Let’s start by exploring the holistic concept.
Holistic treatments are designed to help stimulate and support self-healing.
The holistic approach is based on treating the whole individual. Different holistic treatments include supplements, nutrition, homeopathy, Chinese medicine, osteopathy, conventional drugs and surgery, herbs, flower essences, essential oils and many more. Holistic treatments are designed to help stimulate and support self-healing.
Think of an artist’s palette with many different colors of paint as this holistic approach. The palette is the approach of focusing on the whole animal and paying attention to the response to each treatment. Each different color of paint is a type of treatment—conventional drugs, conventional surgery, conventional lab work, classical homeopathy, combination homeopathy, needle acupuncture, laser acupuncture, traditional Chinese medicine, chiropractic, network chiropractic, herbs, flower essences, massage and more.
Your animal’s life is the painting. Some paintings need only one color and others need many different colors to be beautiful.
Shifting how you view symptoms and illness is a key step to having your animal be very healthy. The premise is to treat the individual (the palette) who has the disease, not merely the individual symptoms (colors). Since the underlying energy imbalance is being addressed, treatments will address all the current symptoms at the same time. The itching, ear and digestive problems will be given a single energetic treatment. General health building supplements, mild topical treatments to soothe the skin and ears and gentle energy techniques may be also used.
The main treatment is to re-balance the energetic basis of the body so the symptoms never return and there is general improvement in health.
Now let’s explore one of the colors on the holistic palette – homeopathy. Samuel Hahnemann, a German medical doctor who founded homeopathy in the late 1700s, says,
“The highest ideal of cure is the rapid, gentle and permanent restoration of health; that is, the lifting and annihilation of the disease in its entire extent in the shortest, most reliable, and least disadvantageous way, according to clearly realizable principles.” (Organon 1).
These specific principles, and the medicines that are used, are different than other holistic modalities (other colors on the palette).
Your pets’ natural healing stimulated by homeopathic medicines improves internal balance. As they improve internally, symptoms of most ailments – cancer, allergies, bee sting reactions, ACL, hip dysplasia, asthma, spondylosis, prolapsed rectum, retained testicles, pyometra, behavior problems, IBD, luxating patellas, also improve and can resolve.
Symptoms are the body’s attempt to heal itself
Dr. Hahnemann realized by observation that symptoms are the body’s attempt to heal itself. They are good indicators of immune status and overall health. Also, symptoms can be created by ingesting different substances – that’s when Dr. Hahnemann realized that “like cures like” . When you successfully find the medicine whose test symptoms correctly match your pet’s symptoms, self-healing occurs and both the current symptoms and minor problems resolve, often permanently.
Homeopathic medicines have been used successfully for over a hundred years and are carefully tested on healthy humans, never animals.
As a veterinary homeopath, I still believe that holistic approach to health is the most wholesome and supportive approach, for humans, animals, and our planet. So if homeopathy doesn’t sound appealing to you, choose a healing modality that does and find a veterinarian who will help you and your pets live wholesome, happy lives.