A heartworm disease is a major health problem seen now days in dogs and cats. This can also be referred as heart failure in animals. Due to some mechanical presence in heartworm the size of the heart increases, around three times the normal size of the heart. This is a disease that matures in around a period or three to four years. The blood starts flowing in the reverse direction.
Heartworm is not a disease that is found in the dog from the time of birth neither does it gets transferred from parent. Heartworm is a disease that is caused with the bite of the mosquito. Mosquitoes are responsible not only for the diseases in animals but in human beings as well. When a mosquito bites a dog who is suffering from heartworm the germs of the same disease get transferred to the insect's body and then when this mosquito bites another dog, the disease gets transferred to that dog. These baby heartworms stay in the mosquito's body for around two weeks and once they get matured, they wait for the mosquito to bite another dog, and once this process happens the disease gets transferred to that healthy dog.
Since the mosquitoes suck blood of the animals they sit on, due to this the disease is likely to flow through blood and then reaches the heart of the animal. It takes a time of another six months to survive, grow and make a place in the heart of the dog, once it gets its place it stays there for a longer time. To know whether the dog is suffering from any ailment such as heartworm, then this can only be discovered when he show some signs of allergy. Once they reach the heart they start damaging the heart of the dog, they can live for a period of around seven years or more. Some other signs of heartworm in dogs are like vomiting, cough, etc.
It is always said that prevention is better than cure. Prevention means that dogs must be taken for regular checkup in a year or six months time duration. It is possible that even after checkup the dog may not show the signs of heartworm but regular checkups will reduce the chances of the same. Proper drugs can be given through injections, but once the dog is injected we must make sure that it rests for around four weeks.
Heartworm is easy to prevent but difficult to cure, this disease is generally seen in outdoor pets, monthly medications to dogs and proper regular checkups is the only way to ensure that dogs don't posses any disease such as heartworm. Wherever you have mosquitoes you have heartworms so ensure that your place is free from any dirt so that it doesn't calls for insects to sit over it. Also ensure that the place where the pets are kept must be cleaned on regular basis, this is the only way to avoid any disease especially the heartworms.
