Homeopathy-an incredible approach

Last month my dog Devi got into a fight with another dog and one tooth went into her neck artery. Blood spurted all over the house. We pressed on it, took her to the hospital and she was stitched up but she had lost a lot of blood and the vet said she might not make it. She was in great pain. Sintex, the company which makes the water storage tanks, has opened a homeopathy division for animals and they had sent me a kit called Healwell with12 medicines in it. We gave Devi arnica and calendula for two days. She healed miraculously fast.

For many years we have been treating Distemper in dogs with homeopathy and it works. Allopathy does not. We give the standard immunoglobin injections, the antibiotics and then we pray!

Dr. Mukesh Batra, the number one homeopathic doctor in India, sends one of his doctors every week to our shelter to treat the animals there, and there is a marked improvement in some who are given the homeopathic pills.

The diseases in animals are increasing as exponentially as those in humans. After all they drink the same water, breathe the same air. What is needed is to find different forms of preventive and curative medicines outside allopathy. To begin with, they can act as supportive systems. The main problems I see in pet dogs, for instance, is kidney failure from renal disease and cancer, parvo and distemper – all of which need something more than allopathy.

We need to understand the principles of homeopathy so that even when the animal cannot be cured, it can be helped to live a better life. The homeopathic consultation process is more complex than the usual veterinary consultation. It can take a long time, depending upon the medical problem. The homeopathic vet has to discover a great deal of information, not just from clinical examination but also from the owner. Likely questions may include details of background, lifestyle, environment, demeanour, character, likes, dislikes, fears, diet, household & family details and responses to various external influences.

Here are some examples given by vets:

* Baby, a big black cat, came to me at 9 years of age. She had been receiving Depo Medrol injections for 8 years at an ever-increasing frequency, up to every 6 weeks, to keep her from licking her abdomen raw and bloody (diagnosed as Feline Endrocine Alopecia). I treated her homeopathically for 9 months before her abdomen was free of lesions. She had no skin lesions from then until her death at 17 years.

* An eight-year-old cat came to me with conjunctivitis, photophobia, spasms of the lids, and a puritic, discharging otitis. She had a history of poor or finicky appetite, vomiting hairballs (gagging cough), dull hair coat with spells of dermatitis , scabs and redness, has always shed a lot and is aggressive to other cats. Current treatment had been Laxatone, antibiotic/steroid eye drops and occasional Depo injections. After homeopathic treatment, her eye and ear problems resolved, and a year later she had some scabbiness when the other cats got fleas. She has no more “hairball” gagging/vomiting, and will eat anything (salad, spaghetti, raw meat..). She is less aggressive. Her energy is better and her coat glows.

* “Heidi” was a 14 year old spayed female with a growth on her right eye that looked red and angry (local vet said “cancerous”.) It was attached to the third eyelid, covered ½ the eye. It bled easily when rubbed or even touched gently and was very sensitive to touch. There were 2 firm growths on the paw and in the middle of the chest. She has been deaf since1998. I prescribed Nitric acid 200c on September 8. From 9/14 to 9/18 had normal hearing. By 9/24 there was no blood and the tumour was smaller and she was back to normal energy and appetite. An LM potency of Nitric acid was given for the next 3 months, then a 10M Nitric acid. By April, she has been behaving like a young dog Now doing 4 mile walks. The tumour is completely gone, there is no eye discharge, the ears are clear, there is no snoring and her appetite is fine.

* Dudley is a 15 year old neutered male Yorkie with kidney problems. In June of 2001 he had diarrhoea and vomiting every 2 hours while at the same time drinking tons of water. The hospital administered IV fluids and antibiotic shots. Blood values: were Creatinine 1.77, BUN 36.9, Phos 10.36. During the next few months he worsened: drinking tons of water, urinating very often, not eating, loss of 4 kg., very incontinent during the night, eyes watery, shivering early morning and early evening. An initial prescription of Natrum muriaticum resolved the incontinence but nothing else. Bryonia, repeated when needed at increasing potencies, resolved all this dog’s problems. The owner switched to a fresh food diet. As of June 2002, he has been eating well, eyes are clear for the most part, drinking and urinating are normal, sleeps well, no tummy aches and his blood values are back to normal.

According to homeopathy, the body tries to heal itself by producing “symptoms”. How does a being (person/animal/ plant) get ill? Each body has a vital force or essence with inherent weaknesses. When triggered by viruses, bacteria, stress, poor diet, vaccinations, the aging process, or environmental stressors, the body produces symptoms in an attempt to recover balance. Merely removing a symptom by surgery or topical treatment does not get rid of the defect and so the symptoms recur or new, deeper symptoms appear.

Homeopaths say that, at first, illness is an energy imbalance observable only at an intuitive level “Doc, I know my cat is getting sick.” Second, there is a functional disturbance seen, for example, as a cat urinating frequently. Then there is inflammation, which is seen by a fever, or inflammatory cells or the cat showing pain on urination. Last, there is pathology, where thickening of the bladder wall, stones, and chronicity is seen. The ideal time to treat it is when the imbalance is still at the energy level. Once pathology has occurred it can take about a month of healing for every year the vital force has been ill.

Every time the energy field is triggered and moves out of balance, it produces symptoms, but they may be different symptoms each time. Successful holistic treatment must be based on all the symptoms and all the idiosyncrasies of this animal. As the cure progresses, new symptoms appear and the medicine has to change. For instance, when a dog comes in with generalized eczema and no characteristic symptoms, it is difficult to select the medicine that will rebalance the vital force. However if you add historical symptoms in winter, craving heat, wanting sips of water frequently, being very fearful and fastidious and having diarrhoea and vomiting episodes yearly, the vet can select a remedy with a higher probability of healing.

Homeopathy is based on “Like cures like”. For instance, when a person or animal takes homeopathically prepared Arsenicum album, they become restless, anxious, chilly, have diarrhoea and vomiting among many other symptoms. When an animal with any symptoms is also seen as chilly, anxious and can’t seem to keep still, the vet would prescribe Arsenicum album. The homeopathically prepared Ars alb would be stronger than, and similar to, the energetic imbalance of the ill person, and so would replace the illness, causing a cure. Once the imbalance is corrected, the physical manifestations disappear, even bony proliferations, cancerous growths, bladder stones, etc.

Homeopaths for animals use a list of symptoms which have indexes with matching remedies. These are recommended: Materia Medicas (Allen, Hering, Clarke), Therapeutic Materia Medicas for animals and people (Chris Day & George MacLeod) . There are computer programs that offer the materia medicas and repertories in formats that speed up the prescribing. Kent Homeopathic has a small version and there are web sites with free materia medica material. www.alternativevet.org

Unfortunately Veterinary homeopathy is often called in after all conventional options have been exhausted. It should be a first-line treatment along with allopathy.

In my next article I am going to give you a list of homeopathic medicines that you need to keep at home – or you can write to Sintex International Ltd , Kalol , Gujarat at homoeo@sintex.co.in, 02764-24301 for their kit, or contact Dr Batra’s clinics which are spread all over India.

Maneka Sanjay Gandhi
Pl. add: To join the animal welfare movement contact gandhim@nic.in, www.peopleforanimalsindia.org

*Proper wildlife rehabilitation is an extremely biologically and ecologically responsible attitude toward all living things.*