Nexgard Safety: Are The Flea and Tick Chews Safe?
Ever since its launch in 2013, Nexgard has become the go-to flea and tick treatment for dog parents. To equip the pet parents with oral treatment, Merial (Now a part of Boehringer Ingelheim) introduced this product that became one of the most trusted fleas and tick treatments and is amongst the treatments that are dominating the flea and tick market. However, recently there were many questions raised on the safety of the product. But before we discuss the safety of the product let’s know about what and how of Nexgard.
What Is Nexgard?
Nexgard is a monthly oral treatment and comes in a beef flavored chew. The product contains afoxolaner an ingredient that is the member of the isoxazoline family and is amazingly effective. It kills 100% of fleas (Ctenocephalides felis) in 24 hours and ticks (the American dog tick (Dermacentor variabilis), the black-legged (Deer) tick (Ixodes scapularis) and the Lone Star tick (Amblyomma americanum) within 48 hours.
How Nexgard Works?
The active ingredient named afoxolaner inhibits the ligand-gated chloride channels, especially those ones that are gated by neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) hence blocking the transfer of chloride ions across the cell membranes. This results in hyperexcitation and uncontrolled activity of the central nervous system leading to the death of the parasite.
The above information was necessary,
Now let’s come back to Nexgard safety
The safety of the product was corroborated with several tests that were performed by the company, the same company that manufactured the Frontline series. Nexgard was found safe to be used on dogs of all species.
In a 90-day field study, 415 dogs were treated with Nexgard and 200 were kept under active control. There were no serious adverse reactions that were observed. The most frequently reported adverse reaction was vomiting. Which was self-limiting and for a limited period of time, it also decreased with subsequent doses.
5 treated dogs experienced anorexia during the study, and two out of 5 dogs suffered anorexia only with the first dose.
Vomiting (with and without blood) – 17
Dry/Flaky Skin- 13
Diarrhea (with and without blood) – 13
Lethargy- 7
Anorexia- 5
The chew was also found safe in dogs administered with 5 times the recommended dosage. However, please consult your vet before using the product on your dog that has a history of seizure, ataxia or muscle tremors.
Hence, it can be said that Nexgard is safe and can be used without any hesitation. The treatment is popular amongst pet parents for a reason. It delivers the desired result and is very easy to feed.
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