Bravecto, Nexgard And Simparica: Oral Treatments For Flea And Ticks In Dogs Safe Or Not?

In the last few years, oral treatments have become immensely popular compared to topical solutions. This surge has been reported due to the better efficacy of the oral drugs that eliminate the possibility of the product from getting greasy on the pet’s skin. Moreover, if the dog has contracted severe allergy and hotspot, it cannot be cured completely unless a more potent oral treatment is administered. In comparison to the topical treatments, those provide monthly protection against fleas and ticks and have to be applied very carefully to produce the desired results, oral tablets and chews just require one-time institution. To find out how beneficial oral treatments are compared to the risks they bring along, here is a list of advantages and disadvantages of using oral chews and the safety concerns related to them.

Benefits Of Using Oral Treatments

• There are several cases reported in areas where fleas and ticks have developed resistance due to the overuse of topical solutions. In such cases, oral drugs are found more effective and have long-lasting effect.

• Topical solutions may be the cause of concern if you have kids at home that often come in contact with the pet. Application of topicals on a pet may put the kids at risk of rubbing the chemical onto themselves while petting the animal.

• Some topical treatments contain ingredients that are very toxic to cats. So, if the owner also has cats in their pet family, it is safe to use oral treatment over topical.

• There is a big risk of contracting allergy from the topical solutions if the pet parent is allergic to any of the ingredients.

• Unlike topical treatments whose efficacy may reduce if the pet is bathed immediately after application, oral treatments have no such issues. Once instituted in the mouth, they provide protection uninterruptedly.

Negative Effects

Even after the sundry advantages these oral treatments provide, there is a safety concern involved with every drug that is administered to the pets. While some pets may feel perfectly fine after being treated with oral chews like Bravecto or Nexgard, others may exhibit negative effects like
• vomiting
• lethargy
• loss of appetite
• diarrhea
• Flatulence

Bravecto, Nexgard And Simparica Comparison :

Bravecto has an active ingredient fluralaner that kills 99% of the flea population and provides 100% protection against various tick species like American Dog Tick or Brown Ticks. Although the product is said to be safe for all dogs but must be only used if the pet is above 5 pounds. Moreover, Bravecto must not be administered to dogs that have had seizure history. When used correctly as per the directions, it is completely safe to use even on pregnant and lactating mothers.

Nexgard provides 100% protection against fleas within a day and eliminates 97% of ticks effectively. It has received approval from FDA for being safe to use against fleas and ticks in dogs, however, the usage must be strictly restrained according to the instructions stated in the packaging. Moreover, use the Nexgard very cautiously in dogs that have a history of allergies to afoxolaner or are prone to seizures.

Simparica again is safe to use in dogs that are more than 6 months old. It has been reported to have shown no negative effects in dogs that are treated with vaccines or other treatments. Simparica has been claimed by its manufacturers to work on fleas within 3 hours of administration and hardly takes 8 hours to kill ticks. Other than being used as a flea and tick preventive, Simparica is also labeled to be used against mange-causing mites.

Conclusion

For every product that cures a disease, it is mandatory to follow the directions of use written on the pack-insert as one wrong use can threaten the life of your pet, after all, it is just a drug! Make sure you vaccinate your pet in the first year of his home-coming so as to ensure whatsoever treatment you provide him in future works more effectively. Maintain a record of all the drugs you gave or are currently providing your pet. All these measures will ensure your pet is protected enough to administer any kind of preventatives. Remember, all the oral treatments are effective and safe only when administered in the correct way, else no matter what you do, it won’t prove effective as expected. Keep a check on your pet after giving the drug as some pets may have side-effects.

All the oral products are safe but do make sure you check with the vet if you still face issues or have a concern.