April is Heartworm Awareness Month, when animal advocates work to promote knowledge of this deadly disease. Many people don’t know that heartworm disease can also affect cats and many other mammals, including humans, and that the tiny worms that cause the disease also live in the lungs and associated arteries and blood vessels. Heartworm disease can cause heart failure, severe lung disease, and serious damage to other internal organs. Heartworm disease is primarily spread by mosquitoes, which is why its awareness month is in April, the beginning of “mosquito season” in many regions. But perhaps the most important thing to know about heartworms is that heartworm prevention is a year-round job, not just for the warmer months when the risk of infection is higher.
Why Year-Round Heartworm Prevention Is Important
There are several good reasons to continue medication all year. Although the mosquitoes that carry heartworm larvae are more active in the spring, summer, and fall, they can live indoors long after the weather has turned cold, potentially infecting your pet. Also, if you travel with your pet, you may visit an area where mosquitoes are still active. Additionally, if your dog is bit by an infected mosquito late in the fall and then you quit giving them their heartworm preventative during the winter, those larvae will have months to grow into adults unimpeded. Keep in mind that the blood tests used to diagnose heartworms look for signs of adult female worms and won’t detect larvae. Since most heartworm preventatives aren’t designed to kill adult worms, they’ll be ineffective when you resume medication in the spring and your pet will have to undergo lengthy and painful treatments to get rid of them.
Extra Parasite Protection
Many heartworm preventatives also contain medications intended to control intestinal parasites like hookworms and roundworms. These parasites live in the soil outdoors all year long, so by continuing their heartworm prevention during the winter months you’re also protecting them from these other dangerous pests.
Can Heartworm Be Treated?
If it is discovered early, the disease can be effectively treated in dogs but it is a long, unpleasant, and expensive treatment. It involves (in part) at least six months of exercise prevention, meaning no running or play, which is terrible for a dog. It’s much easier – and cost-effective – to avoid this with year-round heartworm prevention.
For cats, there is still no treatment for heartworm disease, making it even more critical that your feline is protected year-round. It’s well worth the cost and protection to your pet’s health!
At Creedmoor Road Animal Hospital, we make it easy to keep your pet on heartworm prevention year-round. You may purchase this medication at our hospital, or have it delivered straight to your door through our online store!
