Treatment to kill adult heartworms Your veterinarian will determine the specific injection schedule according to your dog's condition. Most dogs receive an initial injection, followed by a 30-day period of rest, and then two more injections that are given 24 hours apart.
Treatment Requires a Vet's Help
Once a positive test is confirmed, our veterinarians (in alignment with the American Heartworm Society) recommend treating adult heartworm infections with 3 treatments (injections) of a drug called melarsomine.
Use heartworm prevention medication year-round
That's one reason veterinarians strongly recommend pets receive heartworm prevention medication year-round.
After diagnosis, heartworm positive dogs are prescribed Doxycycline, an oral tablet, for 30 days. This medication helps to decrease inflammation in the dog's body and can prevent adult heartworms from reproducing during the treatment process.
As winter descends upon New England in full force, more and more dog owners ask us if we recommend continuing heartworm prevention through the winter months. The short answer is yes. The American Heartworm Society recommends year-round heartworm prevention, and we agree.
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.
Because heartworms must be eliminated before they reach this adult stage, it is extremely important that heartworm preventives be administered strictly on schedule (monthly for oral and topical products and every 6 months or 12 months for the injectable).
If you forget a month of preventative, make sure to give the next 2 doses on time to "catch up" for that missed month. If you miss several months in a row, you should give your vet a call for advice on when to plan for the next heartworm test and how to get started back on preventatives.
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.
Ivermectin is given monthly for heartworm prevention, daily or every other day for demodectic mange treatment, and every week or couple of weeks for most mites. If a dose of heartworm preventive is accidentally forgotten, it is important to give it as soon as it is remembered.
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.
Heartworm disease is a very serious parasitic disease that has the potential to be fatal for your dog if he is not treated quickly. This parasite is a worm that can grow up to a foot long and lives inside the heart, lungs, and associated blood vessels of an infected animal where it will reproduce over and over.
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.
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.
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. However, if the dog is energetic and wants to run and play indoors, it should be crated to enforce exercise restriction.
This course of treatment, consisting of one injection followed by two injections given 24 hours apart 1 month later, should result in the clearance of 99% of the worms. For dogs with asymptomatic, mild, or moderate disease, melarsomine dihydrochloride is also labeled for two treatments given 24 hours apart.
Up to 20kg – $141.00. Up to 35kg – $186.75. Up to 50kg – $232.50. Heartworm test – $67.50.
Dogs with heartworm disease can live high-quality lives as long as they are given appropriate care. After completing treatment and following your veterinarian's recommenda- tions on heartworm disease testing and prevention, the chances of any long-term effects are very low.
Does Pet Insurance Cover Heartworm Medication? Accident and illness pet insurance policies don't cover heartworm prevention medication. However, if you purchase a pet insurance plan that offers a wellness coverage add-on, it may cover a portion or all of your dog's heartworm preventative needs.
It's possible, but not likely for your pet to develop heartworm disease if you give them a preventative. The most common reasons pets get heartworm is because of a skipped or late dose. Remember, heartworm preventative only kills larvae in your pet's bloodstream.
Remember this disease is 100 % preventable. The best treatment for heartworm disease is prevention no matter your pet's age!
Heartworm preventives do not kill adult heartworms. Also, giving a heartworm preventive to a dog infected with adult heartworms may be harmful or deadly. If microfilariae are in the dog's bloodstream, the preventive may cause the microfilariae to suddenly die, triggering a shock-like reaction and possibly death.
Rarely, cases may be so advanced that it is safer to treat organ damage and keep the dog comfortable than it is to risk negative effects associated with killing the heartworms. Dogs in this condition are not likely to live more than a few weeks or months.
They can be controlled naturally with citrus oils, cedar oils, and diatomaceous earth. Dogs needing conventional treatment may benefit from herbs such as milk thistle and homeopathics such as berberis; these minimize toxicity from the medications and dying heartworms.
DURING TREATMENT
Short, slow leash walks (5-10 minutes) are appropriate for urinating and defecating, 3-4 times a day. Dogs who are allowed to run or play during this time can develop life-threatening problems similar to a massive stroke.