Every Pet owner must be aware of a deadly disease in dogs which is Pet Heartworm, but do not worry it is entirely curable.
OK, do you all know what Heartworm Disease is?
For those who don’t know, it is a parasitic worm that lives in the blood vessels of dog’s lungs and heart.
With proper medication, it is very easy to tackle this deadly disease, but if you take it lightly it can cause serious damages to your pets.
As I see, some of us even fail to understand the danger this disease hold, whereas many think of them as smart and protect their pets in certain months, but we have to protect our pets all-around the year.
Yes, some pet owner’s fails to take defensive steps against this deadly disease.
Because of all this, I have gathered some of the guidelines for my friends to get their pets protected by this serious menace.
It has been structured in a way that it will remind pet owners of the serious threat this disease have, it mainly consists of three base factors which we usually overlook, they usually give chances to heartworm parasites to grow and nurtures them and they are environmental conditions, infected hosts, and mosquito populations.
Vets are also conscientious about educating the owners of their clients about Heartworm Disease.
THE LETHAL THREAT TO OUR PETS
Do you know who the main culprit in spreading this disease is?
OK, they are mosquitos they spread this lethal disease to one dog to another or from one cat to another.
Dr. Eloise Bright explains “Heartworm is spread by 30 different species of mosquitoes that carry tiny microfilaria (baby heartworms)”
The process goes like this, the mosquito must have to bite a dog that possesses heartworm and then if that mosquito bites another healthy dog, then this disease is certainly be converted in that healthy dog too.
When this happens these deadly parasites takes almost seven to six months to grow by living in the heart and blood vessels of lungs of our pets, they can grow up to 30 cm long.
It is upon fate than how many does your pet has it may be one or they may be in hundreds also.
It is assessed that usually wild dogs, stray dogs, and foxes have a higher rate of infection than household city dogs as they usually are on medications and on heartworm preventatives.
Doctors tell that maximum of 30 species of animals can be infected by this deadly disease and this range expands up to cats, wolves, coyotes, sea lions, ferrets and extremely rare we humans can also get affected by heartworm disease.
It is easier to get a pet affected by it in warmer areas and areas with the huge number of mosquitoes.
One of a well-known doctor suggests, In most of the cases dogs do not show any clinical signs of heartworm for up to 5 years as these worms grow very slowly.
But after quite some time the signs of it are a collapse, coughing, fluid in the abdomen, lack of energy, bleeding from the nose and difficulty in breathing.
He even says it can cause sudden death showing no signs at all.
The main and earliest signs of it suggested by vets are tiredness, laziness, and intolerance towards exercise as the worms rests in heart and blood vessels of lungs of animals.
But these are not the only signs as in some cases these worms are found migrating and in different organs of the body, they can also become the root cause of kidney disease.
SYMPTOMS OF HEARTWORM
As we know, our pets may don’t show any signs of infection of this fatal disease, but these are the main possible symptoms for this life taking disease.
- eyeWeight Loss
- eyeCoughing
- eyeTrouble Breathing
- eyeLoss of Energy
- eyeDog Collapses
- eyeBleeding From Nose
- eyeIncreased thirst due to kidney issues
- eyeIntolerance of excercise
PREVENTION IS BETTER THAN CURE
If you can see any of these signs in your partner I must recommend that you should visit your vet at once.
It is already said that is very easy to prevent. As the treatment is complex and is difficult because it does not show any signs in its early stages so prevention is better always.
Anyhow, you think that your animal is off the prevention of heartworm disease more than three months or more than that, it is highly recommended to not wait more take your pet to a vet and get heartworm disease test done on your pet before getting any clinical signs.
The disease of heart and lungs can be permanent and your animal can have a heart attack on top of all of it.
Our main motive is to get rid of these parasites and worms in the early stages of it.
If your pet has a large number of worms, gradual therapy and surgical removal is the best option, else the dead worms will certainly cause lung problems.
You must give your pet cage rest for almost five to six weeks after it, along with it antibiotics, medications and anti-inflammatory medication is required to remove microfilariae.
Author Bio
I am John Smith and since a couple of years i am working as a full-time freelance writer and blogger.
I myself am a pet owner and I play my part in creating more awareness for properly caring for your pet’s medical needs, using products like Simply Smarter Choice range.