Standard of Homeopathic Practice

There can be confusion as to what homeopathic practice is. Since homeopathy is not presently taught in any veterinary schools, there is a wide open field that includes populations of self-designated "homeopaths".

What is homeopathic practice? Is there a proper way to practice it or can a variety of methods be used?

These are all legitimate questions, especially for a person beginning to consider homeopathic treatment for their animal. So this page discusses (briefly) what homeopathic practice is and also what to expect when you consult with one of the veterinarians on the ANHC referral list.

The history of homeopathy will be a place to start. It began 200 years ago with Dr. Samuel Hahnemann, a doctor in the area which is now Germany. Dr. Hahnemann discovered a way that medicines could be used, in very small doses, to stimulate the natural healing capacity of the body. From his original discovery, and subsequent training of other doctors, homeopathy spread throughout most of the world. It achieved great success, especially noted during epidemics of serious contagious diseases like smallpox and cholera.

If anyone needed proof of the efficacy of homeopathic medicine, they need only study the statistics of various epidemics during the 1900s.  In 1854 a cholera epidemic struck London.  A report revealed that under allopathic care (the form of medicine that we are most familiar with) the mortality was 59.2% whereas under homeopathic care the mortality was only 9%.  In the yellow fever outbreak in the US in 1878, the mortality in New Orleans was 50% under allopathic care and 5.6% for homeopathic care.  Records of three years of diphtheria in Broome County, New York from 1862 to 1864, show the mortality rate for allopaths as 83.6% and 16.4% for homoepaths.

Seeing these results, one can understand why homeopathy became a favored form of medicine in many countries. There are 220,000 homeopathic doctors in India and all over Europe, especially France and Germany. However, it is also used in South America, South Africa, Russia and many other places too numerous to mention.

The Development of Standards

During the development of homeopathy over 200 years of clinical experience, the principles of the science were established and confirmed. Given briefly, they include:

• A careful evaluation of the patient's present condition.
• Review of prior health problems over the life time of the animal.
• Use of reference texts (a Repertory and Materia Medica) to find the one medicine most suitable for treatment.
• Use of a single dose of medicine, perhaps a few doses given daily for a few days.
• Careful evaluation of the response and changes that occur after the medicine is given (by examination and discussion with you).
• Waiting several days or weeks for the healing to progress (not repeating the medicine unnecessarily).
• Treatment continued (spaced out doses, weeks or months apart) until optimal health is restored.

To make this more clear to you, here is a list of the practices to avoid, that are not compatible with the principles of homeopathic practice:

• Giving more than one remedy at a time (combination formulas, or alternation of one medicine with another on different days or weeks).
• Prescribing homeopathic medicines of more than one potency (like 6c, 12c, and 30c mixed together).
• Injecting homeopathic medicines into the body (they are always given by mouth or by olfaction—letting the patient smell the medicine).
• Making homeopathic medicines from your animal's secretions or tumors (the effect of which will be unknown).
• Using medicines made from drugs, like cortisone or prednisone.
• Prescribing a remedy on the basis of the animal's personality — for instance that they are "flighty like a bird" so they get a remedy made from a bird feather
• Using a homeopathic remedy while at the same time giving a drug like antibiotics or steroids (prednisone, dexamethasone)
• Giving remedies over and over again without any improvement in the animal.
• Treating cancer by giving remedies (usually in water) every day for months or years.
• Using a psychic method to find the medicine needed, as for example, muscle testing (kinesiology), pendulums, radionic instruments, meditation.
• Using electronic instruments to find the needed medicine, for example, the Interro (a computer system in which metal probes are held), or Acupuncture according to Voll.
• Homotoxicology, which has a similar name, but is not homeopathy or related to it (medicines used in a different way, not homeopathic).
• Bach Flower essences made into remedies (Bach Flower essences are a different system of medicine and when made into remedies, the effect has not been determined).
• Anthroposophical medicine (from Rudolph Steiner) is a different system which superficially has some similarity to homeopathy. However, it is quite different and uses the medicines on different principles.

It has been determined, through clinical experience, that homeopathy does not mesh well with some other systems of treatment. Allopathic medicine (conventional medicine with drugs) is not compatible and, in fact, using both homeopathic treatment and allopathic drugs at the same time can be harmful. On one hand you are stimulating the body to heal, while suppressing symptoms with the drugs. Like driving your car with the brakes on.

Chinese medicine and acupuncture, while a wonderful system of medicine, is not compatible with homeopathy. The problem is that both treatments are powerful and have effects but they interfere with each other. Make up your mind which to use and stick with it. Avoid a veterinarian that does both treatments to your animal at the same time.

Herbal medicine is milder in effect. While we do not use herbs very much (internally especially) during homeopathic treatment, some of them are compatible. You will have to check with a knowledgeable veterinarian to guide you in this regard. Generally, Chinese herbs or tinctures of remedies are a problem. Camphor (in some herbal formulas) antidotes the effects of homeopathic remedies.

Chiropractic treatment, physical manipulation, cranio-sacral therapy, Therapeutic Touch, and Reiki are all compatible with homeopathic treatment, often enhancing the effect.

Finding a homeopathic veterinarian

Here are some things you can ask to determine level of knowledge:

• Have you had training in homeopathy? How many hours?
• Was your training in a school or class situation or through correspondence?
• Are you certified by the Academy of Veterinary Homeopathy? (One need not be to be very skillful, but it is a guide to determine seriousness of study.)
• Have you read the Organon of Medicine (the book by Dr. Hahnemann that lays out the principles of practice)?
• Do you use a repertory to analyze the case? Do you confirm the medicine in a materia medica?

Over The Counter Medicines

There are two classes of health problems or illness that can occur. One category is acute illness like Distemper or Panleukopenia (infectious diseases), or injury (hit by car, bitten), or poisoning (plants, snakes, spoiled food). These conditions are relatively easy to treat and it is difficult to make mistakes in treating them with homeopathy.

The other category is chronic disease and these are the most common condtiions. Examples are skin allergies, chronic ear problems, hyperthyroidism, inflammatory bowel disease, Cushing's disease, chronic constipation, asthma—basically conditions that are long-lasting and not easily resolved.

These are very difficult to treat and require great care and skill to resolve them. It is essential that treatment be done properly not to make the situation worse or to make your animal incurable. Therefore, avoid any over-the-counter homeopathic formulas sold to treat these kinds of conditions. For example, a formula may say "to treat itching skin (or allergies)", "to treat appetite problems" or "to treat urinary incontinence". These products are not ethical and can either make the situation worse, or just as seriously, suppress symptoms so that cure is not possible later. Don't use them.

A recent interest is in products that are said to "detox" and that actually contain homeopathic medicines. They are said to remove toxins or heavy metals from the body. Sold over the intenet, they are often expensive (the price hundreds of times what it would cost to buy the same remedies from a homeopathic pharmacy). The directions for use are to give them daily for long periods. My advice? Avoid them like the plague. They can be dangerous because they are used inappropriately and not on homeopathic principles. Some animals will be sensitive to them and you will actually cause other illness to develop. At the very least, the situation will be very confused if you choose later to work with a knowledgeable veterinarian.

Note: Please if you find errors on this site.