03/04/2021
Many pet guardians have been asking about the recent negative news about Seresto collars. Millions of Seresto collars have been sold over the past 10 years with no major concerns I have sold thousands of Seresto collars in my veterinary practice and I have only seen one adverse reaction in my own personal dog, Pinky who has oversensitive very pink skin.
My pittie mix, Pinky was playing with one of my vet nurse's dog, Remi who was wearing the Seresto collar that day but it was removed since our dogs play rough biting each other's necks. After about 10 minutes of play, Pinky developed hives and her face and eyelids were swollen . I treated her with a homeopathic remedy and she recovered in a few hours
I was surprised to see this article since I read VIN News on my veterinary research website of which I am a member for years.There are many veterinary organizations who usually report this type of information and there was nothing to be found.I checked the AVMA website, ASPCA poison control and other vet websites and no news was reported.There are thousands of veterinarians who are members of VIN the Veterinary Information Network and no one was talking about Seresto collars until this news report suddenly appeared out of nowhere. None of the vets on VIN rounds stated any serious concerns about the Seresto collars
I have seen news about knock off collars from China that did not work dogs infested with fleas and tciks therefore I was suspicious that maybe the" fake seresto collars" were the underlying cause of this negative news.This is why I recommend buying Seresto collars only from your vet since we buy them directly from vet supplies so know they are the real deal
Bottom line is that Seresto and topical and oral flea and tick products are all insecticidal toxins that eradicate endoparasites therefore there is always going to be a cat or dog who can become ill from exposure to the insecticidal poisons.There has been more news about many dogs given the oral flea and tick pills then had a seizure or collapsed and suddenly died. Pet guardians and vets have asked to have the pills pulled from the market but the EPA refused saying it was safe enough, very disturbing.
There is always a risk of adverse reactions when you use insecticidal chemicals so if you are not comfortable taking this risk then there are natural alternatives. Natural flea and tick treatment is not as effective as conventional but for Pinky it safer and works for her.
Personally I have seen serious adverse reactions from oral flea and tick pills like head tremors and seizures therefore I do not use these in my practice. I have seen a few dogs develop skin irritation and sometimes lethargy after topical flea and tick products especially in small dogs so I do not recommend using this product in smaller breeds or dogs with sensitive skin or weakend immune systems.
Compared to the oral and topical options, the Seresto collar, a transdermal chemical on the skin and fur not absorbed into the bloodstream seems to be a less invasive option than oral or topicals that absorb under the skin inside the body. If a dog patient swims daily or runs free off a leash through the woods they will come back covered in ticks therefore these dogs do better with a conventional collar or topical. I still will not recommend the oral pill since the topical Vectra works well with minimal adverse reactions in large breed dogs that are not oversensitive to chemicals.
For my dog, Pinky who cannot tolerate any insecticidal chemicals, I apply Natural Chemistry Flea & Tick Spray or Wondercide herbal flea spray 2-3x/week to repel mosquitos,fleas and ticks. Also, I apply Buck Mountain Organic Parasite Dust 1-2x/month to prevent ticks when walking her in the neighborhood or in the park outside her fenced backyard. When at home, Pinky has a vinyl fence to keep the squirrels, deer and other wildlife outside the fence so her grass is flea and tick free.
