Veterinary medicine has relied mainly on chemical based conventional medicines to cure animals of various ailments such as arthritis, cancer and heart disease. However, these days many veterinarians are relying on homeopathy to treat certain ailments such as allergic reactions and cancer.
Homeopathic Veterinary Medicine
The concept behind homeopathic veterinary medicine is to cure not just the disease but the whole body, by stimulating the immune system. Homeopathy is a natural healing process that stimulates the body’s natural recovery forces to help cure the animal of diseases. Hence, homeopathy is a complete healing system that has its own methods of diagnosis and treatment.
Homeopathy and Animal Disease
Homeopathic remedies are made from natural products. They’re not addictive, they're safe for use on animals of all ages, and they have few, if any, side effects.
Homeopathic veterinary medicine can treat all problems that can be generally treated with allopathic medications, such as
- ear infections
- asthma
- diabetes
- inflammatory bowel disease
It’s successful in treating chronic ailments as well as acute conditions such as injuries due to trauma and infections. While allopathic medicines give quick relief, there are also adverse side effects associated with it.
Disadvantages of Using Homeopathic Treatment on Animals
Homeopathic treatments unlike conventional medicines are not effective when used to treat acute life threatening diseases. Although there are a few side effects of homeopathic preparations, this form of medicine often replaces scientific diagnosis and treatment. This can be dangerous to the health of your pet as any delay in diagnosis and treatment allows the disease to progress unchecked.
The disease can even reach a stage where conventional medicines can no longer be effective in treatment. Besides this, homeopath veterinarians often advise you against the use of conventional therapies such as immunization. This can increase your pet’s risk of exposure to viruses and bacterial infections.
Additional Disadvantages
The remedies used in homeopathic medicine are diluted to such an extent that there are trace amounts of the original substance in such remedies. These substances are unlikely to be effective in such tiny amounts. Since animals can’t express themselves, the research carried out is insufficient to prove whether homeopathic medicine is effective on animals or not.
This type of medicine is relatively safe with few side effects but has no positive effect on the body. It can however, cause a delay in the diagnosis and treatment of the disease which can prove fatal for your pet.
A Holistic Approach
Homeopathy has a holistic approach and aims at treating the complete body to rid it of any particular disease. There are several veterinarians who use homeopathy as an aid to fight pet diseases that aren’t effectively controlled by conventional medicine. They believe that homeopathy is a gentle, effective and safe way to restore health in chronically ill animals.
This type of treatment also emphasizes the need for regular exercise, good nutrition, rest and removal of stress along with homoeopathic medication to achieve a cure.
Homeopathic veterinarians have to show competency in case work and sit for tests in order to become certified. You should make sure you only take your pet to a certified homoeopathic vet to get the right treatment.