Adverse Reaction to Promeris (Flea Control) - Page 1

I purchased Promeris for my 7year old Lab in June 08.  I have used Frontline in the past with no problems.  My husband applied this product as directed.  My dog is not into licking his coat so I am sure he did not ingest it orally.

Day 1-  Vomiting after meals, tired

Day 2- Still vomiting and very  tired.  Now extremely thirsty and dry flakey skin on his back

On day 2, which is today,  I took him to the vets.  At first we did not realize it was related to the Promeris, the vet ordered xrays, blood work, and requested that we have him stay so they could administer an iv, and at this point we don't know what the outcome will be. 

This afternoon, while speaking with my husband, we began talking about the fact that the dog got sick after he applied the Promeris.  We called the vet immediately, the vet told me that they were hearing about problems with this product.

While online tonight, I was shocked to hear that other dogs had very similar symptoms to mine after using the Promeris product. 

I will never use this product again!!  From this point forward, I will always check out any drug that my family and pets will be taking!!  The internet is a great thing, now we can all be informed!

 

 

I rescued a German Shepard 8 years ago.  At best guess he was about 8-9 months old when he was found at an abandoned house.  The same day I took him to the vet to get checked.  He was perfectly healthy and happy.  We also applied Frontline the same day.  Within 24 hours his back was red and so irritated that he would snap at you if you touched him.  Back to the vet- they gave him a cortisone shot and said he must be irritated from flea bites.  A few days later my dog had large spots of missing fur and flesh!!!!! YES THE FLESH WAS PEELING OFF HIS BACK!!!  We took him back to the vet.  3 days later.... This vet indicated it must have been something prior to my attaining him because there was no way this could be FRONTLINE but it appeared to be a chemical type burn.  At the vet they had to remove more flesh and shave his  back.  The worse spot was burned down to the muscle.  They though he was going to have to have skin grafts.  His back from his neck to tail was a raw meaty slab!  $2,000 later he was healing.   He couldn't even stay outside because of risk of infection or maggots. 
Today he is perfectly healthy with a scar all the way down his back. Most all of his hair grew back, but can be sensitive to the sun and heat during the summer. 
I have never given him Frontline or any other of the similar type flea medicines.  I have a hard time believing the reaction he had was from anything other than Frontline.  I have also since switched vets.  She even indicated that she has heard and seen several adverse reactions from "these type products" .  She agreed that we should not risk giving him a product like that again in case he is sensitive to it. 
These are poisonous products.  Please be careful what you use on your animal!

you might be interested in this:
http://greenerchoices.org/products.cfm?product=fleaandtick&pcat=homegarden

Flea & tick control products raise health concerns

Certain products used to control fleas and ticks are raising hairs. In April 2009, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued an advisory after an increase in the number of reported health incidents in pets treated with some flea and tick control products.

Following the EPA advisory, in an unrelated effort, the nonprofit Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) filed a lawsuit in California against major pet product retailers and manufacturers for allegedly failing to use warning labels on flea and tick control products that contain a chemical linked to cancer.

EPA URGES PRECAUTION WHEN USING SPOT-ON FLEA & TICK PRODUCTS

The EPA is advising consumers who use specific types of flea and tick control products on their pets to take precautions. The advisory applies to nearly 70 “spot-on” products that contain registered-pesticides; spot-on products generally come in tubes or vials and are directly applied to specific areas of the pet’s body to control fleas and ticks, as opposed to other control products, such as flea collars. In 2008, about 1,300 major or fatal pet incidents linked to spot-on products were recorded in the EPA’s Office of Pesticide Programs database. Adverse reactions ranged from skin irritation to seizures, and in some cases death.

The EPA’s advice to consumers who use spot-on flea and tick products includes carefully following label instructions and closely monitoring pets for any signs of adverse reactions after use, particularly when using a product for the first time. The agency also suggests consulting a veterinarian about the responsible and effective use of flea and tick products.

While other flea and tick products, such as sprays, collars, and shampoos have also reportedly caused health effects in pets, the EPA says most incidents have been associated with spot-on products. At the same time, the agency says many flea and tick products are used without harmful effects and notes their importance as part of effective flea and tick control.

Meanwhile, Health Canada, a Canadian government agency, has noticed similar problems with spot-on products. Both the EPA and Health Canada are intensifying their evaluation of those products and working with spot-on product manufacturers to address the issue, including whether further restrictions are necessary.

LAWSUIT PINPOINTS CHEMICAL IN FLEA & TICK PRODUCTS

On the heels of the EPA advisory, NRDC filed a lawsuit in California against major pet product retailers and manufacturers that sell flea and tick control products. The suit alleges the companies, including PetSmart, PETCO, and PetStore.com, are illegally selling flea and tick collars (and potentially other products) with propoxur, a chemical on California’s Proposition 65 list because it’s known to the state of California to cause cancer, without the proper warning labels required by the state.

NRDC is also petitioning the EPA to ban all “pet uses” of propoxur and another chemical, tetrachlorvinphos (TCVP), which is considered to be a likely carcinogen by the EPA.

Get the full list of spot-on products under evaluation and other advice from the EPA on taking care of fleas and ticks. The NRDC has also published a pocket guide to flea and tick treatments, which provides the group’s assessment of chemicals used in pet pest control products.

it doesn't come through as a link but at the bottom of the above article is a link to a full list of "spot-on" flea & tick products. copy and paste this link to get to the article http://greenerchoices.org/products.cfm?product=fleaandtick&pcat=homegarden
here's the top part of that pdf file linked at the bottom of the article:

US Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Pesticide Programs
Listing of EPA-registered Spot-on
Flea and Tick Products
May 15, 2009

All Spot-On Flea and Tick Pet Products
Note to consumers:
The list of names of spot-on products that follows is as complete as possible at the time of publication.
Because flea and tick control products may be marketed under different names and by different companies, the list below may not reflect recent changes to product names.
The best way to identify a product is to use the EPA Registration Number (Reg. No.) that appears on label. This unique identification number must appear on every EPA-registered product.
Consumers are urged to use the EPA Registration Number to accurately identify products. Registration numbers are provided below in the right-hand column.
Please note that the EPA Reg. No. on a product package may appear as a 2-part number, such as 1234-56 or a 3-part number, such as 1234-56-78910. 3-part numbers represent distributor products, and the last number in the sequence reflects the distributor company. In the case of distributor product

they list promeris:

Fort Dodge Animal Health
Promeris Spot On for Dogs
Promeris for Dogs
80490-2

i'm so sorry about your dog and i hope he makes a full recovery
hth,
susan

I had no idea Fronline could do such horrible things to a dog! What an absolute horror!

I've never used anything like Frontline or the others. Heard too many horror stories about that stuff.  Pesticides applied on the skin are absorbed into the body, and I wonder how much of this is leading to the higher incidences of cancers, allergies, and other health problems.  Pennyroyal oil was suggested by KrazyboutK9s, and Tea tree oil is good, too.  Get the best quality that you can.  Also keeping the dog in the best possible health can help keep fleas off.

I don't use flea collars, or topical flea treatments because I don't want their side effects.  Too many dogs are sensitive to the chemicals.

Crys