Homeopathic practice for pets is a form of alternative veterinary medicine. This treatment of pets is considered "animal healing." Homeopathic "people" cures for various chronic diseases can also apply to their pets.
In a book on the topic, Homeopathic Care for Cats and Dogs, author Don Hamilton and his colleagues refer to pets as "companion" animals. They practice this form of animal care because, like animal lovers everywhere, they believe that animals have an emotional and soul aspect that are as devastated by maladies as their human counterparts. Animals have "...rights separate from their ability to benefit humans."
The long history of homeopathic medicine and practice, both human and animal, flourished in the late 1800s and has been quietly available for application ever since. Many homeopathic pet clients turn to homeopathy as a "last hope" and "...would not be at the doorstep of a different kind of vet if they had not already tried everything that conventional medicine could offer." The list of maladies includes many extreme problems, but among the more common pet ailments treated with homeopathic care are skin diseases, ear problems including mites, ringworm, bloat and vomiting, conjunctivitis, cystitis, degenerative myelopathy, sneezing and nasal discharge, abscesses, and cuts and lacerations, etc.
What is Homeopathy?
Allopathic medicine is treatment of disease by agents that produce effects different from the symptoms, and homeopathy is based on the Law of Similars in which the appropriate medicine for an illness is the one that creates the same "symptom picture" as the natural disease. A simillimum "...reinforces the body in its direction of healing." It's the body's reaction, not the remedy, that causes a cure. As in allopathic medicine, an illness may require more than one homeopathic remedy.
Extreme examples of allopathic remedies are the use of aspirin to treat a fever or prednisone to treat chronic skin irritation. It reduces discomfort and removes the immediate danger without treating the actual illness. An equally extreme but familiar example of a homeopathic simillimum is the use of nitroglycerin or glyceryl trinitrate to treat a heart attack. Converted to nitric oxide in the blood, it functions as a venous dilator, providing immediate relief from chest pain and elevated blood pressure.
Homeopathic remedies do not merely mask or suppress symptoms as a means to relief, but work to bring about a cure from the inside out. But note that while there are often dramatic changes in outward symptoms with homeopathy, the actual cure is not necessarily the quick fix that many seek.
Homeopathic care takes observation and patience. Symptoms change as the illness works its way out of the system, sometimes appearing to worsen. Hamilton recommends against treating a companion animal with serious and chronic disease using homeopathy without the participation of a licensed veterinarian.
How are Homoepathic Remedies Prepared?
Like many conventional medicines, homeopathic remedies come from plant and other natural sources. Chamomilla and calendula are a couple of examples of plant sources. Others are chemical or mineral in nature, as in hepar sulphate, or ferrum phosphoricum.
The similarities end with the process of potentiation through dilution and succussion. In these processes, the primary effect of the simillimum which is similar to the disease, will be diminished, while the secondary effect of the simillimum which is the body's effort to rid itself of disease, will grow.
C potencies are diluted by a factor of one hundred, while X potencies are diluted by a factor of ten. One part to ninety-nine parts equals a 1C potency. One part of 1C potency to ninety-nine parts of liquid (water/alcohol) equals a 2C potency, and so on. So a 3C potency has a 1/1,000,000 of the original dilution.
The potentiation happens with shaking or succussion between each dilution. The more a medicine is diluted, the more powerful it becomes. Most homeopathic remedies use dilutions up to 10,000C. X potencies are not as strong as C potencies and are rarely used above 200X.
The remedies often come in the form of pills or pellets, require minimal handling, and are usually dissolved under the tongue. A liquid form is easily administered to pets as drops directly into the mouth after first preparing them with reassurance, and a few minutes of calming interaction.
How are Homeopathic Remedies Prescribed?
Hamilton writes, "Each individual's disease expresses uniquely...although common symptoms may exist among different individuals." It is one thing if a pet has nasal discharge, it is another if it suddenly wants to be alone, sleep on its right side, or is irritable with its symptoms. There would be a different remedy with each of these cases.
Homeopathic reference books are used for recognizing symptoms and helping with selecting remedies. The diagnosis is individual to the pet's personality and are reliant on observations to match remedies with "symptom pictures." It is helpful to keep notes of physical symptoms and demeanor, and any changes. Hamilton summarizes, "It is not necessary that the individual have all the symptoms of the remedy, but it is essential that the remedy have all the primary symptoms of the individual."
Sources
Hamilton, Don, Homeopathic Care for Cats and Dogs: Small Doses for Small Animals, North Atlantic Books, Berkeley, California, 1999.
wikidoc.org (accessed July 24, 2010)
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