Pet owners now have a new threat when it comes to buying their favorite flea and tick treatment; counterfeit products. Millions of pets are treated every year with popular medicines that help prevent fleas and ticks from feeding on your pets. However, a new warning from the EPA has concluded that treatments are being sold that are not true medicines which could cause harm to your pet.
Many of the popular topical flea and tick medicines are being applied by loving pet owners to protect their dog or cat from the fleas and ticks, but may unknowingly cause harm by applying counterfeit medicine which may not be the correct formulation or may be toxic to the animal itself.
Those who treat their dog or cat with the phony medicines run the risk of poisoning their dog or cat. Owners who do not have pet insurance may not only cause undue harm to their pet but may face large vet bills for treating their animal.
The EPA is reporting an increase in adverse reactions to owners who use the wrong treatment for their pets with side effects ranging from minor skin irritations to welts and burns to convulsions and even death.
The EPA reported receiving over 44,000 calls of adverse reactions tied to flea and tick treatments. This number has increased over 50% from 2007 numbers. 2009 numbers may be even worse as flea season was especially worse in the Northeast this year.
Cats and small dogs were the demographic affected the most due to the amount of medicine being used. Reports indicate that some owners mistakenly used the wrong size treatments for their smaller animals, but counterfeit products may play a large role in this issue as well. Most of these animals afflicted with issues were in the 10-20 pound range.
In summary, owners must remember that the popular flea and tick medicines should be purchased from reputable providers like vets and well known pet supply stores. Phony medicines purchased on the internet from unknown suppliers may cost you and your pet more in the long run if it causes irreparable harm to your beloved dog or cat. Pet insurance companies may cover such events depending on the source of the medicine, but others may not, which may end up costing the owner dearly in vet bills.
Go here for more information on this subject and the link to the EPA Alert.
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