Natural Health Practices in Veterinary Medicine

Natural Health Practices in Veterinary Medicine

Natural health practices include all health interventions that choose non-medical alternatives such as nutrition, vitamins, herbs, acupuncture, and homeopathy. The basic premise of natural health practices in both animals and humans is that illness is the body's need to dispose of unhealthy cells that are negatively influencing at least one biological system (Goldstein, 1999). Many of the interventions used are quite similar to those used in human natural health practices. For example, for both humans and animals, medical practitioners recommend an increase in raw, whole foods to help with general nutritional improvement (Goldstein, 1999). Veterinarians and animal owners might choose to use natural health method to avoid side effects from drugs or potential risks involved in surgery, or as preventative measures in response to such problems as antimicrobial resistance (Mateu and Martin, 2001).

Nutrition therapy is using what the animal eats to improve its health, and it is the foundation of holistic well-being (Goldstein, 1999). Retail pet foods tend to contain animal byproducts rather than food-grade meat, and they tend to contain large amounts of water, plus levels of growth hormones shown to be dangerous to pets (Goldstein, 1999). In effect, some purchased foods not only lack vital nutrients for animals, but also act as slow poisons (Pitcairn, 1995). To improve animal nutrition and thus improve overall animal health, owners can prepare food themselves, relying on whole, fresh ingredients that include a balance of nutrients (Goldstein, 1999).

Vitamin therapy uses nutritional supplements to enhance recovery from illness and surgery (Pitcairn, 1995). While some uses of vitamins are more preventative, for example using general supplements to enhance a young animal's immune system as it grows, vitamin therapy has also been used in cases of extreme illness. In one example, large, regular doses of vitamin C brought about the remission of feline leukemia, and when the animal went off the C, the leukemia returned (Goldstein, 1999). Not all uses of vitamins are so dramatic, but even in the case of blood loss during whelping, animals can benefit from mineral supplements (Goldstein, 1999).

Some veterinarians and animal owners use herbal remedies with animals. Here again, animal applications of what is more familiar as a human natural medical practice can bring about remarkable effects. For example, Echinacea, used in humans to help prevent and alleviate the common cold can also be used in animals for colds as well as to help heal skin irritation (Goldstein, 2000). Small doses of peppermint can be used to ease digestive problems without causing constipation or other disruptions in the body's attempts to restore balance (Zucker, 2000).

Acupuncture is another natural health method that can be applied to veterinary practice. It is the use of needles inserted superficially into the skin to balance energy, and it is often used in cases where a patient is disabled by pain. Used to relieve the symptoms of arthritis in older dogs, acupuncture can greatly increase an animal's mobility without the potentially harmful side effects of pain relieving medication, such as lethargy, digestive difficulty, and loss of appetite (Zucker, 2000). Another use of acupuncture with animals is in the case of chronic injury; older pets can injure joints if they fall, and acupuncture can relieve this chronic pain and give greater mobility (Pitcairn, 1995).

There are many other forms of non-medical veterinary treatment options available to pets and other animals that might benefit from holistic, natural intervention. The key is to combine traditional veterinary medicine with complementary therapy and human-animal affection (Zucker, 2000). By knowing an animal's normal, healthy behavior, the pet owner can report accurately to the Vet, and the vet can help owner and animal choose the most ameliorative, least risky, most health inducing treatment option. The wide availability of books for pet owners that discuss home treatment, home cooking, and natural remedies makes it easy for pet owners to increase their knowledge about different treatment options for illness and disease prevention.