Year after year, veterinarians brace for the disease that has seriously affected our pets for decades. However this disease is easily preventable with inexpensive and safe medications. Episodes of Heartworms both in dogs and cats persist to grow and the fee to treat (if recognized quick enough) is usually much larger that the amount to prevent. Consequently, how can you offer protection to your furry friend from the fatal consequences of this now common parasite?
Flash back to 150 years ago when a researcher initially identified the heartworm parasite in a dog. Then the parasite evolved and was then discovered within our cats 80 years ago. With heartworm prevention available for both dogs and cats you would believe that we would experience a reduction in the volume of cases, still every year thousands and thousands of dogs and cats are diagnosed and frequently die too soon from this dreaded parasite. Several researchers estimate that in North America alone, cases of heartworms in our pets may actually be in the millions.
The disease attributable to this heartworm residing inside your pet’s heart is devastating. Your furry friend can be infected from the single bite of just one mosquito. The worm may then migrate through your pet’s entire body ultimately taking up residence in your pet’s heart chamber and the blood vessels leading to the lungs. This leads to your pet’s heart having to pump harder to circulate the blood through his tiny body. The consequences to the lungs is far more severe with many pets gasping for breath because the lungs fill with fluid and tiny blood clots clog the vessels. Early symptoms can include coughing and exercise intolerance that some owners just attribute to the dog getting lazy. More often than not, warning signs do not emerge until the disease is well advanced and the dog is being affected by heart failure, fluid accumulation in the lungs and belly which can eventually result in death.
In cats, it only takes one heartworm to result in damage. The first symptoms are asthma like symptoms and occasionally vomiting that the owners will attribute to hairballs. Once that heartworm lodges in the lungs, it can result in a sudden death of the cats.
Treatment for heartworms is expensive starting from $500 for the smaller sized dogs, to upwards of $1500 for the larger breeds. Complicated heartworm disease with heart failure is even more expensive and oftentimes there is only a 10% chance of recovery in the severely afflicted pets. As of yet, there is no treatment for cat heartworm disease, just supportive care.
Incredibly, veterinarians do have an answer for this dilemma. Safe, effective heartworm preventatives are available in a number of simple to use applications. What is even more incredible is that the expense of a lifetime of prevention for many pets is considerably less that a one-time treatment for the disease. And so, why do pets continue to suffer and die from such a preventable malady?
As with all cyberspace beliefs, two major hypotheses suggest that either the heartworm medications are failing or that the parasites are developing a resistance to the drugs. Although conspiracy theorists love these thoughts, scientific proof for either hypothesis is lacking. Heartworm preventives possess a failure rate of less than 1 in 1 million doses. Likewise, the complicated life cycle of the heartworm does not lend itself to creating a natural resistance to the medications. The truth likely lies in the remembrance of the owner to give the dose in a monthly manner and the global temperature.
Rising temperatures in our climate has triggered an extended mosquito season and a greater possibility of transmission to our pets. Here in Houston, our mosquito season is all year round. Some regions are currently seeing a lot more mosquitoes in previously mosquito-free areas. Irrigation of dry areas and increased plantings of trees in certain areas might actually expand mosquito population. With a greater number of mosquitoes, there is a better possibility of transmission of heartworm disease.
When all of the facts are considered, the most obvious cause of our failure to manage this fatal parasite falls on the humans themselves. We simply fail to give the preventive as we really should. It could be attributable to forgetfulness, or perhaps one partner assumed the other one administered it or maybe it could be due to the economic conditions plus the financial difficulties imposed on the family unit. Whatever the reason might be, it can lead to dire consequences for the sake of our pets.
Thankfully, as pet owners, you do have powerful allies to help you fight the war against heartworms. With the help of your veterinarian, you are able to find the most effective heartworm medication for your pet and your budget. Oral medications, for instance Heartgard, Sentinel, and Iverhart can be purchased. There are also topical medications for example Advantage-Multi and Revolution that are formulated to also protect your pet from both heartworms and fleas. Proheart 6 is additionally available as a long lasting injection. The prevention of this disease rests entirely on the pet’s owners to ensure the pet gets the prevention before the pet is going to be exposed to the parasite. That means that the prevention should start in puppy-hood and be given every month, throughout the year.
You should not waste time searching for “natural” or organic solutions to defend against heartworms; they simply do not exist. Many individuals believe they can formulate ivermectin to give to their pets, but improper dilution and storage can result in overdosing or underdosing. Abide by recommendations by your veterinarian and the American Heartworm Society (www.heartwormsociety.org) Your pet is relying on you and prevention is more effective and less costly ?n comparison to the treatment.
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