Know which is the Best Heartworm for Dogs
Presently, there are two different methods employed for heartworm treatment in dogs – Immiticide Treatment and Ivermectin Treatment. Which one is the best heartworm treatment for dogs is something this article will try to explore. Immiticide Treatment This involves treatment with melarsomine, which eliminates heartworms in a relatively short time period. In this heartworm treatment, ivermectin-based preventives are also jointly administered on a month to month basis to avoid any new infections. Ivermectin Treatment In certain cases, only ivermectin-based medications are used to prevent any infections. This type of heartworm treatment is also popularly known as the ‘soft kill’ or ‘slow kill’ method. Both the heartworm treatment methods have their own set of complications. The Advantages of Ivermectin Method Ivermectin heartworm treatment methods is relatively inexpensive than the immiticide treatment. The immiticide cost is high, which makes it unaffordable for many. In certain cases, it also becomes difficult to administer melarsomine treatment alone because of the health situation. The ‘slow-kill’ ivermectin method is employed to ensure that the dog is not further affected by heartworms. It also helps in getting rid of larval form of heartworms from the blood stream of the dog. This larval form has the capability to infect mosquitoes which feed on the infected dog. Such infected mosquitoes than become dangerous and cause heartworm infections in other dogs. Monthly dose of ivermectin prevents this and protects other dogs. The Disadvantages of Ivermectin Method To begin with, American Heartworm Society do not insist on administering the monthly dose of ivermectin to prevent heartworm infection in dogs. The use of melarsomine for heartworm treatment is widely considered as safer and more effective. Presently, melarsomine is the only way to eliminate fully grown and adult worms. Ivermectin can kill the worms during the larval stage and not during the adult stage. It also is ineffective to minimize lifespan of worms or render them sterile. As time goes, the larval stages do not survive and further infections are prevented, which eventually will lead to the natural death of adult heartworms. However, this can take a time of up to 2 years. In heartworm infection, as far as adult worms reside in the heart and arteries, the damage to other internal organs will not stop. It implies that if the dog is only getting the monthly dose of ivermectin, the heartworm disease will not stop and dog’s heart as well as lungs will continue getting severely affected. One of the other concerns why the ‘slow-kill’ method of ivermectin is not recommended is that some studies have indicate that there’s development of heartworm strains, which eventually become resistant to any heartworm preventive medications. Due to certain health complications, many dogs are averse to melarsomine treatment and only monthly dose of ivermectin can be administered. However, this method has its own concerns and is not always advisable for heartworm treatment. Comments are closed.
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