Excerpt From Heartworm Scamers....

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