Pet Poison Helpline Says Flea and Tick Products Are Safe
Minneapolis, Minnesota (April 14th, 2010)
As flea and tick season approaches, and many consumers are confused about the safety of spot-on flea and tick products, a pet poison consultation help line has moved to reassure consumers that the products are safe to use.
Three weeks ago, in response to an increase in adverse reactions to spot-on flea and tick products, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that some smaller dogs tend to disproportionately suffer with adverse reactions due to over-dosing and misuse, and that it had launched an investigation into how products could be more clearly labeled to avoid misuse. Now, the Pet Poison Helpline has concurred that the incidence of severe and fatal effects resulting from the application of flea and tick products is extremely low as compared to the number of applications that pet owners apply each year, and that when serious events occur, it is most commonly a result of misuse. For example, when dog products are applied to cats or when owners misread, misuse or miscalculate the dose or product that is appropriate for their animal.
The help line warned that treatment with a fast-acting topical flea and tick medication can cause itching or brief irritation and fidgeting at the application site, which can be alarming to pet owners. A small proportion of treated animals can also develop a side-effect called paresthesia, a tingling sensation around the application site. While this is normally a very localized and short-lived side-effect, it accounts for a large number of the few incidents reported to the help line. In fact, based on sales and distribution data individually presented to the EPA by various companies, the overall incident rate for flea and tick products was calculated to be approximately 16 incidents per 100,000 applications. And the overall incident rate for cases classified with either a major or fatal outcome was about one in 200,000 applications.
"These data demonstrate that Spot-On products are generally safe when used appropriately and according to the directions," said Dr. Lynn Hovda, DVM, DACVIM, director of veterinary services for Pet Poison Helpline.
The Pet Poison Helpline says that the key to ensuring your pet's safety when using flea and tick products is to select a product specifically for use on your kind of pet - for example always choose a cat product for use on cats - and to be vigilant about following the instructions on the package. Knowing the exact size and weight of your pet is essential for using the correct medication and appropriate dose on your pet. It is also recommended that you consult a veterinarian before using flea and tick products on weak, aged, sick, pregnant or nursing pets.
This news story is independently sourced and PetPeoplesPlace.com does not specifically endorse products or services offered by any company referenced in this article, or benefit from any association with any companies referenced.
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I do not find it to be reassuring that the Pet Poison Hotline, a division of SafetyCall International, which takes money from pet pesticide companies to manage their adverse incident claims, is telling me that spot-on flea and tick products are safe to use. That's a conflict of interest!
Actually, the EPA is very concerned that the weight ranges on these products may be too few and too wide, causing some pets to receive a much larger dose per pound of body weight than other pets in the same weight range, especially for the smallest pets.
For example, if a product is labeled for dogs weighing 20 pounds and under, a 5 pound dog receives FOUR TIMES the dose per pound of body weight that a 20 pound dog receives.
Therefore, following the directions is no guarantee that your dog will not be overdosed, especially for animals at the low end of a weight range, or for small breed dogs.
The pet pesticide industry is boasting that the incident rate for flea and tick products is approximately 16 incidents per 100,000 applications, but that is a very misleading figure. Most adverse incidents are never reported to anyone, and no one really knows how many doses were actually used (as opposed to how many were sold).
Spot-on flea and tick products also pose significant health risks to people. The EPA recently expressed concern that the pesticides in many of these products may have the potential to cause developmental disorders in young children.