An injectable drug, melarsomine (Immiticide®), is given to kill adult heartworms. Melarsomine kills 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.
Heartworm treatment can be dangerous and difficult, especially for older dogs. The dying worms can cause significant inflammation and pulmonary thromboembolisms (i.e. clots in the lungs). Plus, the melarsomine injections can be painful and the dog must be on strict rest for months.
Melarsomine dihydrochloride (available under the trade names Immiticide and Diroban) is an arsenic-containing drug that is FDA-approved to kill adult heartworms in dogs. It's given by deep injection into the back muscles to treat dogs with stabilized class 1, 2, and 3 heartworm disease.
Class 4: The heartworms are causing a blockage at this stage, so the symptoms are severe. He will experience constant coughing, exhaustion, and weight loss because he will find it uncomfortable to eat. When your dog is at this stage, known as caval syndrome, it might be too late to save him.
A tick is going to get on an older dog just as much as a younger dog. A mosquito can bite them the same, whether they're old or young. So they still need to be on heartworm prevention.
Signs of heartworm disease may include a mild persistent cough, reluctance to exercise, fatigue after moderate activity, decreased appetite, and weight loss. As heartworm disease progresses, pets may develop heart failure and the appearance of a swollen belly due to excess fluid in the abdomen.
In more advanced stages of heartworm infections, your dog will find it hard to complete normal physical tasks like eating. If you notice weight loss and a lack appetite in your dog, then you should take him to the vet immediately to rule out heartworms and other illnesses. Shallow and rapid breathing.
How Long Can a Dog Live Without Heartworm Treatment? A dog can live at least six to seven months from the date of infection.
Prognosis: heartworm treatment success rates
With the three-dose adulticide protocol described above, in conjunction with doxycycline and macrocyclic lactones as recommended by the American Heartworm Society, 98% of dogs will be cleared of heartworm infection.
Most of the monthly heartworm medicines have a safety factor of at least 15 days of protection if a dose is missed. This means that if you're just a week or two late, your pet is likely still within that window of protection and would be unlikely to become infected during that time.
Physical exertion has been proven to increase complications from heartworm treatment, and there's a direct correlation between the level of activity and the severity of disease. This period of rest and recovery should start at diagnosis and continue until 6 to 8 weeks following your dog's last melarsomine injection.
Heartworm disease is dangerous and isn't something to treat by yourself. You can treat your dog at home, but make sure you get help from a holistic vet or herbalist. You can find a holistic vet at ahvma.org or a homeopathic vet at theavh.org.
If owners can't afford treatment at the time of diagnosis, Dr. Herrin recommended delaying melarsomine therapy but still initiating treatment with both a preventive and doxycycline. This will prevent further infection and remove the dog as a heartworm reservoir.
How soon after infection will a dog show signs of heartworm? - Haywood Animal Hospital. It can take several months to start seeing actual signs, as it takes anywhere from six to eight months for the larva to reach the adult stage. It can even take up to two years to see any signs.
The American Animal Hospital Association places the average cost of preventative heartworm treatment for dogs at $5-$15 per month and the cost of treating a dog already diagnosed with heartworm at $400-$1,000. With both prevention and treatment, costs typically increase with the weight of the dog.
Do the heartworm treatment injections hurt? The injections are given within the muscle and can indeed be uncomfortable, but the inflammation that develops within the days following creates the most discomfort. Restlessness, panting, trembling and reduced appetite can all be signs that the dog is uncomfortable.
A pivotal factor in reducing the risk of thromboembolic complications is to restrict exercise during the critical month following treatment. Dogs that have undergone heartworm treatment should be kept on strict rest. If the dog is calm while indoors, he/she can be allowed loose in the house to rest.
In severely affected dogs, you may see a swollen abdomen due to fluid buildup because the heart cannot effectively circulate blood, or notice a cough, or other signs such as respiratory distress. Heartworm disease in dogs is known as a silent killer, because it can take months before your dog shows symptoms.
Dogs who cough often may cause themselves to vomit as a result of their extensive coughing. Some dogs may feel nauseated from their heartworms as well, and may vomit often just because they feel so sick with the disease.
A class four heartworm infection is also often referred to as caval syndrome in dogs. This stage is characterized by complete organ failure, and sadly most dogs with a stage four heartworm infection will end up passing away.
Discussion. Hemoptysis (expectoration or coughing up of blood) has been reported as a consequence of severe heartworm infection in dogs,2-6 although it remains a relatively uncommon finding. Even fewer reports exist of dogs coughing up or vomiting up adult heartworms.
Common symptoms of heartworms in dogs
One of the first signs of heartworms in dogs is a soft, dry but persistent cough. This occurs because the adult worms that have set up home in your dog's lungs and associated blood vessels will be interfering with his breathing.
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.