Symptoms of heartworm in dogs

In the early stage of infection, some dogs have no symptoms, while others may suffer from mental distress, loss of appetite, cough, and poor exercise tolerance. and other phenomena. In the final stage, ascites, limb edema, hematuria, bloody stools, hematemesis, difficulty breathing, and cardiopulmonary failure may occur. Some dogs also die suddenly after exercising or when the weather changes.

Routes of heartworm infection

Canine heartworm is transmitted by mosquito bites. After the mosquito bites the Pomeranian, it inhales the larval filarial worms and enters the infective stage after 10-48 days. At this time, the dog bitten by it is infected with heartworms. Some people think that long-haired dogs will not be bitten by mosquitoes, but this is actually wrong. Mosquitoes can still transmit heartworms by biting long-haired dogs on their stomachs and around their eyes. Heartworm larvae enter the dog's body and gradually grow into adult worms, which parasitize the right ventricle and pulmonary artery of the heart, causing heart and lung disease, becoming a time bomb.

How do you know if your dog has heartworm infection?

You can find out with a blood test. At present, the detection method for heart filariasis is quite simple. Just take a small amount of blood from the dog and the test results can be known within a few minutes. The accuracy is also quite high.

How to prevent heartworms?

There are several good preventive medications available today. Taking it regularly once a month can effectively prevent the occurrence of heartworm disease in dogs.

Can heartworm be treated?

Although heartworm treatment is somewhat risky, the chances of recovery are still high with early detection and early treatment. Generally speaking, older dogs and those with poor liver, kidney, heart, and lung functions are at higher risk; while young dogs with mild symptoms are at lower risk. If heartworm-infected dogs are not treated, their life span will be significantly affected, and they will eventually die from heart and lung failure or liver and kidney failure.