Wednesday 27 March 2013

Pet Dispensary - affordable pet medication: How do flea treatments work?

Pet Dispensary - affordable pet medication: How do flea treatments work?: How do flea treatments work? There are so many flea treatments now available with many of the veterinary drug manufactures bringing out ...

How do flea treatments work?

How do flea treatments work?
There are so many flea treatments now available with many of the veterinary drug manufactures bringing out a flea treatment the questions is what makes one different to the other and how does each of them work?  The most common ingredients used in flea treatments are Fipronil, Imidacloprid and Nitenpyram, these are active in common flea treatments including Frontline, Advantage, Effipro, Capstar and Eliminall.  More details of each of these active ingredients follow:
Fipronil
The majority of flea treatments commonly used is a fipronil based treatment, fipronil is the active ingredient.  Fipronil flea treatments have a non-systemic mode of action so it kills parasites through contact, not via the pet's bloodstream.
From where you apply the product, fipronil spreads all over the pet’s body. It concentrates (or stores) into the sebaceous glands of the skin and is constantly replenished over the pet’s skin and coat meaning each hair is coated with the fipronil product. The ‘store’ gives the product its prolonged efficacy – even after bathing, swimming and grooming.  Flea and ticks are killed as the fipronil attacks their nervous system.  It causes hyper excitation in these parasites. Disoriented, dying fleas rise to the surface of the pet’s coat – which is why you might actually notice more fleas after applying the product.
Fipronil is the most commonly used treatment and prevention product for flea and tick control of pets in the UK.  Many drug manufactures have brought out their own version and they all work in exactly the same way.  Frontline Spot On is a recognised brand but there are others available which are cheaper!  These include Effipro, Eliminall, Fiprodog, Fiprocat, Fiprospot and Flevox. 
Imidacloprid
Another ingredient used for flea control is Imidacloprid which acts on the central nervous system of parasites.  The chemical interferes with the transmission of stimuli in the insect’s nervous system, specifically it causes a blockage resulting in paralysis and then death.  Imidacloprid is spread over the skin surface throughout the coat of the pet within 12 hours of application. 
Advantage is one flea treatment that uses Imidacloprid as its active ingredient; available since 1996 it is known for its fast action and effective activity against fleas.  Advantage also contains Pyriproxyfen which is an insect growth regulator (IGR) that kills fleas in the immature stages of their lifecycle.  This combination plays a crucial role in existing infestations as in an existing infestation you might only be aware of the adult fleas which only represent around 5% of the full infestation.  Immature flea life stages (flea eggs, larvae and pupae) which live in the pet’s environment consist of around 95% of the infestation and this is targeted by the Pyripoxyfen.
Nitenpyram
Nitenpyram is an insecticide used in veterinary medicine to kill external parasites on pets.  It is used orally on dogs and cats to control fleas.  Capstar is the only flea treatment available that contains the active ingredient Nitenpyram.
Nitenpyram is a neonicotinoid, which means that it is a neurotoxin that blocks the ability for neural messages to transmit through the central nervous system of the flea causing (almost) instant death.
After ingestion of Capstar it begins killing fleas within 30 minutes and kills every adult flea in the pet within 4 hours.  The effects of this pill are approximately 24-48 hours. 
Capstar has no long-term residual activity and therefore is not effective as a longer-term flea preventative. It is usually used to kill adult fleas quickly on an infested animal to give immediate relief for a day. It is then usually followed up with some other longer-term flea preventative to prevent re-infestation.
All the flea treatments listed above are all available without prescription.  The choice is yours as to which you use and all are effective in their own way if used as directed.  Fipronil is still a very popular choice be aware of the choices available that are fipronil based as they do compare in price.  Since Advantage was taken off licence so no longer requires a prescription we have seen an increase in sales of this product mainly due to the requirement of a ‘non’ fipronil based treatment.
Pet Dispensary offers all the listed products and has a helpful qualified sales team that can assist you in making your choice.  Please do contact Pet Dispensary on 0845 6787838 or visit the website at www.petdispensary.co.uk
How do flea treatments work?