Today's Veterinary Practice provides comprehensive information to keep every small animal practitioner up to date on companion animal medicine and surgery as well as practice building and management.
Issue link: http://todaysveterinarypractice.epubxp.com/i/840151
36 PRACTICAL PARASITOLOGY The Flea-Infested Pet: How to Manage the Pet and Its Environment Cherie M. Pucheu-Haston, DVM, PhD, DACVD Louisiana State University School of Veterinary Medicine PRACTICAL PARASITOLOGY Part 1 of this article—"The Flea-Infested Pet: Overview of Current Products" in the May/June 2017 issue—discussed important characteristics of today's most commonly used flea control products. This follow-up article addresses key factors to consider in designing a flea control treatment program. Individualization is the key: Although the products available today are an enormous improvement over those of bygone years, there is still no single product or protocol that is suitable for all situations. Instead, designing an effective protocol requires the assessment of many patient, client, and environmental factors, in addition to knowledge about features of the products and the product formats themselves. Table 1 provides an overview of available products. FACTORS TO CONSIDER WHEN SELECTING A PRODUCT What Format Will Work Best for the Patient? Spot-on Products Most products available today are topical spot-on preparations, which are easy to apply and do not require the owner to administer oral medications. However, these products have variable resistance to water immersion and bathing. In addition, some pets appear to be sensitive to the active ingredient or the vehicle itself and may develop dermatitis (ranging from mild scaling all the way to frank necrosis) at the site of application. 1 Oral Products These products have the advantage of being completely waterproof, which makes them ideal for use in patients that swim or are bathed frequently. In addition, because they are not applied topically, they cannot rub off onto other animals, people, or furniture. They are also well suited for animals that may not tolerate application of spot-on formulations. However, almost all of them are chewable, flavored tablets. This flavoring may include ingredients such as beef, pork, or soy extracts, which may or may not be tolerated by food-allergic animals. Vomiting may occur with any of the oral medications. Collars Recently, a flea collar containing a combination of imidacloprid and flumethrin was released (Seresto, seresto.com ). This collar is an easy, low-maintenance method of topical product application. Although the imidacloprid in the collar washes off, the collar replenishes it (this may take a toll on collar lifespan). 2 shutterstock.com/Helen Sushitskaya PRACTICAL PARASITOLOGY