Nurse clinics, flea and wormer advice

Re: Nurse clinics, flea and wormer advice

SmegSlayer — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 14:20:26 GMT

on another note- are there any household flea sprays that are non-pesticide? I have a client who is adverse to using RIP/Indorex etc due to the chemicals as has young children and asthma...

It took me about 15mins to convince him that there would be a flea problem in the whole house not just in the drawer the cat sleeps in where they found flea larvae.

Re: Nurse clinics, flea and wormer advice

Michelle Jones — Fri, 21 Sep 2012 10:10:46 GMT

sorry to hijack this thread but at Norbrook we've recently produced some literature on safe flea treatments, in conjunction with our Pestigon spot on launch, which covers the dangers of Permethrin poisoning (common when Bob Martin dog products are accidently applied to cats), the issues with buying online (how to determine what is a reputable website/ issues with counterfeit products) and encourgaing a complete flea prevention program through use of spot ons and sprays to eradicate the whole flea problem.

These leaflets are to help you and the vets encourage customers to visit their vet for flea treatment, promoting the advice and support a vet practice can give over supermarkets, online, etc.

These are available from any norbrook rep and the copy from the brochure can be found on our website at http://www.norbrook.com/pets-health/articles

Hope this is of interest.

Thanks

Michelle

Re: Nurse clinics, flea and wormer advice

FINNIGAN — Thu, 20 Sep 2012 21:23:22 GMT

weve seen the worst year so far this year for flea probs, loads of clients having megga probs, f/ line not seem to be working i have used myself for my cat but didnt work at all, sprayed the house twice with acclaim found that not to work either, changed to advocate and bought raid for fleas (house spray) it killed them all dead!!

as for bob martin, im afraid i wouldnt touch the stuff, we have had 3 cases so far with cats being treated with bob martins spot on, and have reacted seriously with this, one cat dying the others being admitted, fluids etc, contacted bob martin and saw on website loads of complaints re this product but they dont seem too bothered!!!

Re: Nurse clinics, flea and wormer advice

Jill Macdonald — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 11:04:55 GMT

Yep, those clients who have pets crawling with fleas and have never been seen by the vet are the biggest challenge - had one the other day! They also like to stand at the reception desk and put down the entire vet profession by saying we're a rip-off and we just 'want to see their animals so that we can charge a consult fee'! Hmm.. They are also the ones that really do need seeing as it is likely that they will have concurrent issues (like FAD!), and are also the most likely to give backlash if anything goes wrong.

It's a tricky one to handle... Maybe the best approach is 'you are welcome to go and buy something from the supermarket, and we'll see you in about 2 weeks when it hasn't worked or your animal has an adverse reaction..' ?!

Re: Nurse clinics, flea and wormer advice

Beholden — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 01:42:23 GMT

Our clients who use over-the-counter products, tend to get them from the supermarket, rather then the net. I actually just had my first request this week from a client wanting a printed prescription to buy them cheaper off the web.

In most cases they simply don't work, and we've had more then a few adverse reactions. In one particular case, bad reaction, cat still crawling with fleas, wanted to use frontline at a later date, contacted merial, who wanted to know the active ingredient ... scoured the web ... no details on the product whatsoever ... it literally said 'flea treatment' on the packet and a picture of a dog, there was also no identifying labeling on the actual pipette, which is so dangerous, since it came in a cat version too.

I usually tell clients my experience ^ a) doesn't work or b)may cause a reaction c) mention that its a pesticide and OTC types not as well regulated.

I tell them that while reactions can still occur with prescription products, its much less common, and they will have more support from us, and the company. They usually decide its worth the extra 2.50 (as thats all the difference is, frontline being our cheapest product, and supermarket treatments costing about 4quid.)

The biggest problem we have, is the dispensing laws... most of these supermarket buyers, wouldn't be regular clients, we often haven't seen the pet in a year, of these clients who decide that yes, they want the prescription product, about 50% will then bring the pet in (to be weighed and briefly checked to satisfy the law) and the rest, having gotten so far in making 'the right choice' ;-) will then abandon it. Mostly cat owners, who can't easily get them into carriers etc

Indorex is an easy sell, seems to work pretty well, and I'll mention it, to bring them on that bit more, as there is nothing in the supermarket that compares.

Re: Nurse clinics, flea and wormer advice

Steph Worsley — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 22:05:10 GMT

[quote user="Mark Hedberg"]

Yes; I've had frontline troubles before. And yes, don't get me started on Bob Martin. :p

Suggestion: say "prescription strength" instead of "prescription only" - the first one tells you a reason to get your product; prescription only just says it's exclusive without saying why.

[/quote]

Ah but Mark haven't you seen curanail adverts....."prescription strength treatment without the need for a prescription" so you'll still get people asking why they have to get it from you!!

Re: Nurse clinics, flea and wormer advice

Kayleigh Schofield — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 21:21:03 GMT

Frontline may not be working as well as it should as merial have brought out a new product 'certifect'. It's all singing all dancing.. Kills ticks within 2 hours of application and also eliminates fleas aswell. We seem to be going through a lot of RIP fleas. A lot of clients say they have used bob martins treatment!!!

Re: Nurse clinics, flea and wormer advice

Dove — Sat, 15 Sep 2012 23:59:07 GMT

Thanks for all your advice.

I think some clients just think that we are going to be so expensive that they don't consider trying us first.

Re: Nurse clinics, flea and wormer advice

Helen Tottey — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 17:59:43 GMT

i show people the pupae picture and that only way to kill them is MONTHLY treatment. we have a plan at the practice that spreads cost of Advocate an booster over year and this helps clients realise we can be economical for them at the same time of product actually working!

Re: Nurse clinics, flea and wormer advice

Anonymous — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 20:40:14 GMT

Fontline prob in our area as well. Just does not seem to work anymore

Re: Nurse clinics, flea and wormer advice

Selena Carnell — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 20:10:25 GMT

Lots of frontline not working complaints. Even with staff pets and house treated with indorex or rip fleas.

Re: Nurse clinics, flea and wormer advice

Jill Macdonald — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 13:21:05 GMT

Shelly raised a good point about safety of the products we prescribe. I think it's also good to point out that the products we prescribe come with the support and backup of the practice - in their use, and with any comeback if there is a problem..

Also, most of the non-prescription flea products don't contain an environmental control (IGRs), and I think this is why a lot of them are ineffective. It only takes an animal to have a few fleas lay a few eggs around the house, and for there to be no environmental control, for the problem to explode!

Advocate has the clear advantage of efficacy against lungworm, and I'd guess is most practice's 'gold standard' now, but the cost can be prohibitive for a lot of clients. It's a good idea to introduce them gradually - so with puppies and kittens, get them in for a monthly check-up with the nurse, and dispense 1 pipette each time - this gets them on board with using that product so they are more likely to continue to use it than switch to something cheaper.

Re: Nurse clinics, flea and wormer advice

shelly jefferies — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 12:23:31 GMT

It is very difficult at the moment given the econominc climate i normally say to people who ask advice about purchasing non prescription products that most people still end up coming back and buying a product which is prescription as they find the supermarket bob martin types ineffective and then they have to pay out twice. if asked why not working i advise the supermarket stuff isnt tested to ensure effective or SAFE. If they enquire about buying the prescription products online i advise they can do this and we can provide them with a prescription for six months supply but that we do charge for the prescription.

with regards to frontline not being as effective we are having loads of people that have being using frontline for ages and it is not working any more.

We recommend advocate and milbemax or alot of our clients use advantix as tick problem round here.

Re: Nurse clinics, flea and wormer advice

Mark Hedberg — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 08:46:40 GMT

Yes; I've had frontline troubles before. And yes, don't get me started on Bob Martin. :p

Suggestion: say "prescription strength" instead of "prescription only" - the first one tells you a reason to get your product; prescription only just says it's exclusive without saying why.

Re: Nurse clinics, flea and wormer advice

Katie Mansfield — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 07:49:07 GMT

I'm in Essex and this year seems to have been particularly bad for fleas. Animals with a regular monthly Frontline program are presenting crawling with them. Has anyone else noticed this?

K x

Re: Nurse clinics, flea and wormer advice

Charmaloo88 — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 06:52:22 GMT

Depends on your practice protocol really, we're in a lungworm area so I tell clients our gold standard is Advocate and Milbemax for dogs, Stronghold/Advocate and Profender/Milbemax for cats. I find the cheaper products like Frontline to be less effective because they've been around longer and fleas are building up resistance! Remember you can only advise, not push them to do something they don't want to and spend money they don't have. But if your clients value your opinion they will listen to you.