Dog Heartworm Medication New Haven CT

Q. I have a 5-year-old Labrador Retriever mix, and she has never been treated with any kind of heartworm medication or preventive. Is it necessary to start her on something and if so, how should I go about it? A. Until you have actually seen a dog's heart full of spaghetti-sized worms, writhing and wiggling, you cannot appreciate the significance of heartworm disease.

Heartworm disease is a life-threatening risk to dogs anywhere there are mosquitoes. It is spread when mosquitoes bite an infected dog that has microscopic worms (microfilaria) in his bloodstream. When the mosquito bites another dog, the microfilaria are injected into the bloodstream, where they develop into large adult worms and migrate to the heart, where they live. There, they wreak havoc with the heart and lungs, causing problems from coughing to blood clots to severe allergic reactions.

Thankfully, humans cannot get this disease.

Once a dog is infected with heartworms, he requires treatment with a powerful medication with potentially serious side effects to treat the disease. This assumes that diagnosis comes before the dog is seriously sick.

To prevent heartworms entirely, dogs can be put on a monthly medication that kills any of the microfilaria before they develop into adult worms. The preventive does not kill adult worms. All dogs in areas with mosquitoes should be on this preventive medication.

Author: Jon Geller, DVM

Copyright 2009 BowTie Inc.

Click here to read the rest of this article from Dog Channel