocol is a three injection treatment. One dose of the Melarsomine is followed one month later by two more doses 24 hours apart.

The earlier treatment method did not always kill all of the heartworms present in the dog. The drug is not effective for heartworms younger than 4 months old. Currently, veterinarians often advise pet owners to administer Heartgard monthly for two to three months before subjecting their pet to the cure for heartworm. This has the effect of preventing new, young heartworms from growing in the animal and increases the effectiveness of the treatment.

The health of your dog overall is a huge consideration when considering treatment for heartworm disease. The cure acts as a poison (arsenic) in order to kill the parasites and weak canines may not be able to survive Melasaromine. For a comparison, you should realize that heartworm treatment for a dog is similar to chemotherapy for a person. Old or weak animals may be treated instead for 36 weeks with ivermectin and doxycycline on a weekly basis. This will reduce the heartworms present significantly and administration of a four week regiment of doxycycline every four months will keep the number of heartworms low in the animal.

In extreme cases the diagnosis of heartworm disease is not made until the dog suffers a life threatening heart problem. This may be indicated by sudden onset of severe weakness and lethargy. The cause is heartworms obstructing blood flow through a heart valve and interfering with the closing of that value. The only course of treatment is surgery to remove heartworms from the dog's heart. This is done by removing the worms with a tool inserted in the jugular vein. If the surgery is successful, the standard heartworm treatment will eliminate any remaining heartworms.

Your dog should never have to got through the drastic treatment for heartworm disease or suffer the effect of chemotherapy for weeks after the treatment. Heartworm medicine for dogs is available and priced reasonably. By giving your dog twelve doses of Sentinel, Revolution, Interceptor or Heartgard each year, you can totally protect your pooch from the damage heartworms can cause.