Heartworms are parasites that look very much like thin spaghetti that live in the right ventricle of the heart and blood vessels of dogs. They are transmitted from one animal to another by mosquitoes. If not treated, the heartworms will eventually prove fatal to the animal.

Traditional heartworm treatments can be very harsh on your companion animal, as well as very costly.

Natural heartworm remedies are cheaper than traditional treatments received at the vetenarians office, and much gentler. Natural heartworm treatment is especially helpful for animals that may be too old, fragile or sick to undergo the vet treatment.

The treatment I used for our black Lab, 'Black Dog' was called 'Bandits Heartworm Treament and it used Nature's Sunshine products. You can read Black Dog's story further down the page, but this is what I gave him:

Artemisia Combination - Upon waking and nightly before bed, on an empty stomach.
Co-Q10 and HSII - with AM and PM meals.
Black Walnut - with his evening meal.
Yucca - was used as needed for coughing. It started helping Black Dog immediately when I started him on it. Yucca is considered an herbal coritsone.

Here are the dosages you can use:
Weight 10-30 lbs

2 Artemisia capsules given at night before bed and upon waking in the morning on an empty stomach

1/2 COQ10 softgel capsule mixed with food at the a.m. meal (it's easy to pierce the softgel capsule and dispense half the amount)

1-2 HSII capsules mixed with food at a.m. and p.m. meals * (adjust accordingly depending on if your dog is at the lower end of the scale or higher end)

1/4 capsule Black Walnut capsules mixed with food once per day,br 5 days per week

Weight 31-75 lbs

3 Artemisia capsules given at night before bed and upon waking in the morning on an empty stomach

1 COQ10 softgel capsule mixed with food at the a.m. meal

2 HSII capsules mixed with food at a.m. and p.m. meals

1/2 capsule Black Walnut capsules mixed with food once per day 5 days per week

Prevention dosages are as follows:

Under 5 lbs - 1/4 capsule Artemisia and a sprinkle of Black Walnut capsule [equivalent to an eighth of the capsule]

5-10 lbs - 1/2 to one capsule Artemisia and a 1/4 of Black Walnut capsule

11-25 lbs - 2 capsules Artemisia and 1/4 capsule Black Walnut

26-50 lbs - 2-3 capsules Artemisia and 1/2 capsule Black Walnut

51 lbs and over - 3 capsules Artemisia and 1/2 capsule Black Walnut

Artemisia Combination contains two species of artemisia: wormwood and mugwort. These herbs contribute to a friendly environment for intestinal flora. Add to them elecampane root, clove flower buds, garlic bulb root, ginger root, spearmint herb and turmeric root, and you have a more powerful product. Artemisia is used for it's antiparasitic qualities and supports the body in creating an unfavorable environment for parasites.

Black Walnut is an astringent because it is rich in tannin, a toning substance. Black walnut's fame in folk medicine is due to its cleansing properties. Black Walnut is famous for it's cleansing properties and has been used to support the body's defenses against parasites.

Co-Q10 is known to regulate the use of oxygen in the body. Numerous studies suggest that Co-Q10 may be beneficial in supporting the cardiovascular system. Some studies have reported Co-Q10’s ability to support cardiovascular functions. When free radicals are present, CoQ10 destroys them and makes more oxygen available to the system for healing. Co-Q10 works as an antioxidant, protecting lipids and other cell components from oxidation. It is a particularly promising cardioprotective agent. When cells age, mitochondrial Co-Q10 levels decrease. But dietary supplementation has been shown to help maintain energy production and aid in cardiovascular function. Supplementation with this coenzyme has been shown to maintain mitochondrial and cardiac functions , and support recovery after stress and surgery. As an antioxidant, Co-Q10 scavenges free radicals, protects cardiac cells, prevents lipid oxidation and promotes the regeneration of vitamin E, another antioxidant.

HS II is a combination designed for support to the circulatory system, containing: hawthorn berries, capsicum and garlic. Hawthorn berries is used to strengthen and tone the heart, feed the adrenals, cleanse arteries, and has been known to balance blood pressure. Capsicum has long been used as a way to boost circulation and cleanse the body. Recent studies have shown garlic to be of benefit to the digestive, circulatory and immune systems.

Yucca contains large amounts of the steroid saponin. This makes it a popular remedy for inflammation. Yucca is high in vitamins A, B, and C, and contains potassium, calcium, phosphorus, iron, manganese and copper which make it very soothing to the intestinal tract

All of these herbal supplements are from Nature's Sunshine. I feel they have some of the highest quality supplements on the market. You can purchase the products at retail price or if you are interested in saving between 35% - 40% on your products, just order a minimum of $40.00 at ‘Member Price’. Memberhship is free with a $40.00 order and besides getting your supplements at wholesale price for yourself, you will also be able to sell to others and make some money, if you are interesed. If you decide to order, I would appreciate it if you order under my name Lynn Williams and number 2690367 so I get credit for it. Thanks and here is my 'Black Dog's story if you would like to read about him:

Shortly after rescuing ‘Black Dog,our black Lab, from being turned over to the humane society, he was diagnosed with heartworms. Knowing how dangerous the disease and the traditional medical treatment can be, my husband and I were hard pressed to decide how to proceed to help our dear friend who we had grown to love so quickly. As time went on, Black Dog developed a severe cough and I noticed his breathing was becoming more and more labored. I heard about an herbal treatment that sounded very promising. In March 2003 I started my ‘Black Dog’ on this treatment and also began giving him Reiki treatments (which he seemed to be asking me for when I was doing self-treatments on myself).

Within in a couple of weeks his cough disappeared. In about one month, his energy level went clear to the sky! He would no longer even sit still to receive Reiki so I discontinued hands on treatments and starting sending him distance treatments weekly. I had a hard time keeping him quiet, but I did the best I could; as I was worried about his heart due to the heartworms. By December he started refusing his morning and evening pills. I found this strange as he had never hestitated taking them before, so I wondered if he perhaps intuitively knew that he no longer needed them, so I took him to the vet in January 2004 and he tested Heartworm Negative!!!

The vet was amazed but said unfortunately she was unable to recommend the herbal treatment to her clients, as it wasn’t an accepted safe treatment.