The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning dog owners about flea and tick medications. This comes after reports of the drugs causing serious adverse reactions. Is the FDA finally paying attention to how dangerous these meds can be for dogs?
Don’t get too excited … they’re not.
The FDA Report
Last month, the FDA stated that flea and tick meds are causing neurologic issues in pets. The symptoms most often reported include muscle tremors, ataxia and seizures.
The side effects reported for these drugs are:
Tremors
Seizures
Ataxia
Vomiting
Diarrhea
Loss of appetite
Skin irritations
Lethargy
According to the FDA, the products affected are:
Bravecto
Nexgard
Simparica
Credelio (received FDA approval in 2018)
These drugs all contain an ingredient called isoxazoline.
How Do These Drugs Work?
Isoxazolines are non-competitive GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) receptor antagonists. This means they bind to chloride channels inside the flea or tick. They then block nerve signals … which will paralyze and kill the bugs. So, when you give your dog Isoxazolines, they work systemically - this means they affect the entire body. They’re absorbed into his blood and organs including his skin. When fleas and ticks feast on your dog’s blood, they also eat the chemicals Isoxazolines. They become paralyzed and die. So, what does this do to your dog?
What Are The Dangers For Your Dog?
The problem with poisoning fleas and ticks systemically is that you have to first poison the host … that’s your dog. The premise behind Isoxazolines is that your dog is a lot larger than a flea … it’s assumed a little bit of poison won’t hurt him. And that might be true in some cases. It may not poison a larger dog but that doesn’t mean it’s not harming him.
The problem is, nobody has asked this question … what happens if I give my dog a small amount of poison every month for years? While there is some testing on the safety of these drugs, the safety studies have only been for a few months. That’s a problem.
The second problem is the FDA doesn’t believe tremors and ataxia are something to worry about. But these symptoms show that dogs are being poisoned along with their pests … just at a slower rate. Our dogs are suffering the same neurological issues that kill their fleas and ticks. In reality, every dog is at risk.
Bottom Line: All of the flea and tick preventatives are toxic; they’re made to kill insects after all.
Sources: By: Emily Vey -
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