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Use of Homeopathy in Everyday Practice
The following conditions are those that I have personally
known to respond to carefully selected homeopathic remedies.
I include this page not to make any claims (see below),
but in response to referring vets who often ask "What
sort of thing can homeopathy potentially treat?", or
"What can we use homeopathy for?".
The list below is by no means exhaustive, but I hope it
will give a flavor of the types of conditions that can often
be helped through the careful selection of the appropriate
remedy.
I always like to see animals that have had full diagnostic
workups, if possible. If I feel there is an area that has
not been covered in the workup, I will refer the case back
so that this area can be investigated by the primary vet.
There are cases that have had little or no diagnostics and
where owners are unwilling to go through with them, for
one reason or another. These cases I will treat, but only
where the owner states that they understand the details
of any diagnostic investigation and decide against that
avenue or where the animal cannot undergo the tests that
would be necessary to confirm a condition e.g. the very
old or in cases of other debility limiting diagnostic procedures.
As a rule of thumb, you can think of conventional medicine
as being quite good at coping with the clinical signs of
acute disease, but homeopathy being very good with chronic
disease.
Equine
Conditions
Skin
Rain Scald
Mud Fever
Sweet Itch
Cuts and bruises
Sarcoids
Dermatitis
Urticaria
Musculoskeletal
Bruising
Lameness of unknown origin (See Acupuncture in Practice)
Navicular Disease
Recurrent azoturia
Laminitis
Respiratory
COPD/
Chronic nasal discharges.
Some horses with Headshaking (HS) may respond, but HS is
a multifactorial disease and often these cases can be very
challenging.
Laryngitis
Chronic Cough
'Bleeders' - Exercise
Induced Pulmonary Haemorrhage
Cardiovascular
'Bleeders' - Excercise
Induced Pulmonary Haemorrhage
Some heart conditions
Recurrent dehydration
Chronic or recurrent haemorrhage
Chronic or recurrent oedema
Alimentary
Stomatitis (recurrent inflammation
in the mouth)
Teething in youngsters
Anorexia
Constipation
Diarrhoea - acute or chronic or induced by excitement
Liver disease
Ragwort poisoning.
Urinary
Cystitis
Haematuria (Blood in the urine)
Incontinence
Kidney disease
Reproductive System
Infertility
Cystic Ovaries
Persistent discharges
Abortion
Miscellaneous
Chronic Mastitis
Post Viral Fatigue Syndrome ('Equine ME')
Behavioural Problems
Aggression
Bereavement/ Pining
Fear
Timidity
Impatience/'Always rushes!'
Canine Conditions
Skin
Chronic pruritus (itch)
Hot spots
Scurf and scale
Most chronic conditions e.g. Pemphigus
Musculoskeletal
Cruciate Ligament Damage (in conjunction
with acupuncture)
Lameness of unknown origin
Bruising/Sprains
Arthritic and Rheumatic joints with or without bony exostoses
Growth abnormalities in pups
Respiratory
Chronic bronchitis
(eg Cough)
Kennel Cough
Cardiovascular
Hereditary or Acquired cardiac disease
Chronic Haemorrhage
Alimentary
Chronic or Recurrent Diarrhoea/Vomiting,
both or individually.
Liver disease
Food intolerances
Poor teeth
Fussy eaters
Urinary
Kidney disease
Incontinence
Recurrent Cystitis
Urolithiasis (Bladder stones)
Blood in the urine
Reproductive System
Infertility
Abortions
'Miscarriage'
Recurrent infections of the genital tract
Miscellaneous/Behavioural
Fear of: thunder, other dogs, leaving
the house, traffic etc.
Bereavement/ Pining
Aggression
Feline Conditions
Skin
Miliary Dermatitis
Alopecia (hair loss)
Flea allergy
Food Allergy
Musculoskeletal
Lameness of unknown origin (with Acupuncture)
Cruciate damage
Arthritic/Rheumatic problems
Respiratory
Feline Asthma
Chronic nasal discharges
Chronic Cat Flu
Chronic sneezing
Cardiovascular
Heart conditions
Chronic haemorrhages
Alimentary
Chronic Stomatitis
Poor teeth
Fussy eaters
Food intolerances
Chronic or Recurrent Diarrhoea/Vomiting, both or individually.
Liver disease
Weight loss
Urinary
Kidney disease
Incontinence
Recurrent Cystitis
Urolithiasis (Bladder stones)
Blood in the urine
Reproductive System
Infertility
Abortions
'Miscarriage'
Recurrent infections of the genital tract
Miscellaneous/Behavioural
Fears, Aggression, excessive timidity
Bereavement/ Pining
Suckling behaviour in adults cats
Pyrexia of unknown origin (persistent fever states)
Please note that I am not making the claim that I am able
to cure all these conditions all the time.
No system of medicine on earth could or should make such
statements.
A Case Study in Allergic Dermatitis
(Dust Mites, Storage Mites) in a young English Bull Terrier:
Taz Tails!
The delightfully happy, cheeky and confident Bully I have today is a far cry (or woof) from the miserable, unconfident slightly Autistic and itchy doglet that I originally presented to Mr Thompson.
My dear little Bully, I shall call her “Taz” owing to her Tasmanian Devil snorting moments that accompanies and objects to 1.the cushion being in the wrong place on the sofa or 2.the Bully Wall of Death around the room or 3. her fishy wiggles in the grass. Taz had a skin allergy that at first was seasonal but soon progressed to be a daily annoyance and worryingly affected her in all areas of her life. It started with a rash on her abdomen then pustular spots then progressed to intensely itchy legs, feet, eyes, ears and nose. If left unsupervised she would chew her pads raw and rub her nose persistently and was obsessed with licking and cleaning herself and became totally oblivious to anything else. She became very concerned and distressed with the smallest external change, e.g. if the car wasn’t parked in its usual place or if the tractor wasn’t where she last saw it or if it rained while I was driving the car when last time it didn’t. She would stare and or bark, rooted to the spot lost in her own world trying to understand why something had changed?
Modern Veterinary medicine at the dogospital provided various options that helped to stop the attacks of itching but I was concerned about the long term use of using such strong medication. Further Veterinary investigation by a doggy dermatologist, (yes they do exist), resulted in a proven allergy to Dust Mites, Storage Mites etc. Argh, not something easily removed from ones environment!! An individual Immunenotherapy was made-up for Taz and this involved giving her a monthly injection of the allergens she was allergic to in the hope that her body would begin to evolve it’s own it’s own anti-bodies, instead of the severe over reaction it was exhibiting. The Immunotherapy did work for a period of time but it’s effects decreased gradually, resulting in the original symptoms returning slowly at first and then with avengence. I stuck it out and also sought advice from a Bach Flower Remedy Practioner, who after a long chat prescribed a Remedy of 6 infusions which immediately made my Bully much calmer and less stressed and Autistic but she was still itchy. I was at the end of my proverbial tether and after almost a year, so was Taz.. I resulted to using Toweling socks and plastic bags to save her sore feet on daily walks and a Buster Collar to prevent chewing while I was out, but many socks and bags later I was in despair and getting funny looks at the shop where I was buying Triplet supplies of baby socks per week! Not comforted by my dogs attempts at self-strangulation a la Buster Collar 24 hours a day and her miserable demeanor, coupled with a return to Bully Autism ( I can assure you that it isn’t funny), I thought there must be an alternative? A further consultation with the doggy dermatologist raised my concerns further as the prescribed alternative to control this severe episode involved using a much stronger medication to get her skin under control.
I looked through my monthly Dog magazine for advice and inspiration and there, low and behold, I found Mr Thompson or Uncle Nick to said doglet.
I contacted him in desperation to ask if he could help and after giving him the highs and lows of my poor little Bully’s suffering, he arranged a consultation.
Mr. T (not of the A-Team fame I do not hesitate to inform you) firstly wanted an in depth Taz character assassination / observation and history, then and after much careful and expert consideration, he suggested the following . . .
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A gradual change of diet to the BARF diet from a dry commercial diet.
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An initial Anti-Vaccine Remedy and Thuja powder.
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Omega Oil daily
- Sulphur suspension
Further consultations and my observations resulted in additional or stronger re-visited powders or suspensions.
Taz immediately responded to the Anti-vaccine/Thuja solution resulting in an immediate stop to all her itching on its administration.
Amazing as it sounds, I now have a Bully with a high IQ, and I kid you not! Before she would sit in the sun all day no matter how hot she got and had to removed for her own wellbeing before she fried. Now she comes in when she’s too hot. She now listens when I give her commands or stops and thinks about what she is doing, before deciding if she will do it BULLY stylie! External changes no longer concern her, she looks at what has changed and then walks on or totally ignores it. She adores her adapted BARF diet so much so that she sits on my foot and barks when I am preparing veg or fruit for our meal, until she gets some!
The change in Taz is amazing, her skin is now calm, supple and glowing with health, not red and itchy. She is back to her confident/cheeky self and full of Bully wonderfulness. Yes, Bully’s are such wonderful dogs, yet so many are affected with skin conditions. I am forever grateful to Nick for giving me back my dear little dog. It’s been a long journey but worth it in the end.
I do not hesitate to thank the continuing individual and combined contributions of both modern Veterinary medicine and Holistic veterinary medicine. Both modern practices have an important part to play in the day to day health and welfare of my pet and at seeking an understanding and an end to my Bully’s condition.
I hope that my Bullys story has given you food for thought and that you realise that there is always an alternative out there for you and your pet to try and who knows it might be just what you have been looking for.
Sally and Taz, Wiltshire
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