Ticks are Unfortunately a Fact of Life. But how Safe is Bravecto for Dogs, and why Don’t we Have Such a Chemical for Humans?!

How Common are Ticks on Dogs? Well, Don’t go to the Big Tick Project for Answers, it’s Sponsored by Bravecto for Dogs…

It’s not uncommon to find ticks on dogs. They love nothing more than running and rummaging through long grass, barreling through the woods, all at the perfect height for tick attachment. So the occasional tick attachment is to be suspected. However, just how many dogs are actually affected is a matter of debate. There is most certainly a lot of scaring being done by the chemical companies to convince you the issue is more rampant than it is. For more here check out our exposé on the Big Tick Project that reported 30% of dogs are affected. This figure REALLY surprised me (spoiler alert, the “study” was sponsored by MSD, the charming chemical company that makes the every popular but sadly highly controversial tick preventative Bravecto for dogs).

In short, the Big Tick Project, conducted by Bristol University, actually states in its methods

The overall prevalence of tick attachment was 30 % (range 28–32 %). The relatively high prevalence recorded is likely to have been inflated by the method of participant recruitment.

Staggering, eh?

The FDA Recently Issued an Alert for Bravecto for Dogs…

Absolutely no doubt in response to public pressure, the FDA finally issued an alert about the chewable chemical preventatives Nexgard, Simparica and Bravecto for dogs. Still unavailable for humans (I wonder why), these products contain a pesticide called isoxazoline which can cause an array of neurological problems in our pets. The FDA states:

Although most dogs and cats haven’t had neurologic adverse reactions, seizures may occur in animals without a prior history

Despite this, and entirely unsurprisingly, they are still approved for use in our pets

The FDA carefully reviewed studies and other data on Bravecto, Credelio, Nexgard and Simparica prior to approval, and these products continue to be safe and effective for the majority of animals

I wonder what studies the ever-useless FDA reviewed, and who produced them. At any rate, I believe this has occurred thanks to the constant pressure from such thriving FB groups as “Does Bravecto Kill Dogs?” (50k+ members),

How Safe is Bravecto for Dogs? For Perspective, my Tongue-in-Cheek Post Frames the Incidence of Harm in Human Terms…

Taking the figures for side effects and deaths from Bravecto reported to the European Medicines Agency in just a two year period, I wrote the following advertisement for an amazing new drug available I called Parallax which went down particularly well on Facebook, framing it in human terms instead of just our dogs…

You can’t see them folks but parasites are real and they’re EVERYWHERE. What’s more, IF your child picks one up and IF you ignore the symptoms for a long period of time and IF you do not see a doctor at some point then your child is at GREAT RISK of harm.

If you loved your child then please rush to your doctor and ask them for Parallax. That’s right, at last, the same companies that developed all the fantastic chemical preventatives for our pets, have finally come up with a range of kill-all parasite preventatives for humans.

They have developed three fantastic products under the Parallax range, two to cover our endoparasites, including one for all our worm parasites (including tapeworms, hookworm, whipworm, threadworm, trichonosis, toxocara), one to cover all our flukes (five different types) and one to cover our ectoparasites like scabies, head lice, pubic lice, botfly, fleas, ticks and of course, mosquitos. It’s strange it took them until now to make these considering how prevalent some of these baddies are in the population.

Our medical boards are recommending these chemicals be used in every child in every country regardless of the prevalence of the actual parasite in certain areas.

Although no external regulatory body has looked into the safety of these products in any real way, our authorities assure us the data arising from the in-house safety trials conducted by the manufacturers themselves is more than adequate.

While this drug is PERFECTLY SAFE folks please wear gloves during application onto your child and dispose of the container safely. Studies show the chemical will remain in and on their skin for weeks so please keep them out of water sources where they are found to be polluting rivers, streams and lakes. Do not touch your child in the application area with your bare hands and always wash your hands thoroughly after interacting with them for the duration on the month (when you will put on another dose).

The producer’s in-house trials indicate that not only are these chemicals highly effective, Parallax is NO MORE HARMFUL than those given to dogs. In this respect, on the pet product side, only 1 in 125 babies are expected to experience mild side effects, which the manufacturer states may include “skin irritation, hyperactivity, listlessness, vomiting, depression” .

Better news still, the manufacturers assure us only 1 in 10,000 babies will have convulsions after use and in terms of death, luckily less than 1 in 50,000 doses kills (figures based on the European Medicines Agency report on Bravecto for dogs, where 17mil doses given in EU resulted in 342 “reported” deaths, which it states is within “acceptable safety parameters” ).

Thus, looking at just Europe alone (500mil people), Parallax will only result in 50,000 convulsing children and kill no more than 10,000 of them each year.

If you are Concerned for Ticks on Dogs, Check out This Article for Natural Preventative Tips…

The only pet owners that should ever going with such chemicals are those in a high-risk area for Lyme disease. The problem is I’m not sure I’d trust my vet to give an accurate answer to this question, though you will find the info online, likely from a government source. However, if it was my dog, and to be clear I am worried about ticks on dogs having encountered Lyme disease first hand, I highly recommend you consider the advice in our article “Ticks on Dogs: Be Wary, Groom Regularly, Prevent Naturally“. You and your vet can take it from there.