Hearts are on our minds this February as we enjoy the Valentine period, so at VetShopAustralia
we mark the occasion by spreading the word about heartworm. We love
animals, but there are some worms who we don’t want to share the love
with this season. Adult heartworms look like spaghetti, growing up to
30cm in length; although their effects are far from enjoyable.
How does heartworm affect your pet’s health?
If your pet contracts heartworm disease their blood vessels become clogged, particularly around the heart, causing decreased blood flow to other major organs, damaging tissues, leading to heart failure and death. Treatment is expensive and fraught with danger. In severe cases, actual treatment of the disease can cause severe symptoms. As you can see, heartworm is a serious condition and prevention, rather than treatment is preferable.
How do pets contract heartworm?
Dogs cannot contract heartworm directly from one another. Instead, an infected mosquito bites your pet, transmitting the deadly worms.
The signs of infection
Unfortunately, in the initial stages of infection, no symptoms are apparent. As the disease advances, symptoms include:
How does heartworm affect your pet’s health?
If your pet contracts heartworm disease their blood vessels become clogged, particularly around the heart, causing decreased blood flow to other major organs, damaging tissues, leading to heart failure and death. Treatment is expensive and fraught with danger. In severe cases, actual treatment of the disease can cause severe symptoms. As you can see, heartworm is a serious condition and prevention, rather than treatment is preferable.
How do pets contract heartworm?
Dogs cannot contract heartworm directly from one another. Instead, an infected mosquito bites your pet, transmitting the deadly worms.
The signs of infection
Unfortunately, in the initial stages of infection, no symptoms are apparent. As the disease advances, symptoms include:
- Coughing
- Lethargy
- Swollen abdomen
- Tiring quickly during exercise
- Laboured breathing
How can you prevent the disease?
The
great news is that this detrimental disease can be easily prevented and
there is a variety of treatment options available. Most preventative
treatments are used monthly; such as:
- Chews can be fed to your dog, once a month, year round. Some highly effective options include; Heartgard Plus, Panoramis, Interceptor Spectrum and Sentinel Spectrum.
- Tablets can also be taken monthly; available from Proheart, Valuheart and Nuheart.
- Alternatively, external pipettes produced by Revolution or Advocate, can be applied to the skin once a month.
- More frequent preventative treatments like Dimmitrol tablets can be administered daily.
These
products are a great option, because most also prevent other harmful
infections such as fleas, mites and intestinal worms.
At VetShopAustralia.com.au we believe the key to a healthy heart is a heartworm free pet. To keep the disease at bay, we recommend preventative measures be taken and that your pet has regular checkups at the vet. We offer a broad range of preventative heartworm treatments at affordable prices because pets are always in our hearts.
At VetShopAustralia.com.au we believe the key to a healthy heart is a heartworm free pet. To keep the disease at bay, we recommend preventative measures be taken and that your pet has regular checkups at the vet. We offer a broad range of preventative heartworm treatments at affordable prices because pets are always in our hearts.
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