What exactly is veterinary homeopathy? Well, it’s a type of veterinary medicine that stimulates the immune system and provides natural resistance to disease.
According to the FreeDictionary, Veterinary Homeopathy is defined as “A system for treating disease based on the administration of minute doses of a drug that in massive amounts produces symptoms in healthy individuals similar to those of the disease itself.”
Homeopathic remedies are diluted to produce different strengths and benefits. Specifically, the goal is to restore balance in the body by removing the energies that are blocking the body’s pathways and causing illness (Gerwitz). Veterinary homeopathy is often used to treat chronic diseases in pets. For example, according to the Academy of Veterinary Homeopathy, the following chronic diseases have been treated using homeopathic medicine and have produced successful results:
Skin Allergies, Ear Infections, Thyroid Disease, Epilepsy, Asthma, Diabetes, and Inflammatory Bowel Disease
However, homeopathy isn’t widely accepted in the veterinary community (MercolaPets). Some veterinarians feel that it is a complete waste of time while others become interested and pursue veterinary homeopathy fully. Because veterinary homeopathy isn’t mainstream, I have very little experience with the topic. Regarding the general concept of Eastern Medicine, I have been exposed to acupuncture, Chinese herbs, and the concept of energies. However, homeopathy never made it to the clinics or hospitals where I worked. My lack of personal experience doesn’t mean I am opposed or closed off to the idea. However, below are a few things to consider if you want to pursue homeopathic treatment options.
- Is Your Homeopathic Veterinarian Fully Invested?: If you are thinking about pursuing veterinary homeopathy as a treatment alternative, I highly recommend consulting with a veterinarian who has a strong background and belief in veterinary homeopathy. Because the concept is complex and based on the natural healing abilities of the body, I believe it’s important that any homeopathic veterinarian fully buys into the concept.
- Get Second Opinions: Because this style of treatment is new and controversial, feel free to get other opinions. While medicine and textbooks can provide us with tons of information, experience can provide us with other valuable lessons. For example, the question, “can veterinary homeopathy help my dog’s arthritis?”, is not specific enough. How old is your pet? Where is the arthritis? How long have they had it? Canine and feline anatomy are too complex to say that there is a one-size-fits-all solution to every ailment. Every veterinarian may approach your pet’s illness differently so feel free to ask lots of questions and benefit from each veterinarian’s personal experience.
- Don’t Branch Off On Your Own: While I am all for an empowered pet parent, I don’t think it’s wise to decide to treat your pet on your own. Despite my experience in the field, I wouldn’t do that, so I don’t encourage others to either. Veterinarians are highly educated and knowledgeable. If you haven’t found a veterinarian you can trust, I suggest looking for a new one. It is imperative that you trust your veterinarian enough not to branch out on your own when it comes to treatment. If you really want to pursue veterinary homeopathy and your current veterinarian doesn’t have the credentials, ask them for a referral to a homeopathic vet. Also, be sure that the lines of communication are open between your primary veterinarian and your homeopathic veterinarian to ensure your pet’s medical record is up to date at both practices.
- Keep Researching: Homeopathy is an evolving topic. As time goes on, there will be more research and more information. If this is something you want to pursue for your pets eventually, but today is not the day, keep researching! However, be wary of where you get your information. I highly recommend reading from peer-reviewed journals.
9 Things to Look for in a New Veterinarian
Homeopathy does provide some benefits versus other medicines. For example, the treatment is considered noninvasive, and each treatment is individualized (Gerwitz). If you are truly interested in consulting with a homeopathic veterinarian, I highly recommend you watch this video interview with Dr. Karen Becker and Dr. Richard Pitcairn to learn more:
My answer to the question, “Will this work for my pet?” is “it depends”. However, if your pet suffers from a chronic disease or condition and you feel that this is the next step to take for your pet, please read Carol from Fidose of Reality’s Mom Perspective to learn what you should do as a pet parent.
M. K. Clinton
December 15, 2015 at 1:17 pmI try to use homeopathic remedies for my boys as often as possible.
M. K. Clinton recently posted…Je T’aime Le Dogue Bites #DrHarvey
Rachel
December 16, 2015 at 4:18 pmThat is awesome! Do you use anything for Bentley’s ears? I know that ears can be a specific challenge for Basset Hounds.
dave
December 18, 2015 at 7:02 amThis is really quite poor. Granted you seem to be advising “proceed with caution” however there’s not a shred of quality, scientific evidence to suggest it could work for any disease or medical condition.
It might be pertinent to learn what homeopathy actually is (i.e. simply sugar and/or water) from a source such as this: http://www.1023.org.uk/what-is-homeopathy.php to understand the unlikelihood of it ever working irregardless of future research.
Some vets do not have just the interest of the animals’ welfare at heart; if they can make extra money from their customers by selling snake oil, they’ll do that too!