Keep Your Dog Happy and Healthy with The Best Dog Heartworm Medicine

Here’s a detailed guide to help you get the best treatment for your heartworm-infected pooch. 

What is Heartworm? 

Also called Dirofilaria immitis, heartworm is a parasite that causes dirofilariasis. The thread-like worm is a filarial worm that spreads from host to host mostly through mosquito bites. 

Dirofilariasis is a potentially fatal disease as this blood parasite directly affects the dog’s vital organs like the heart, lungs, and liver. Adult or full-sized heartworms can be found in pulmonary arteries, heart, and other adjacent large blood vessels in dogs and cats. It causes direct damage to the arterial and heart tissue as the spaghetti-like worm feeds on tissue. 

Heartworms can reduce the blood flow to an infected dog’s heart and lungs, leading to irreparable damage. One should never take heartworm infections should never be taken lightly. Your dog will likely be hospitalized and treated with injectable drugs like Melarsomine and antibiotics to target the associated bacteria. 

These parasites travel through the dog’s bloodstream and can spread throughout their bodies if not treated timely. The larva of heartworms reproduces at a fast rate till it completely fills the blood with microfilaria. 

How Do Dogs Get Infected with Heartworms?

Heartworm disease is transmitted from one dog to another through carriers like mosquitos. When a mosquito bites an infected dog, it then hosts tiny larvae inside its body. These larvae can take 10-14 days to achieve complete maturity, and when this mosquito bites another dog, the heartworm larvae get passed along. 

Your dog cannot be affected by being around a heartworm-infected dog in this 10-14 days’ incubation period inside the mosquito. However, if your dog’s diet and health care routine contains veterinarian-prescribed heartworm medications, then you needn’t worry about them being in the same area as another infected dog. Heartworm infections are more common in long summers or warm weather conditions. 

What Are the Symptoms of Heartworm Disease in Dogs?

Heartworm disease can easily go undetected for months. The asymptomatic disease advances and only shows signs of a problem when the parasite has fully developed. Some common symptoms to look out for are:

• Intolerance for physical activity 
• Lethargy
• Fluid accumulation causes the distended abdomen
• Persistent coughing
• Decreased appetite or complete loss of it
• Difficulty in breathing
• Poor body condition overall due to weight loss
• Frequent fainting due to insufficient supply and circulation of oxygenated blood

How to Prevent Heartworm Disease in Dogs?

There are many FDA-approved preventatives that you can make a part of your dog’s regular healthcare. These medicines kill the heartworm larvae in the dog’s blood if a carrier mosquito has bitten them. Canine heartworm medicine also works to interrupt the reproduction cycle of these larvae so they cannot multiply inside the dog’s body. 

You can use the following preventative measures to make sure your dog is safe from this deadly disease:

Using mosquito repellents

To save your pet from heartworm parasites, you need to prevent bites from the transmitting agent (mosquitos). Mosquito repellents made for dogs produce an odor around the skin and fur of your dog that keeps mosquitos from coming close. 

Regular check-ups

Scheduling routine check-ups for your dog will help with early diagnosis and treatment. The sooner you know your dog has caught heartworm disease, the better the chances of recovery. The larvae can take months at times to mature fully. Hence if you’re getting your dog checked every three to six months, you can save your dog’s life. 

You can specifically ask the vet for microfilaria concentration or antigen tests. These tests detect the presence of mature and immature larva in the dog’s blood. Regular radiography or X-rays will tell you how far along the infestation has spread to your dog’s organs if they are infected. 

Monthly/seasonal preventatives

Dog heartworm preventative medicine is easily be found with or without prescription. However, it’s always best to ask the vet to prescribe one according to your dog’s body weight and age. These dog heartworm preventatives come as chewable and flavored medicine that needs to be given once every month. 

If you don’t live in a highly endemic area, you can space out the dosage routine a little more flexibly. You don’t have to worry about heartworm in winters and can stop giving prevention medication to your dog.   

Treatment Options for Heartworm Infected Dogs

There are three ways to treat heartworm infestation:

• Drug injections

The most common treatment for heartworm disease is a series of drug injections. These drugs kill the adult worms in an infected dog’s bloodstream. After initial injections in the series, the recovery period is expected to last from 4 to 6 weeks. It can also take longer if the disease is diagnosed at a later stage. 

Regular preventative medicine is given to the infected dog during their recovery period to stop microfilaria reproduction. Few dogs might also require some antibiotics for complete healing. After six months of the treatment, the vets will run more diagnostic tests to make sure the dog is out of the danger zone. 

• Arsenic-based medication

This treatment is opted only when the infection is detected late and has spread throughout the dog’s body. Arsenic-based drugs excessively kill heartworms which can cause inflammation and, in some cases, respiratory failure as well. 

There are low chances of survival in this type of treatment. This is why it’s better to regularly check the dog and prevent the onset of a full-blown infestation. 

• Surgery

Another method of treatment of heartworm disease is surgery. This is done in extreme cases when the disease is uncontrollably spreading. Surgery is performed to remove all the baby and adult worms altogether from the dog’s body. 

Conclusion

Heartworm disease can be traumatic and extremely painful for dogs. Since this disease has no apparent signs and symptoms, you will have to stay vigilant about the prevention and detection yourself. Make sure that you use a mosquito repellant every time your dog goes to the dog park and schedule regular check-ups. 

Regular use of dog heartworm preventatives plays a significant role in saving your pet from this deadly disease. Read about the best dog heartworm medicine in 2021 for your pup in this guide, along with some necessary prevention hacks and tips.