Ivomec

Will ivomec kill adult worms eventually or do u have to take them to the vet to kill the adult worms??

 

it kills them .

 

If you're talking about adult heart worms, yes it kills them. Which will also kill your dog if infested bad enough. Not the way to go about ridding a dog of heart worms at all. It's expensive, but go to the vet.

 

a buddy of mine treated his dog (mixed lab) with it and the dog suffered until my buddy could get his hands on the dog and p.i.t.s.

 

Good prevention. Not for a cure.

 

Ivomec is good, but 100% go to the vet if you dog has heartworms, dont mess with this, it isnt mange , pretty serious stuff, listen to the super moderator..................

 

would u mind posting that study , wouldnt mind checking that old data for myself that nscu one

 

You can give the recommened maintanince dose and what hapens is this kills the eggs and in 18 months all adults have died of old age and dissolved.[/QUOTE]Good looking out!!...wanted to make sure cali jack also said it would kill them and another old cat I talk to!...dont kno if it's heart worms but he is hacking when he gets active..not alot but I have noticed it!...talk to a vet he said it's probably just a virus as in a kennel cough and if it is kennel cough it will past through...he is active, eating good, not hacking nothing up just has a dry hacking!!...hes on ivomec now but just wanted to kno will it kill the adults in about a year or 2...

 

Let me ask u this!!...I like to keep my hounds active, if it is heartworms and I treat him for it when will I be able to get bacc active with him again??...from my understanding it's not good to have the hound heart rate go up because when the worms break off it clog the heart or a clot can form or PE...so how long should u keep him from normal activities after the adult worms have died??...1 month or 2??

 

Here's an idea test the dog and see if it has heart worms. LOL

 

Ok, i think the question was will ivermectin kill adult heartworms? I believe the answer is no, at least not very effectively. The ivermectin kills prior stages of heartworm development. However if you give the ivermectin long enough, then the adults will die and there will be none to take their place.

As far as an having an active dog with heartworms, once the worms are dead they are dead. The biggest concern is how much damage was done while you dog was heartworm positive, and will that hinder further extreme physical activity. For example if the dog had congestive heart failure resulting from the heartworms that could influence how much you can do with them after being treated. But if the heartworms were treated before much damage was done, you should be able to resume activities as normal.

When they are heartworm positive, you do not increase their heartrate because it can cause the worm to detach and cause a pulmonary embolism which can be fatal. This can also be caused by an adult heartworm dying though.

I have a stud on the yard who was tested heartworm positive. He had already shown us everything he needed to before we found out, but once we found out he was positive I treated him (not using ivermectin, the other way) and retired him to stud. I never did x-rays or any other diagnostics to see how much damage was done

someone correct me if i am mistaken on anything! hope this helps some!

 

Ur right!...it stops the adult worm from producing larva which will kill them

 

No it does not stop the adult worm from producing the microfilaria. The adult female worm will still produce the microfilaria.

The Iveremctin will kill the L3 and L4 stages of Heartworm.

From the American Heartworm Society Guidelines
http://www.heartwormsociety.org/veterinary-resources/canine-guidelines.html

Long-term Macrocyclic Lactone Administration
Continuous monthly administration of prophylactic doses of ivermectin, moxidectin and selamectin is effective in reducing the life span of juvenile and adult heartworms. The older the worms when first exposed to macrocyclic lactones, the slower they are to die. So, the adulticidal effect of macrocyclic lactones generally requires more than a year of continuous monthly administrations and may take more than two years before adult heartworms are eliminated completely. In the meantime, the infection persists and continues to cause disease.

Therefore, long-term continuous administration of macrocyclic lactones generally is not a substitute for conventional arsenical adulticide treatment.

If arsenical therapy is declined, a lengthy course of prophylactic doses of aforementioned macrocyclic lactones will gradually reduce the number of adult heartworms. Should long-term macrocyclic lactone administration be considered for heartworm-positive dogs, exercise should be greatly restricted and the dog should be examined by a veterinarian at least once every four to six months until confirmed to be free of heartworms.

The results of a recent study in which monthly ivermectin was administered to client-owned heartworm infected dogs for two years indicated that this method of killing adult heartworms should not be used in dogs with signs of heartworm disease or very active dogs. As worsening of radiographic signs may be observed, periodic radiographic evaluations may be useful in monitoring the treatment. Another concern in using macrocyclic lactones long-term in heartworm positive dogs as standalone therapy is selection of resistant strains of heartworms.

The problem with the "slow kill" method is that like Courtney said you have to restrict activity. The study that Bill posted was done in a "kennel" setting. Where the dogs were kept pretty calm. Not real life.

The activity level of the dog also plays a role in the progression and severity of heartworm disease. As worms die from either naural causes or as a result of an immiticide treatment, they decompose and small worm fragments lodge in the heart and lungs blocking blood flow. During increased exersise or activity the increased blood flow to these blocked vessels can cause rupture and fibrosis. This leads to potential right sided heart failure. The reason being is that activity which causes increased blood flow can cause the dog have a thromboembolism.

 

Thanks for sharing Cynthia.

 

thanks for the info Cynthia

 

Just to be on the safe side he has a appt for Wed at the vet!...I really hat going to the vet!..feel like a sucker!!....I got a question for future reference....wat if ur dog has heartworms but none of them are grown, let's say junior adults...will ivomec kill them???

 

Has he been diagnosed with heartworms? If not why do you think he has them?

The heartworm test can ONLY detect the adult worm. Specifically the ADULT FEMALE worm. It takes 6 month from the time the mosquito bites the dog for it to mature to an adult. So not following the "junior" heartworm comment.

When you give any dewormer (heartworm/intestinal) it clears the dog of the parasite. It does not stay in their system for a month. It clears the stages of the parasite that are in theri system at that time. There is no residual effect. That is why it is given monthly. Because Ivermectin (and other HWP) only can kill L3 and L4 of the heartworm's lifecycle stage.




This chart shows the Suspectability gap after day 30 after a mosquito bite? Where ivermectin (HWP) nor immiticide (adult kill) can not kill that stage of the heartworm lifecycle? Heartworm prevention does not stay in their system for 30 days continually killing the microfilaria and larvae. When given it clears the certain stage of the larvae. And then it is out of their system. And if the microfilaria are left in their system and allowed to mature past the point that any HWP would not be able to kill they will develop heartworm disease.

Macrocyclic Lactone = Heartworm Prevention
Melarsomine = Immiticide (aldult kill)

 

No he hasn't been diagnosed wit heart worms...he has a appointment for the vet wed...he has been doing a dry hacking lately..not much but only when he gets active on his chain...it's either kennel cough or heartworms..that's why I was asking

 

Thanks for the great post cynthia, real good chart.

 

Has he been on HWP? How old is he? Has he been exposed to other animals that may have been exposed to kennel cough? There are many reasons why a dog will cough.

And heartworms can be one of them.