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Can heartworm be treated preventively?
Heartworm can be difficult to identify if you are unfamiliar with the symptoms of an infection. Your dog may be extra tired or lack appetite one day and be sick the next. It is therefore important to know the warning signs of major health problems such as heartworm.
What to look out for
Heartworms are parasites that live in the hearts and arteries of infected animals. They travel through the bloodstream, sore arteries and other vital organs on their way to blood vessels in the lungs and ventricles.
Infection can take up to six months. This process can take up to six months until a complete infection is reached. It is then a matter of a few hundred worms that can live in a dog for five to seven years. Heartworm is therefore a serious disease and is often fatal if left untreated.
The symptoms of heartworm infections may start with labored breathing, coughing, vomiting, weight loss and fatigue after moderate exercise. However, in some dogs these outward signs of heartworms do not appear until later in life, making treatment more complex.
What can be done about prevention
Although there are products available to treat heartworm infections, prevention is the best method. It is therefore crucial to worm your dog regularly. Veterinarians usually recommend that dog owners start a course of deworming in early spring (when temperatures start to rise and mosquitoes return) and repeat four times a year.
There are several anthelmintics suitable for the preventive treatment of heartworm. The best known (oldest) is Milbemax, but Drontal, Milpro and Milprazon are also good alternatives to reduce the possibility of parasite infections.
This will ensure that your dog is protected against heartworms for a long and healthy life.
What to look out for
Heartworms are parasites that live in the hearts and arteries of infected animals. They travel through the bloodstream, sore arteries and other vital organs on their way to blood vessels in the lungs and ventricles.
Infection can take up to six months. This process can take up to six months until a complete infection is reached. It is then a matter of a few hundred worms that can live in a dog for five to seven years. Heartworm is therefore a serious disease and is often fatal if left untreated.
The symptoms of heartworm infections may start with labored breathing, coughing, vomiting, weight loss and fatigue after moderate exercise. However, in some dogs these outward signs of heartworms do not appear until later in life, making treatment more complex.
What can be done about prevention
Although there are products available to treat heartworm infections, prevention is the best method. It is therefore crucial to worm your dog regularly. Veterinarians usually recommend that dog owners start a course of deworming in early spring (when temperatures start to rise and mosquitoes return) and repeat four times a year.
There are several anthelmintics suitable for the preventive treatment of heartworm. The best known (oldest) is Milbemax, but Drontal, Milpro and Milprazon are also good alternatives to reduce the possibility of parasite infections.
This will ensure that your dog is protected against heartworms for a long and healthy life.