Posts Tagged ‘Medication’

Heartgard Plus Merial Medication

Friday, December 3rd, 2010

Heartgard is a heartworm preventive medication for dogs and cats that come in the form of chewable. Heartworm can be transferred from one dog to another thorough blood carried by mosquitoes. The blood of infected dog contains large number of microfilariae which, when injected in healthy dogs, develop and take the form of larvae. When the larva grows, it becomes heartworm that resides in the right side of the heart and the large blood vessels running between heart and lungs. Heartgard prevents the growth of microfilariae and stops dirofilarias. This helps in curing the dog that has contracted the disease.

How do I know if my dog is infected with heartworm?

It is very difficult to get a hint of the infection if the disease is in its developing stages. However if your dog is found to be suffering from cough, difficulty in breathing, sluggishness and tired all the time, consult a veterinarian as soon as possible. These symptoms are directly linked to heart, lungs, and other internal organs that are causing the symptoms. In severe cases the dog may faint. The veterinarian would need to take a blood sample to check for the presence of heartworm infection and perform test at laboratories to confirm the presence of heartworm antigen. The veterinarian night also need to perform other tests to confirm the presence of infection.

When and how to give Heartgard to the dog?

As it is not certain when the dog would be infected with mosquito bite, you may talk to your veterinarian to start the medication as a preventive measure. However if the dog has already been infected the treatment is very difficult and risky if the dog has already started to show the clinical symptoms of heartworm.

Heartgard is available in the form of chewable for dogs. They can be directly fed in to the mouth of the dog. The dosage depends on the extent of the infection and should be decided by the veterinarian. Make sure you consult your veterinarian in case you suspect heartworm or if you choose to start your dog with the medication.
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Stones Medication

Friday, August 6th, 2010

Our body has mechanism to eject out harmful or unnecessary chemicals out of the body through urinary system. These chemicals are filtered to urine in kidney. A malfunction in kidney may impair it from the ability to filter these waste chemicals. These chemicals when not urinated out of the body keeps accumulating in the kidney. This then takes the form of crystals that harden and forms stones in kidney.

Types of stones:

Calcium stones
Uric acid stones
Struvite stones
Cystine stones

Calcium stones are common in people with high intake of calcium in diet. The excessive calcium combines with oxalate and phosphates in the body and forms calcium oxalate and calcium phosphate. Calcium phosphate dissolves in uric acid present in the urine however the oxalates do not and take up the form of stones later. Uric acid stones are formed due to accumulation of uric acid on the inner walls of kidney when the concentration of uric acid is high in urine. Struvite stones are caused due to infection by bacteria in kidney. These bacteria convert urea in urine into ammonium. This ammonium combines with phosphate and magnesium and forms stones. Cystic stones are prominently due to inheritance. These types of stones are created when the genes in the body do not let the amino acids to absorb properly which consequently leads to cystine stones.
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Anxiety Medication

Thursday, July 22nd, 2010

Anxiety

It is normal to be anxious about certain things. However if the anxiety crosses the line and starts to interfere with the behavior, thinking, work, relation and family, it must be checked. People suffering from General Anxiety disorder show excessive symptoms of anxiety with no reason. Their thinking becomes very negative and they tend to worry a lot about things around them or things in their mind.

Symptoms

A person with anxiety disorder may show a variety of mental and physical symptoms. They tend to show excessive worry or may continue to worry about something that has long been taken care of. You will always find such person in tension. They also show unrealistic approach to problem solving. They are very easily irritated and restless. Besides these symptoms the patient may also show symptoms like headaches, sweating, shivering hands, tiredness and they get alarmed very easily. This also affects their sleep and they find difficult to concentrate. Besides these symptoms, other diseases like panic disorder, phobias, depression, and drug abuse may also cause depression
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What is Entocort drug use?

Wednesday, July 14th, 2010

ENTOCORT EC (BUDESONIDE) is a prescription medication (the only drug approved by FDA )used to treat mild to moderate Crohn’s disease affecting the ileum and/or ascending colon. Entocort EC drug works mainly in a part of the small intestine called the ileum and part of the large intestine called the ascending colon as, Crohn’s disease is commonly found in those areas.

Entocort works by decreasing inflammation (one of the problems in Crohn’s disease).As a type of corticosteroid, Entocort works by decreasing inflammation in the intestines. Entocort medication is only available by prescription and comes in the form of a capsule that is generally taken once a day in the morning.

Entocort steroid is specifically designed to be released in the intestine (not in the stomach). When Entocort is absorbed into the body the liver changes most of it into other compounds that do not have steroid side effects. Entocort EC mostly works when it comes in contact with the intestines and so it does not need to circulate throughout the body to work.
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Flea and Tick Medication

Sunday, October 11th, 2009

Flea and tick being common in almost in all pets, keep the pet owners the most concerned and busy. Fleas in the house would scare any pet owner. There are variety of drugs for ticks disease. One should be very careful before choosing one as there are severe medication side effects. Make sure you choose the right medicine to kill fleas. Make a comparison of different flea and tick medicines available and choose the most suitable from what is available. It is very important to read the labels and check what the ingredients are. Consider if your dog or cat is allergic to synthetic or natural drugs. A wrong medication may induce severe skin allergies in your pets. Special consideration should be taken while choosing medicine to kill fleas or ticks in your kitten or puppies. Certain composition of medicines are effective only against dog fleas or cat fleas and not good against tick diseases. In such cases the medicines are to be chosen very carefully. Do not assume that all the products take care of fleas in house and more or less do the same job. There had been incidents when a dog or cat dies from the side effects of flea or tick control medication. Flea and tick medicines come in variety or forms like shampoos, sprays, powders and dips. They are insecticidal in nature and has been found deadly for some dogs and cats as they cause drug reactions.

How does flea and tick medication works?

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