This notice just came in to MyPetsDoctor.com from the Mississippi Veterinary Medical Association. If you have purchased “New Heart” heartworm preventive ask your pet’s doctor whether you should dispose of it, and how. Click here for instructions on disposing of unwanted medications.
MVMA Members,
One of your fellow members wanted to share an experience regarding a client who purchased a heartworm preventive medication on-line. The product is called “New Heart” and appears to be produced overseas. There is no contact information on the packaging nor is it marked as FDA-approved on the packaging.
After a 12 hour delayed reaction, the dogs presented with bumps and constricted nasal passages. While these animals were large enough that the constricted airways did not present a threat, smaller animals may have more difficulty.
Hopefully this information will be useful should you encounter a similiar case.
Thank you, MVMA, for keeping Mississippi veterinarians on the cutting edge of breaking news.
“Online pharmacies” have been a source of dangerous illegal activity for years. Medications, including some purported to be legitimate prescription pharmaceuticals, have been dispensed without doctors’ knowledge or approval.
Indeed, we have railed about the dangers of these online pharmacies in our efforts to educate pet owners and protect the animals they love.
See you tomrrow, Dr. Randolph.
Hi, Is Nuheart okay as a generic for heartworm medicine alone? Someone local is looking for a new home for her 100-lb dog since her husband has been unemployed for a year now and they have to cut to the bone. I figured with the economy being so bad, more people will have to be cutting corners, big dogs are expensive. We don’t want the dog, but when the owner said she just stopped the dog’s heartworm meds this month, I thought I might buy her medicine to at least keep the dog from getting heartworms until she can (hopefully) find him a new home. Nobody is going to take a 100-lb dog with heartworms. Thanks for the advice. I know there are unreputable medicines out there. How do we know which ones are okay? Lisa
Having never even heard of “Nuheart,” I Googled it. The first thing that jumped out at me was “Australia.” As noted in the post above, Australia has been the source of some of the biggest problems in the online pharmacy arena. Most blatant among Australian sources’ offenses is their total disregard for American regulations and patient safety. If you order heartworm preventive from them, they will not ask you if your pet has missed any doses of heartworm preventive, they will not contact your veterinarian to determine whether the medicine is safe for your pet and his unique situation, nor will they comply with FDA regulations. I cannot recommend Nuheart, nor can I recommend anything that comes from an Australian pharmacy. Furthermore, look at the Web site: the misspellings and the poor grammar (the writing appears to have been done by a drunk monkey). If they don’t take any more care than that with their advertising, how much care will they take with your order? Furthermore, if anything goes wrong, you have NO recourse. Are you going to travel to Australia to sue them? Will they feel any pressure to make things right with you? I doubt it. Here is a better plan: IF the dog is not late on his heartworm preventive, have her call the veterinarian who has provided his care (and, thus, his heartworm preventive) and ask for the least expensive heartworm preventive they carry. Buy that for her and pay the little bit of difference, knowing that what the owners administer will truly be safe. Thank you for caring and helping your neighbor. Hugs to Tucker, Dr. Randolph