FRONTLINE Spot On Flea & Tick Treatment Dogs & Cats

FRONTLINE Spot On Flea Treatment

The introduction of Frontline revolutionised the treatment of fleas and ticks on dogs and cats in this country and much of the world. It was originally only available as a spray. When a spot-on formulation came out, this just about swept away every other flea treatment on the market at that time. Since then many 'copy' type products have come onto the market. Some are inferior, some contain the exact same ingredient and can be presumed to be similar both in terms of safety and efficacy. Frontline is also available as a spray. In some circumstances this can be the best form of treatment, but it is more difficult to apply and is not available without prescription.

How does it work?

Frontline Spot-on is supplied in small plastic pipettes. A pipette is opened and the contents are tipped onto the dog or cat's skin at the top of the neck. From here the active ingredient (fipronil) spreads over the surface of the skin and binds to the surface of the skin and hair. Almost none of the drug is absorbed into the body, making it very safe to use. Within about 24 hours it will have spread over the entire body surface, killing fleas wherever they are. Because it binds to the surface it is alright to shampoo an animal, or for it to go swimming, and Frontline will still work. However this should not happen within the first 2 days, and then not more often than once per week, or the duration of effect might be reduced. Normally Frontline lasts for about a month on cats, and two months on dogs. After this length of time much of the treated skin/hair will have been shed and another dose has to be applied.

How effective is it?

Fleas which come into contact with Frontline will die after about 24 hours. This appears to be a reliable and consistent fact. Any fleas living on an animal will be dead within two days of Frontline being applied. However it is important to know that fleas spend much of their life not on the animal at all. This means that treating your cat or dog will not get rid of all the fleas. Many will be living in the pet's bedding, in carpets, or in any nooks and crannies they can find. Female fleas lay eggs as they wander through the fur. These eggs drop to the ground where they hatch and develop. This can happen very quickly in warm, muggy weather. But if it is cold (or very dry), they can remain dormant for a long time, becoming active when it warms up. These new fleas will jump onto your pets (or sometimes even you) when they develop. This is why people often discover a flea problem when they switch the central heating on in late autumn. Dormant fleas (in the form of pupae) are stimulated into activity by the warmth. Therefore if you are aware of fleas on your pets, you can be pretty sure that you are seeing a small fraction of the total population. (It is often claimed that there will be up to 100 fleas living in the environment of our pets, for every one found on a pet!) Therefore if fleas are being seen, it is very important to treat the whole house with an insecticide, to vacuum carpets frequently, and to wash any bedding if possible. If you are not seeing fleas, and are using Frontline as a precaution, then this is less important. The environmental infestation will not occur if your pets are treated with Frontline all the time. But if you let the fleas get a 'head start', then just treating the pets will be a slow way of getting rid of the entire flea population. As soon as you see fleas, it normally means there are lots, and you need to treat the house as well as the pets to get rid of them. If there is a very heavy flea burden in the environment before you start treating your pets, it can take quite a while to get rid of them all, even with a product as effective as Frontline. This does not mean there is any resistance developing, which seems not to be the case. It is just a feature of flea populations. It is always best to treat as a preventative, rather than waiting for a real problem to develop.

Does Frontline have any side effects?

Frontline is extremely safe when used on cats and dogs in the recommended way. Very little of the drug is absorbed into the body at all. Occasionally there will be a localised skin reaction at the site of application. This is more commonly seen on cats and is usually a small patch of inflamed skin with some hair loss. It normally clears up without treatment after a few weeks, but if this does occur, it might be best to avoid using Frontline Spot-on in future. There is some evidence that Frontline can be dangerous to rabbits, so avoid using Frontline on them.

The difference between FRONTLINE Spot On & FRONTLINE Combo?

• Frontline Spot On
  • This contains one ingredient.
  • It coats the skin and hair after being applied and kills off fleas.
  • It persists on the coat even if the animal swims or is shampooed, as long as there is at least a 24 hour gap before and after applying the Frontline.
• Frontline Combo (Prescription required)
  • This contains 2 ingredients.
  • The first one is exactly the same as in normal Spot-on.
  • The second one also coats the skin and coat, but does not kill fleas at all. Instead it sterilises fleas, so that they cannot breed.
  • The idea of it is that it persists longer on the coat than the killing ingredient.
  • Hence if people do not re-apply the frontline as often as they should, then the killing ingredient will no longer be effective (especially on animals at the top of the weight range of the product used). The other ingredient works for about twice as long as the main ingredient. The idea behind this is that if fleas cannot breed, you only get very small numbers of them and they are unlikely to be noticed or do any harm.