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Easily Prevent Heartworm Disease In Your Dog With The Best Heartworm Prevention Medicines

More than 300,000 dogs in the U.S. are infected with heartworms every year. Treating an infected animal is costly and weakens the animal for some time. Heartworm medicine for dogs is routine care for responsible pet owners and just as important as keeping your canine’s vaccinations up to date.

A dog with a light infestation of heartworm may show no symptoms of the disease until the problem is well advanced and perhaps life threatening. Severe cases may be found by your vet due to changes detected in the heart or lung function of the animal but a simple blood test will reveal the presence of adult heartworms.

The test strip used by your vet when testing your pet for heartworm will display a blue line when the disease is present. The line may be from light to darker blue with the color saturation indicating the level of the infestation. Symptoms may be difficult to see but one of the most common is coughing and your vet may hear unusual lung sounds during a routine visit. Dogs may lose consciousness briefly due to decreased blood flow to the brain and this may be confused with seizures which leave the dog disoriented for a few minutes.

A positive result from the blood test for heartworm may be followed up by an angiogram and ultrasound to determine the amount of damage caused to the animal’s organs. The antigen tests now used will not detect heartworm disease in its earliest stages but are accurate in detecting heartworms that are seven or eight months old. The blood smear exam that is often part of a routine examination will verify the presence of heartworm disease but is not sensitive enough to rule out the early presence of the parasite.

Heartworm is so easily preventable, it is sad that so many dogs acquire the disease each year. The worm larvae are carried by mosquitoes and those many species can be infected, dogs seem to be the most common victim.

One dog may have only 2-3 heartworms present while another may be host to as many as 250 of the threadlike parasites. Mature worms mate inside the dog and the microfilariae they release is picked up by more mosquitoes and then spread to other animals in the vicinity.

Preventing heartworm is a simple process with the safe and effective heartworm medicines available today. Some of the best choices are:

Heartgard - Can be used after a diagnosis of heartworm disease and may be part of the treatment. Tasty wafers also treat hookworms and roundworms.

Sentinel -Should not be used for any animal that has tested positive for heartworm disease. Tablets are given monthly to kill heartworm larvae before they can grow and develop into a problem.

Revolution - Multiple benefits from this spot on topical product. Provides heartworm prevention and protects your dog from other parasites and fleas.

Interceptor (milbemycin oxime) - A monthly oral pet medication that can be used on puppies over 4 weeks of age and also controls roundworms and hookworms. Interceptor is safe to use in pregnant and nursing dogs.

Providing heartworm prevention for your dog is simple and inexpensive. Protect your dog from parasitic heartworms and painful treatments when you buy online from a veterinarian at http://www.petscriptsdirect.com.

categories: dog heartworm disease,canine heartworms,prevent heartworm,dog health,pet care,online pet meds

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