My dog's Grand Mal Seizures caused by Flea Treatment & no warnings on package!

[mod mom]

I have 2 adopted pound dogs, one a lab mix (age 9yo) and one a border collie mix (6 1/2 yo). Several years ago, she started having Grand Mal seizures. Her vets at the time were elderly sweet men who seemed to genuinely care for animals. They thought perhaps it was a tumor but prescribed phenobarbitol as treatment. The meds worked and after ~ 4 months I attempted to reduce the dose. She would very rarely still have seizures, although I assumed she had tricked me in having swallowed the meds and the seizures were due to a lack of medicine. I was never questioned about flea medicine. My dogs have their yearly checkup/shots at the end of May. Several years ago I switched from the brand used at the vets to an OTC brand Hartz Ultraguard Flea & tick when Whisper picked up fleas early in the season after killing a squirrel and her vet appt was still weeks away. I purchased the flea treatment at Target. There is NO WARNING on the package.

Several weeks ago I was reading a thread here on DU and after several links, found myself reading material suggesting a link between flea treatment and seizures. She had never had any skin reactions to the treatment, so I never suspected this treatment to be a possible cause. She happened to be ~ 1 week past due for her monthly treatment. I immediately gave her a thorough bath and completely stopped using any treatment. After about 2 weeks I stopped her phenobaritol dosage and NO SEIZURES! I want other DU pet owners to be aware of this possibility:

MAY 26, 2009
Fur Flies Over Flea Treatments

By ANJALI ATHAVALEY

Not long after Jennifer Croezen applied flea and tick drops to the back of her Chihuahau, Saki, earlier this month, the dog's back began to turn red.

The next day, Saki seemed tired and lost her appetite. Ms. Croezen, a 26-year-old medical assistant, took her dog to the vet the following morning, where Saki was treated for chemical burns on her back and diagnosed with a dangerous anemia. "It makes me really mad," Ms. Croezen says. "If I would have known it could have done this to my dog, I would have never put it on her."

Central Life Sciences, manufacturer of the Bio Spot brand Spot On Flea & Tick Control used on Saki, says its product isn't responsible for the anemia. "Skin sensitivity could have been exacerbated by the presence of severe anemia which led to blistering of the skin," said Laura Petree, manager of technical services at Central Life Sciences, in a statement.



Some pet-owners are taking action because they believe their animals had reactions to fleas treatments applied directly to the pet's back.

An increasing number of pet owners are reporting what they believe to be harmful side effects from over-the-counter and prescription flea and tick treatments. The Environmental Protection Agency, which regulates topical pet treatments, says the number of reported incidents stemming from so-called spot-on flea and tick treatments -- drops that are applied directly to a pet's skin, usually on the back -- increased 53% to 44,263 in 2008 from the previous year. As a result of the increase, the EPA said last month that it is intensifying an evaluation of spot-on products.

Product manufacturers are required by law to pass along reported incidents to the EPA. In its advisory on the topic, the agency said it is evaluating all spot-on products and posted a list of those it is examining. The list includes products by major manufacturers such as Sumitomo Corp.'s Hartz Mountain Corp., Central Life Sciences, Bayer AG, maker of Advantage, and Merial Ltd., a joint venture between Merck & Co. and Sanofi-Aventis SA, that makes Frontline products. EPA advises consumers who buy treatments from any of these companies to read the label closely and apply the products as instructed.

-snip

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124329165300152331.html

WHY NO WARNINGS? THIS MAKES ME VERY ANGRY!

[mod mom]

1. EPA Warning:

Increased Scrutiny of Flea and Tick Control Products for Pets
Updated June 23, 2009

Resources
Advisory: Increased Scrutiny of Flea and Tick Control Products for Pets
Taking care of fleas and ticks on your pet
EPA Meeting with Registrants of Spot-On Flea and Tick Pesticide Products - May 5, 2009 (20 pp, 2.9 MB, About PDF)
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is intensifying its evaluation of spot-on pesticide products for flea and tick control due to recent increases in the number of reported adverse reactions in pets treated with these products. Adverse reactions reported range from mild effects such as skin irritation to more serious effects such as seizures and, in some cases, death of the pet.

Flea and tick products can be appropriate treatments for protecting your pets and your family’s health because fleas and ticks can transmit disease. While many people use the products with no harm to their pets, EPA recommends that pet owners take precautions when using these products. People should carefully follow label directions and monitor their pets for any signs of an adverse reaction after application, particularly when using these products for the first time. Also, before use of these products on weak, aged, medicated, sick, pregnant or nursing pets, or on pets that have previously shown signs of sensitivity to pesticide products, EPA recommends that a veterinarian be consulted. Additional safety tips are available for taking care of fleas and ticks on your pet.

Pets may experience adverse reactions from flea and tick control products, including spot-on treatments, sprays, collars and shampoos. However, the majority of reports to EPA are related to flea and tick treatments with EPA-registered spot-on products. Spot-on products are generally sold in tubes or vials and are applied to one or more localized areas on the body of the pet, such as in between the shoulders or in a stripe along the back.

List of Registered Products
EPA has provided a listing of EPA-registered spot-on flea and tick products (10 pp, 63k, About PDF). Since the chart previously located on this page reflected only a portion of the numerous pet spot-on products available, EPA felt that pet owners and consumers might be led to believe that only those products listed were the focus of concern. In fact, EPA is intensifying its evaluation of all spot-on products and is providing a more comprehensive list of these products.

EPA is not initiating a product recall of these products nor is the Agency suggesting that the products not be used. EPA recognizes the importance of the products in effective flea and tick control. EPA’s objective at this stage is simply to advise consumers and pet owners to exercise caution when using the products and to monitor pet behavior following their use, as some animals have experienced adverse reactions following treatment.

Regulatory Agencies are Taking Action
EPA is evaluating all available data and information, including:

reports of adverse reactions,
product market share,
clarity of product use directions and label warnings,
product ingredients, and
pre-market safety data submitted to the Agency in support of registration of these products
This assessment may result in EPA action to require changes in the registration status of certain spot-on products. EPA will be working collaboratively with Health Canada to address this issue, as Canadian regulatory officials have identified similar concerns about the use of spot-on flea and tick products. EPA will be updating this page periodically to provide the public with the most current information on this issue.

Health Canada has identified similar concerns about the use of spot-on flea and tick products. EPA and Health Canada met with product manufacturers to begin discussions about this issue. Read about the May 5, 2009 EPA spot-on meeting with registrants (20 pp, 2.9 MB, About PDF).

For more information
For more information, please visit EPA's Pesticides Q&A database.

http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/health/flea-tick-control.html

[japple]

2. I had a cat that had a psychotic episode when I applied a Hartz

flea treatment on her. This was many years ago, and sweet Domino is in Kitty Heaven, but I was telling my vet about it a couple months ago, and she said that in vet school, she learned about "Hartz Syndrome" (or something like that) because of the many animals that died or were permanently damaged by Hartz flea control products. I am so sorry that this happened to your dog and hope it doesn't cause any residual problems. I was so happy when the flea/tick treatments became easier with the one-spot application, but two of my cats (both small females) get really upset when I put the stuff on them. My vet said it might just be that they hate having anything on their bodies that they can't lick off. I have to treat my cats because they do have brief outings in my yard and the dog goes outside, too. Hope something will soon be developed to take care of fleas/tick, etc., yet cause no harm to our dear little companions.

[Why Syzygy]

4. Diatomaceous earth

I wouldn't use anything else.

http://wolfcreekranch1.tripod.com/no_flea.html


Diatomaceous Earth vs. Chemical Flea Control
In tests performed by the USDA, as well as consumer trials, diatomaceous earth has shown to be just as effective as chemical insect control.
http://www.ehow.com/facts_5210073_effective-diatomaceous-earth-fleas.html

[JanusAscending]

3. BEWARE OF ANY HARTZ PRODUCTS!!!

Fifty years ago I had a kitten go into seizures and die in front of my eyes 20 minutes after I had placed a Hartz flea collar on him!! My late husband and I used to raise "budgies" 35 years ago, and lost all of them because the seed we fed them from Hartz were EMPTY chaff!! They starved to death !! I've had dogs get sick from Hartz shampoos and pet toys! Why they haven't been sued and forced out of business by now is beyond me. I buy nothing with their label, and advise all animal lovers here to spread the word and boycott their products!! My God, I can't believe this is still happening!!!

[emilyg]

5. Sad that Hartz gets away with this.

[Dover]

6. I had used Frontline topical Heart Worm Medicine that is combined with Flea treatment

on my dog up until last year. He hated it and would hide when it was time to apply it. Then he'd lie down and just be out of it for awhile. So now I give him JUST heartworm medicine.

There was an even more alarming reaction when I applied bio spot flea medicine to my cats. All the cats went crazy - pacing, whining, acting extremely aggitated and even in pain. It went on for hours! Then the area on their bodies where it was applied became a big bald spot. That was the end of that!

Now none of my animals get ANY chemical flea medication at all and the kicker is that NONE of them get fleas!!! I can't explain why, but suspect it's due to their diets which I just happened to change about the time I quit applying the flea medication. I posted the recipe I use for my cats in another post.
My dog doesn't eat too much raw food, though he gets a good quality cooked meat canned product along with the addition of turmeric and Seameal with every meal (and a good quality dry food). Funny that.


On Edit - I just remembered it was Frontline, not Advantage, that my dog responded so badly to. I then switched to Advantage which seemed to be less troublesome, prior to going to just the heartworm medicine (without the added flea medication). So, anyway, I edited out Advantage in my subject line and replaced it with Frontline.

[Why Syzygy]

7. Here are a couple of non-chemical flea treatments

As stated above, I only use D.E. Other suggestions that won't harm:

http://www.ehow.com/how_4581568_prevent-fleas-cat-dog.html

http://www.ehow.com/how_4821053_flea-wipes-cat-dog.html
For this one:
Things You'll Need:
Plastic tube of baby wipes
1 tablespoon of citronella oil
1 tablespoon of tea tree oil
1 tablespoon of rosemary oil
1 tablespoon of lavender oil
1 tablespoon of geranium oil
glass bowl