Homeopathy.

It was part of the mainstream medical establishment in the U.S. until the development of the American Medical Association in the early 1900's. Homeopathy, like all of the alternative therapies, encourages your body to correct the underlying cause of the disease state rather than just suppress the clinical signs.

Homeopathic remedies are prepared in a manner almost completely backwards from common prescription drugs. The only similarities are the forms (liquid or pills) and the fact that none of the crude original substance is present in the final form. For instance, the standard regular drug for treating malaria comes from tree bark while a very high tech drug used to treat difficult skin infections starts out as ground up bug bodies. (This would be a good time to look up the dictionary definition of "antibiotic" listed in the "Glossary" section.) But you won't see bits of branches in the syringe the doctor uses for your malaria. You also won't even so much as see the yellow color from the sulfur a homeopathic doctor might use for your skin condition.

The difference appears in how the natural form is transformed into the final product. Megamillion dollar drug companies spend years isolating the one chemical in the natural product that is assumed to be responsible for its beneficial effects. Then they concentrate it a thousand times or more. Finally, they put it through a series of cell culture, computer, and live animal tests to determine the best dosage amount and frequency. If the benefits outweigh the side effects, or if there is enough urgency for the treatment, of it there is enough pressure for approval, the FDA allows the new drug into the commercial market.

Because of the way homeopathic remedies are prepared, the less of the original substance that is in the final mixture, the more potent that remedy becomes. Most of the remedies are prepared in either "X" or "C" potencies. When you place one drop of the original substance (called a "mother tincture") in nine drops of a diluting liquid, you can create an "X" potency. One drop of mother tincture in ninety-nine drops of dilutent creates a "C" potency. These steps are repeated for a series of dilutions. Any toxicity found in the original substance disappears after three 1:9 serial dilutions (3x). At the level of 6X (six sequential "X" type dilutions) there is only 1/1,000,000 (one millionth) of the original substance in the remedy.

What it is (continued):

Prescription drugs also differ from homeopathic remedies in the manner they are used. If a "germ" is treated with penicillin and one tablet works, two might even be better (providing you aren't allergic!). You will continue to take your medicine as long as your doctor sees a positive response. Then you will take it a while longer to make certain all the "bugs" are gone. It is common to take a homeopathic remedy until some positive response is seen and then either stop the remedy or reduce its potency.

Homeopathy considers every person an individual so the signs of disease must be viewed in light of everything unique to that individual. Two individuals may both have osteoarthritis but one feels better in the dry heat of Palm Springs, California while the other finds relief in the damp heat of Palm Beach, Florida. A homeopath would consider these different disease states and likely choose different remedies.

Homeopathic remedies are not "drugs" in the usual sense. While homeopathic remedies and many modern drugs are both made from naturally occurring minerals, plant, and animal tissues, the principles of use are almost exactly opposite.

If it's so good, why haven't I heard of it?

If you have occasion to use different types of remedies, you will notice that they all look the same. The liquid forms are all colorless and the pill forms are all white. Sometimes the pills come in different shapes or sizes which have no relationship to their potencies. The reason they all look alike is because there is nothing in the remedy to impart any color to the fluid or pill containing it. Diluting liquids and pill binding ingredients must also be pure in order to avoid influencing the energy of the remedy. Be assured that the effects of each remedy are very much different.

Actually, similar looking medicine is common in prescription and over the counter drugs. The antibiotics lincocin, penicillin, and sulfamethazole/trimethoprim are all white tablets as are the steroids prednisone and medrol as well as many aspirin products. Clear injectable medications include the antibiotics lincocin and gentocin, most intravenous fluids, and analgesics such as flunixin meglumine.

You may even see less of Dr. V. As you become more skilled in observing your pet, it becomes easier to accurately reevaluate their response to therapy over the phone. Then, too, energetic therapies, such as homeopathy, tend to focus on correcting the underlying imbalances rather than just suppressing the signs of disease. Once your pet returns to a healthy, balanced state, he does not have a need to visit the doctor so often.

What does my pet feel?

Indirectly your pet will feel a lessening of clinical signs after taking the remedy. The intense scratching subsides, the gut-wrenching cough calms down, or the piercing joint pains start to diminish.

Homeopathy is an excellent form of therapy to combine with one of the other alternative therapies such as acupuncture or chiropractic. It is an important alternative for pets that are overly sensitive to Western drugs. Homeopathic remedies are also a good choice for those pets with multiple disease conditions.