What is dog Adulticide?
Heartworm adulticide medication, a prescription veterinary drug called melarsomine (Immiticide), is a set of injections that kill the heartworms in a dog; it is worth noting that this medication cannot be used safely in a cat.
What is the average cost of heartworm treatment?
Average Cost of Treatment. The average cost of heartworm treatment for dogs is often around $1,000. However, it can range from $500 to $1,100 or even more depending mainly on the size of your dog, veterinary bills, and the stage of the disease.
What is the treatment for heartworm positive dogs?
An injectable drug, melarsomine (brand name Immiticide®), is given to kill adult heartworms. Melarsomine kills the adult heartworms in the heart and adjacent vessels. This drug is administered in a series of injections. Your veterinarian will determine the specific injection schedule according to your dog’s condition.
Is heartworm a death sentence?
But what many people might not realize is that heartworm disease is seldom a death sentence. In fact, dogs with this condition can live happy, high quality lives as long as they are given appropriate care. The preventative allows the worms to die off at a slow rate and prevent the dog from getting any new heartworms.
Is heartworm treatment painful?
Treatment involves using very harsh arsenic-based drug to kill the adult heartworms. This medication is painful to administer and can lead to injection site reactions in some patients.
What is the survival rate of heartworm treatment?
While most dogs (about 98 percent) treated with heartworm disease will clear the infection and not require additional treatment, there is the chance that a second round of medication is needed. It can take many months for the dog to have a negative follow-up heartworm antigen test.
What is the safest heartworm medication?
Given at the proper doses and under the supervision of a veterinarian, ivermectin is safe for most dogs and is very effective in treating and preventing a number of parasites.
Is a heartworm positive dog contagious?
Heartworm disease is not contagious, meaning that a dog cannot catch the disease from being near an infected dog. Heartworm disease is only spread through the bite of a mosquito. Inside a dog, a heartworm’s lifespan is 5 to 7 years.