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AVMA's at it agian!!

2K views 9 replies 6 participants last post by  Anubis_Star 
#1 · (Edited)
#4 ·
Merck donated 4.5 million to the AVMA
 
#5 ·
I am all for holistic approach to veterinary medicine but personally, homeopathy (using tinctures so diluted they are basically indistinguishable from water or whatever the base was) is not something I can get behind, as there is no proof/real science behind it.

That said, if people want to use it I say go right ahead, it's your dog.
 
#7 ·
Personally, I don't understand the concept of homeopathic medicine. But this makes me wonder why the AVMA feels so threatened. First RAW diets, now homeopathic. What's next? Is homeopathic medicine doing harm to animals? If so, how? And where is the proof of that? Or is it much like human medicine in that keeping people sick is a business. I'm sure that statement will cause it's own argument but there are many doctors that I've had that discussion with and they agree that the money in pharmaceuticals is in keeping people on the medicines, not curing them.
 
#10 ·
I've NEVER worked with a doctor (Vet) that didn't want to cure their patient, knock on wood maybe I've just been lucky. You're right, pharmaceutical companies rule the research industry just as Hill's rules the nutritional aspect of veterinary medicine. But unlike nutrition, which in my opinion IS under-researched in favor of more natural diets like RAW, there is merit behind most medications. Medicine A cures disease A 90% of the time, it's probably a good choice.

As I said before, I work in an area where homeopathic and eastern medicine is the largely accepted want. Therefor, we do see MANY clients that want to go the more natural route over medications. And we see patient's die that IF treated medically, maybe they could of lived? But maybe not? So it's hard to say for sure. We CAN'T say for sure. But I always tell people, when they ask me if their animal would get better without the medication, "MAYBE. We can't say for sure. But it is a lot more likely that your animal will get better WITH the medication."

Like the aspiration pneumonia case where the owner kept trying to wean his dog off antibiotics to see if the dog's immune system would compensate and kept asking us about natural supplements, despite us giving him clear deadlines as to medication use and rechecks. 6 months later and his dog STILL has aspiration pneumonia, if not slightly WORSE and now harder to treat because antibiotic resistance has built up. And keep in mind, we weren't just throwing random antibiotics at him. We had done a tracheal wash and cultured the bacteria, we KNEW what was growing and what antibiotics would treat it.

Then you have the flip side, patients with a very poor prognosis and you don't even really recommend medical treatment anymore because you know the animal isn't going to make it. But the owner's keep pushing because they haven't tried such and such natural remedy yet that cured their great great grandfather of some common cold 100 years ago. And now the animal is just suffering and probably should be euthanized, but you can never tell a client that because no one can make that choice for them. Of course, this happens with medicine as well.

THOSE are ways homeopathic medicine can and do hurt patients.

There is the other side of course, over-vaccinating and recommending prescription diets for EVERYTHING and throwing broad-spectrum antibiotics at every litter abscess, therefor causing antibiotic resistance to build up. The medical world isn't perfect. But I've never seen it out to intentionally harm your pet or keep them sick. And maybe I'm just lucky because I work with board certified specialists and NOT run of the mill general practice doctors.
 
#8 ·
Not threatened, I didn't read it as such. As CC said, it's one thing to do holistic but another entirely to use homeopathy where it quite probably will not work, and time's a-wastin' when you could be getting legit help for your dog.
That's how I read it...and as a parent as well as dog owner, I wholly agree with that stance.
I've said it before, but I'll say it here, one of the things that really scares me is that dogs metabolize some things very differently than humans- tea tree oil is a good example - what's healthy for humans can kill a dog, or cat.
It is just responsible for the AVMA to have a stance where homeopathy is concerned. At least, when pets die because of it, they can say "hey, we tried to warn you".
 
#9 ·
Haven't read the article yet - I'm at work and in-house patients are due for rounds. But I will say in general we tend to "laugh" at some homeopathic vets, because many can just be ridiculous. Medicine is not the plague. It SAVES lives. I've seen more pets die because their owner's DIDN'T medicate (I work in a town very noted for it's... homeopathic tendencies, to say it nicely. Where by law you do not OWN your animal, you are their LEGAL GUARDIAN. And where you get a second-hand high from just walking outside. That kind of small mountain town, lol).

Not to say anything wrong with more natural means. Most of my colleagues shun me because I feed raw and do the bare-minimum when it comes to vaccinating and other medications. At the same time, I do what it takes to save my patient's, and there are many homeopathic vets that leave medical treatment to the last - and cause fatal problems.

I think there are great homeopathic vets. And I think there are not so great one's.... I would like to work with one at some point to obtain some more "natural" medical knowledge, because I think it DOES have it's place. I was taught by a technician that SWEARS on raw diets for diabetic cats. says she's taken 3 off insulin after switching them to raw. THAT is an accomplishment, for sure.

I'll read the article when I have a moment, maybe comment more if need be.

BTW, I do NOT stand by AVMA's stand against raw feeding.

~Emergency CVT
 
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