Heartworm Medication

From LoveToKnow Dogs

Giving your dog preventative heartworm medication is an important part of ensuring it lives a long, healthy life.

What is Heartworm?

A potentially fatal disease, heartworm is spread through the bite of an infected mosquito. The mosquito ingests the larva of the worms that cause heartworm, known as microfilariae, when it bites an infected animal. It then deposits the microfilariae into the next animal when it bites it looking for its next meal of blood.

After the larvae undergo several changes in the dog’s body, they reach their adult stage. The adult worms are a type of roundworm and may grow to 10 to 12 inches in length. These worms live in the dog’s bloodstream and lungs as they travel to the right side of its heart where they reproduce. As the worms multiply, they affect and clog the chambers of the right side of the heart, the arteries of the lungs, and the veins entering the heart and the liver, causing the later stages of heartworm symptoms to occur.

This devastating illness causes pain, suffering and death to many dogs each year. Although treatable in many cases, the treatment itself is extremely dangerous to the dog.

Giving your dog preventative medication for heartworm eliminates the danger of your canine companion falling prey to the debilitating parasites that cause heartworm disease.

Types of Heartworm Medication

Many of the preventative medications for heartworm are available only with a prescription from a veterinarian. Others are sold over the counter. There are several different types of preventative medication for heartworm, each with a different method of administering the drug.

Chewable Tablets or Pills

This type of medication is given either on a daily or monthly basis. Monthly preventative heartworm medication kills the larva that entered into the dog’s body over the past 30 to 45 days. Daily medication is only effective in killing any larva that entered the dog’s body during the past 24 to 48 hours.

If you choose this method of heartworm protection, it is very important that the daily or monthly schedule be followed exactly.

The drugs used in oral prescription medications include either ivermectin or milbemycin oxime. Following is a partial list of these medications available to prevent heartworm in dogs.

Heartguard
Heartguard Plus
Tri-Heart Plus
Iverhart
Interceptor
Sentinel

Topical Products

Topical heartworm products are easily applied to the back of the dog’s neck. Each dose of the medication is in its own applicator tube, making it easy to apply. It is important that the topical medication is put directly onto the skin of the dog and not onto the dog’s coat. This type of preventative heartworm treatment contains either the drug selamectin or moxidectin.

Topical medications for dogs include:

Advantage
Advantage Multi
Revolution

Injectable Medication for Heartworm

Some canine caretakers prefer their dog receives an injectable preventative heartworm medication. The injection, which contains the drug moxidectin, can only be administered by a veterinarian and heartworm protection lasts for six months.

Natural or Alternative Heartworm Treatment

For those dog caretakers that are concerned with administering drugs to their pets, there are several natural heartworm preventative products on the market. These alternative treatments for heartworm prevention include Petalive Parasite Dr. and Heartworm Free.

Where to Find Medication for Heartworm Online

Prescription medications for heartworm, as well as over the counter products, are available online from a variety of retailers. If you are purchasing a prescription medication, a copy of the prescription must be sent via fax or the original prescription must be sent through the mail to the online pharmacy.

The following websites have over-the-counter medications and an online pharmacy to fill prescriptions.

Giving your dog preventative heartworm medication is a good example of responsible and caring pet ownership.

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