HEARTWORM IN DOGS AND CATS
Unfortunately, the veterinary business is no different than the medical profession. Many doctors would rather collect money by making pets and people sicker. We can protect ourselves to some extent but what about our pets? We have to be diligent in protecting them as well. Sometimes people ask me about Flea Free Organically and walk away saying they will talk to the vets about it. WRONG....Veterinarians know very little about the active ingredient in FFO and wouldn’t recommend it anyway. Why?...You guessed it...their bottom line profits from promoting products like Frontline and Advantage. I’m sure there are good ones out there but you have to be just as diligent with your pets care as you are your own. Question, and don't believe everything you hear. Use your computer and find the answers that way. You wouldn't hire the first Plummer so find at least three opinions on your pets health problem and call a holistic vet for advise if you have to.
Our world is not getting any easier to live in but at the very least we can try to protect our health and the health of our pets
Jan
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When an infected mosquito bites a dog or cat, the microfilaria are deposited on the skin, where they then crawl into the bite wound and enter the bloodstream. Inside the body, they grow and progress through other larval forms. In dogs, the heartworm's natural host, larvae migrate to the heart and eventually develop into adult worms. In cats, full-grown worms can develop (but not reproduce). A cat cannot transmit the disease. Adult heartworms are over a foot long when grown (in 6-8 months), but it takes only 1 or 2 to fill up a cat's tiny heart and cause serious problems. However, in 80% of infections, the cat's own immune system kills the larvae at an earlier stage, and clears the infection.
However, heartworms don't have to be full-grown to cause problems. In cats, a respiratory condition can develop. Not-quite-full-grown microfilaria can get stuck small blood vessels in the lungs, where they can cause significant inflammation and damage. This uniquely feline condition is called Heartworm Associated Respiratory Disease, or HARD. Symptoms are similar to asthma; and it's possible that some "asthmatic" cats are misdiagnosed with an immune-mediated disease instead of a parasite. Even so, about half of infected cats never develop any signs of heartworm disease at all. And while the disease causes serious damage to the lungs, much of the damage may be reversible by the body's normal healing processes. Chronic and sequential infections have not been studied.
Indoor cats are, of course, less likely to be bitten by a mosquito, but anyone who's ever been around them knows that the little buggers can be quite persistent, so it isn't impossible. In one study, 25% of heartworm-positive cats were reported to be indoors-only. Outdoor cats are at higher risk not only for heartworm but also for feline leukemia, feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV or feline AIDS), and all the other parasites, injuries, and diseases common to outdoor cats. However, keeping all pets indoors during prime mosquito-feeding time (late afternoon an evening) will greatly reduce the risk of a bite.
Heartworm preventative drugs do not kill adult heartworms, but they do kill microfilaria up to a certain stage of development. Currently it is believed that larvae under 6 weeks old are affected. This means that in order to prevent heartworms from reaching adulthood, the preventative can be given up to 6 weeks after the mosquito bite occurs, and still work. The recommendation is to give the drugs every 30 days, purportedly because once-a-month dosing is easier for most people to remember (and, coincidentally, it also sells more drugs!).
The most common preventative drugs for heartworm are ivermectin (Heartgard) and selamectin (Revolution). While these drugs are generally considered "safe and effective" at the low doses used for heartworm prevention, there are always exceptions. Signs of toxicity associated with ivermectin include: depression, ataxia (balance problems or unsteady walk), and blindness. Selamectin is also used to treat ear mites and some intestinal worms; adverse reactions include hair loss at the site of application, diarrhea, vomiting, muscle tremors, anorexia, lethargy, salivation, rapid breathing, and contact allergy.
Most veterinarians hand out heartworm preventatives like candy; but there is a serious and growing problem of resistance of heartworms to these drugs. This means that we are selecting for "superworms" that will be able to survive and grow even in animals on heartworm preventatives (despite Big Pet Pharma's denials that this is happening). As with all cases of drug resistance, the correct response is to reduce use of the drug and reserve it only for when it is absolutely necessary. Unfortunately, the veterinary profession and drug industries have decided to go for profits instead, and are continuing to call for all pets to be on medications all year round. This is bad science, and it is bad policy.
The Big Pet Pharma folks are very protective of the income from heartworm drugs, and will apparently stop at nothing to increase profits. Merial, maker of the popular heartworm preventative Heartgard, was repeatedly warned by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to stop exaggerating the effectiveness of the product (which has been declining for at least a decade). Moreover, a fired Merial executive filed suit against Merial, claiming that the company deliberately lied for years, not only about the product's effectiveness, but also the true number and severity of adverse events. Pfizer's Animal Health division alone, which makes the heartworm preventative Revolution as well as vaccines and other animal drugs, is valued at $10 billion to $16 billion (and may soon be sold to Merial or another competitor!).
If you feel you must use heartworm prevention products, get them from your veterinarian. Surveys have found mislabeled, expired, imported, and counterfeit products being sold from other sources. Follow dosage instructions and do not over-treat. NEVER, EVER use a heartworm product made for dogs on a cat. The components are different between dog and cat products, and dog products can kill a cat in a matter of hours. Many cats have suffered and died this way.
Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/033060_heartworm_drugs_pet_health.html#ixzz1SmHzL1WS
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
New Series on the Toxins Found in Our Pet...
This begins a series on the toxins in our pets and invironment.
High Levels of Toxic Industrial Chemicals Contaminate Cats And Dogs
By Olga Naidenko, Rebecca Sutton, Jane Houlihan, April 2008
SUMMARY AND FINDINGS
They are trying their best to warn us.
In the first study of its kind, Environmental Working Group found that American pets are polluted with even higher levels of many of the same synthetic industrial chemicals that researchers have recently found in people, including newborns.
The results show that America’s pets are serving as involuntary sentinels of the widespread chemical contamination that scientists increasingly link to a growing array of health problems across a wide range of animals—wild, domesticated and human.
High Levels of Toxic Industrial Chemicals Contaminate Cats And Dogs
By Olga Naidenko, Rebecca Sutton, Jane Houlihan, April 2008
SUMMARY AND FINDINGS
They are trying their best to warn us.
In the first study of its kind, Environmental Working Group found that American pets are polluted with even higher levels of many of the same synthetic industrial chemicals that researchers have recently found in people, including newborns.
The results show that America’s pets are serving as involuntary sentinels of the widespread chemical contamination that scientists increasingly link to a growing array of health problems across a wide range of animals—wild, domesticated and human.
This is some info I recently came across from one of the Pet Med newsletters I subscribe to and I thought it would be good to pass along.
One of the following frequently occurring problems in dogs is preventable;
#9, 'ear canal surgery due to allergies'.
Many of you have heard me tell you the importance of getting rid of intestinal parasites. By doing this one thing, you increase the ability of your pets immune system to handle allergies and other opportunistic diseases. This is also the one thing you can do to increase your own health since doctors almost never address this issue until it causes some problems, even then they will prescribe meds for the symptoms and not the real problem. What happens? You keep getting sick....good for the doctors bottom line but not yours.
Protect yourself and your pet, by taking the new FFO. If you take a tablespoon, you now only need 1/4 T. I round it up to 1 teaspoon. You're also flushing out heavy metals in both you and your pet with the added Calcium component in the new FFO.
Have a fun and healthy summer
Jan
Following are the top 10 conditions-ranked by frequency-to cost pet owners more than $1,000 in 2010. This information is from Veterinary Pet Insurance (VPI), A
merica's #1 provider of pet health insurance.
1. Torn Knee Ligament/Cartilage - This is a hard one to prevent. It often occurs when dogs are out playing. You can't prevent them from playing...
2. Intestinal - Foreign Object - This one is easily preventable. If your dog or puppy chews on stuff (or if you have a new dog or puppy and you aren't sure how it will behave), monitor your pet closely. Keep trashcans secured and pick up anything the dog might chew. Common foreign bodies ingested include socks, panties, toys, wrappers off meat, contents of the trash and more.
3. Stomach - Foreign Object - This is easily preventable. (Same advice as Intestinal Foreign Object.)
4. Intervertebral Disc Disease - There is not a lot you can do to prevent this. For dog breeds that are predisposed to this condition, the best thing you can do is to minimize their jumping. For example, if I had a Dachshund I'd make sure to provide puppy stairs or a ramp to help the dog get off and on the bed and sofa.
5. Stomach Torsion/Bloat - This is a disease of large breed dogs that can occur after the stomach becomes enlarged with air or after drinking lots of water. Be careful how much you exercise your dog in the heat. If your dog is older and is stressed at the kennel - consider getting a pet sitter. A lot of dogs seem to bloat when boarding.
6. Broken Leg - This is one you can prevent. Don't let small dogs jump out of your arms and keep your dog on a leash. The most common cause of broken legs is trauma such as being hit by a car.
7. Laryngeal Paralysis - This is a condition of the airway where part of the larynx is paralyzed. This causes a problem when the dog is hot or excited. If you suspect your dog has this condition, keep him cool, out of the heat as much as possible and in a low stress environment.
8. Tumor of the Throat - Not much you can do to prevent this.
9. Ear Canal Surgery -This is often a problem due to chronic ear infections. The best way to prevent it is to treat ear infections and allergies thoroughly. Follow the recommendations of your veterinarian.
10. Ruptured Bile Duct - Again, there is not much you can do to prevent this.
As responsible pet owners, we need to do everything in our power to keep our dogs safe and happy. But things happen, and when they do it is also our responsibility to be prepared so that we can provide our pets with the care they need. The best way to do this is to get a pet health insurance policy right now, while your pet is still healthy. To learn more, go to petinsurance.com
One of the following frequently occurring problems in dogs is preventable;
#9, 'ear canal surgery due to allergies'.
Many of you have heard me tell you the importance of getting rid of intestinal parasites. By doing this one thing, you increase the ability of your pets immune system to handle allergies and other opportunistic diseases. This is also the one thing you can do to increase your own health since doctors almost never address this issue until it causes some problems, even then they will prescribe meds for the symptoms and not the real problem. What happens? You keep getting sick....good for the doctors bottom line but not yours.
Protect yourself and your pet, by taking the new FFO. If you take a tablespoon, you now only need 1/4 T. I round it up to 1 teaspoon. You're also flushing out heavy metals in both you and your pet with the added Calcium component in the new FFO.
Have a fun and healthy summer
Jan
Following are the top 10 conditions-ranked by frequency-to cost pet owners more than $1,000 in 2010. This information is from Veterinary Pet Insurance (VPI), A
merica's #1 provider of pet health insurance.
1. Torn Knee Ligament/Cartilage - This is a hard one to prevent. It often occurs when dogs are out playing. You can't prevent them from playing...
2. Intestinal - Foreign Object - This one is easily preventable. If your dog or puppy chews on stuff (or if you have a new dog or puppy and you aren't sure how it will behave), monitor your pet closely. Keep trashcans secured and pick up anything the dog might chew. Common foreign bodies ingested include socks, panties, toys, wrappers off meat, contents of the trash and more.
3. Stomach - Foreign Object - This is easily preventable. (Same advice as Intestinal Foreign Object.)
4. Intervertebral Disc Disease - There is not a lot you can do to prevent this. For dog breeds that are predisposed to this condition, the best thing you can do is to minimize their jumping. For example, if I had a Dachshund I'd make sure to provide puppy stairs or a ramp to help the dog get off and on the bed and sofa.
5. Stomach Torsion/Bloat - This is a disease of large breed dogs that can occur after the stomach becomes enlarged with air or after drinking lots of water. Be careful how much you exercise your dog in the heat. If your dog is older and is stressed at the kennel - consider getting a pet sitter. A lot of dogs seem to bloat when boarding.
6. Broken Leg - This is one you can prevent. Don't let small dogs jump out of your arms and keep your dog on a leash. The most common cause of broken legs is trauma such as being hit by a car.
7. Laryngeal Paralysis - This is a condition of the airway where part of the larynx is paralyzed. This causes a problem when the dog is hot or excited. If you suspect your dog has this condition, keep him cool, out of the heat as much as possible and in a low stress environment.
8. Tumor of the Throat - Not much you can do to prevent this.
9. Ear Canal Surgery -This is often a problem due to chronic ear infections. The best way to prevent it is to treat ear infections and allergies thoroughly. Follow the recommendations of your veterinarian.
10. Ruptured Bile Duct - Again, there is not much you can do to prevent this.
As responsible pet owners, we need to do everything in our power to keep our dogs safe and happy. But things happen, and when they do it is also our responsibility to be prepared so that we can provide our pets with the care they need. The best way to do this is to get a pet health insurance policy right now, while your pet is still healthy. To learn more, go to petinsurance.com
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Excerpts From My Book: 'Good Choices'
The following is a bit technical but I want to illustrate that modern science is coming around to the understanding that prescriptions and chemical choices of the past were a progression of learning as a society. We now know that we must go beyond that and realize our part in the natural world. Nature is what will cure us and guide us, not chemicals.
“Leave your potions in the chemist’s crucible if you can handle your patients with food.”
Hippocrates (Father of the Hipocratic oath)
Food as Medicine
Nutrigenomics, has been defined as the application of high-throughput genomic tools in nutrition research. It can also be seen as research to provide people with methods and tools who are looking for disease preventing and health promoting foods that match their lifestyles, cultures and genetics.
Nutrigenomics: concepts and applications to pharmacogenomics and clinical medicine.
Kaput J, Perlina A, Hatipoglu B, Bartholomew A, Nikolsky Y.
Source
Department of Surgery, University of Illinois Chicago, 909 South Wolcott Street MC 958, Chicago, IL 60612, USA. jkaput@uic.edu
Abstract
The maintenance of health and the prevention and treatment of chronic diseases are influenced by naturally occurring chemicals in foods. In addition to supplying the substrates for producing energy, a large number of dietary chemicals are bioactive--that is, they alter the regulation of biological processes and, either directly or indirectly, the expression of genetic information. Nutrients and bioactives may produce different physiological phenotypes among individuals because of genetic variability and not only alter health, but also disease initiation, progression and severity. The study and application of gene-nutrient interactions is called nutritional genomics or nutrigenomics. Nutrigenomic concepts, research strategies and clinical implementation are similar to and overlap those of pharmacogenomics, and both are fundamental to the treatment of disease and maintenance of optimal health.
PMID: 17391074 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Rationale and aims of nutrigenomics
In nutrigenomics, nutrients are seen as signals that tell a specific cell in the body about the diet. The nutrients are detected by a sensor system in the cell. Such a sensory system works like sensory ecology whereby the cell obtains information through the signal, the nutrient, about its environment, which is the diet. The sensory system that interprets information from nutrients about the dietary environment include transcription factors together with many additional proteins. Once the nutrient interacts with such a sensory system, it changes gene, protein expression and metabolite production in accordance with the level of nutrient it senses. As a result, different diets should elicit different patterns of gene and protein expression and metabolite production. Nutrigenomics seeks to describe the patterns of these effects which have been referred to as dietary signatures. Such dietary signatures are examined in specific cells, tissues and organisms and in this way the manner by which nutrition influences homeostasis is investigated. Genes which are affected by differing levels of nutrients need first to be identified and then their regulation is studied. Differences in this regulation as a result of differences in genes between individuals are also studied. [2]
It is hoped that by building up knowledge in this area, nutrigenomics will promote an increased understanding of how nutrition influences metabolic pathways and homeostatic control, which will then be used to prevent the development of chronic diet related diseases such as obesity and type two diabetes. Part of the approach of nutrigenomics involves finding markers of the early phase of diet related diseases; this is the phase at which intervention with nutrition can return the patient to health. As nutrigenomics seeks to understand the effect of different genetic predispositions in the development of such diseases, once a marker has been found and measured in an individual, the extent to which they are susceptible to the development of that disease will be quantified and personalized dietary recommendation can be given for that person.
The aims of nutrigenomics also includes being able to demonstrate the effect of bioactive food compounds on health and the effect of health foods on health, which should lead to the development of functional foods that will keep people healthy according to their individual needs.
Nutrigenomics is a rapidly emerging science still in its beginning stages. It is uncertain whether the tools to study protein expression and metabolite production have been developed to the point as to enable efficient and reliable measurements. Also once such research has been achieved, it will need to be integrated together in order to produce results and dietary recommendations. All of these technologies are still in the process of development.
Supportive statistics can be found anywhere but the purpose of this book is to encourage people to make healthier choices as easily as they choose a certain chemical to solve a problem in their homes.
“Leave your potions in the chemist’s crucible if you can handle your patients with food.”
Hippocrates (Father of the Hipocratic oath)
Food as Medicine
Nutrigenomics, has been defined as the application of high-throughput genomic tools in nutrition research. It can also be seen as research to provide people with methods and tools who are looking for disease preventing and health promoting foods that match their lifestyles, cultures and genetics.
Nutrigenomics: concepts and applications to pharmacogenomics and clinical medicine.
Kaput J, Perlina A, Hatipoglu B, Bartholomew A, Nikolsky Y.
Source
Department of Surgery, University of Illinois Chicago, 909 South Wolcott Street MC 958, Chicago, IL 60612, USA. jkaput@uic.edu
Abstract
The maintenance of health and the prevention and treatment of chronic diseases are influenced by naturally occurring chemicals in foods. In addition to supplying the substrates for producing energy, a large number of dietary chemicals are bioactive--that is, they alter the regulation of biological processes and, either directly or indirectly, the expression of genetic information. Nutrients and bioactives may produce different physiological phenotypes among individuals because of genetic variability and not only alter health, but also disease initiation, progression and severity. The study and application of gene-nutrient interactions is called nutritional genomics or nutrigenomics. Nutrigenomic concepts, research strategies and clinical implementation are similar to and overlap those of pharmacogenomics, and both are fundamental to the treatment of disease and maintenance of optimal health.
PMID: 17391074 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Rationale and aims of nutrigenomics
In nutrigenomics, nutrients are seen as signals that tell a specific cell in the body about the diet. The nutrients are detected by a sensor system in the cell. Such a sensory system works like sensory ecology whereby the cell obtains information through the signal, the nutrient, about its environment, which is the diet. The sensory system that interprets information from nutrients about the dietary environment include transcription factors together with many additional proteins. Once the nutrient interacts with such a sensory system, it changes gene, protein expression and metabolite production in accordance with the level of nutrient it senses. As a result, different diets should elicit different patterns of gene and protein expression and metabolite production. Nutrigenomics seeks to describe the patterns of these effects which have been referred to as dietary signatures. Such dietary signatures are examined in specific cells, tissues and organisms and in this way the manner by which nutrition influences homeostasis is investigated. Genes which are affected by differing levels of nutrients need first to be identified and then their regulation is studied. Differences in this regulation as a result of differences in genes between individuals are also studied. [2]
It is hoped that by building up knowledge in this area, nutrigenomics will promote an increased understanding of how nutrition influences metabolic pathways and homeostatic control, which will then be used to prevent the development of chronic diet related diseases such as obesity and type two diabetes. Part of the approach of nutrigenomics involves finding markers of the early phase of diet related diseases; this is the phase at which intervention with nutrition can return the patient to health. As nutrigenomics seeks to understand the effect of different genetic predispositions in the development of such diseases, once a marker has been found and measured in an individual, the extent to which they are susceptible to the development of that disease will be quantified and personalized dietary recommendation can be given for that person.
The aims of nutrigenomics also includes being able to demonstrate the effect of bioactive food compounds on health and the effect of health foods on health, which should lead to the development of functional foods that will keep people healthy according to their individual needs.
Nutrigenomics is a rapidly emerging science still in its beginning stages. It is uncertain whether the tools to study protein expression and metabolite production have been developed to the point as to enable efficient and reliable measurements. Also once such research has been achieved, it will need to be integrated together in order to produce results and dietary recommendations. All of these technologies are still in the process of development.
Supportive statistics can be found anywhere but the purpose of this book is to encourage people to make healthier choices as easily as they choose a certain chemical to solve a problem in their homes.
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