By Dr. Jillian D. Smith, MDThe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has a new guide for families seeking to protect and care for their children.
The new guide, released on Tuesday, is the first step in a campaign to encourage families to make more informed decisions about whether to use medications for heartworm treatment.
The new CDC document is designed to help families identify what medications to consider if they have children with the disease, as well as how the medications affect their children’s health.
A guide is a step in the right direction, says Dr. Michelle E. Jones, a pediatrician and vice president of medical affairs for the American Heart Association.
But she says the new guidelines can be more powerful if parents are more aware of the medications they’re taking.
“There’s not a lot of information about heartworm drugs,” she says.
“You have to be a bit more open to it.”
The guidelines were created by the Centers for Children and Families, which advises the public on health risks and treatments for heartworms, but the guidelines are not yet available online.
Parents and healthcare providers can find out if a drug is available through the Food and Drug Administration.
To find out how to use the medication chart, families can look for an information card in the pharmacy.
Some medications, like the antiparasitic drug amantadine, are covered by the Affordable Care Act, which is also called Obamacare.
For the more specific advice on medications, families should call the National Center for Children’s Health and Development, which helps families find out about free tests, free consultations and referrals.
You can also find out what the CDC considers the most important medications to take, and whether it is covered under the ACA.