| had severe difficulty
breathing; and he was emaciated because he couldn't eat. Heartworm
is spread by mosquitoes, and is entirely preventable. 1 pill per
month could have saved this dog's life. Have your dog tested, and
put him on preventative. Treatment for dogs that test positive is
expensive, and very painful. The dog must be kept sedentary
(inactive) for 2 months, during this treatment. Infestation with
heartworm can cause organ shut-down -- the kidneys, liver, and other
main organs aren't able to get the oxygen they need, because the
heartworms live in the heart and lungs.
If your dog has been diagnosed as "heartworm
positive", he/she will need to undergo treatment, depending on how
severe the infestation is. Here's how it works:
A mosquito that has bitten another heartworm
positive dog (and is, therefore, carrying the larvae) bites your dog, and
heartworm larvae (microfilia) are transmitted into his bloodstream.
From this point, if the dog isn't on heartworm preventative (which kills
the microfilia), the microfilia migrate to the heart and mature into adult
worms, some as long as 14 inches.
Upon testing, it may be found that your dog is "low
positive", which means that he either hasn't had the parasites for long
enough for them to mature, or that there are very few adults in-residence
in the heart. In this event, it may be safe to simply administer the
monthly preventative, rather than putting the dog through the traditional
treatment. There are several reasons for this:
1) It's MUCH cheaper.
2) It's MUCH easier on the dog (the shots are PAINFUL!)
3) Treating with preventative allows the adult worms to die off
*slowly*, and be absorbed into the dog's system. This is **safer**
for the dog, because there is less chance of coronary or pulmonary
occlusion. However, this is to be done ONLY with the co-operation of
the veterinarian, due to inherent risks.
If using preventative to cure the infestation, the
dog MUST be maintained on preventative for a period of 18 months before
being re-tested, so that all adults will have enough time to die off.
The dog should go for a period of 8 weeks without preventative, before
being re-tested.
If, however, there are many adult worms present in
the heart, the dog may be in imminent danger of organ shut-down...
at this point, it's recommended that the dog undergo the treatment shots.
This usually consists of 3+ injections over an 8-week period, depending on
the amount of suspected infestation. The adult worms die off
SUDDENLY, and so the dog MUST be kept VERY quiet, and even sedated for
this. There is great risk of coronary and pulmonary occlusion, if
the dog is allowed to jump around, bark, or even walk briskly.
Have your dog tested and put on preventative. Do it today.
Brenda Rushman, Web Author |
