True holistic treatment for our animal friends

Words DR RENEE O’DUHRING, BVSc (Hons) CVCHM (IVAS) GradDip VCHM (CIVT)

One of the most common questions I get asked as an holistic vet is what exactly is it that I do. Does holistic mean no drugs at all? Some people even think we do surgical procedures without an anaesthetic!

This is not correct. We are not entirely anti-drugs. Drugs can be lifesaving! If it weren’t for Western medicine I wouldn’t be here today. At the age of 21 when travelling in Canada, I contracted bacterial meningitis. The particular bacteria responsible carried a 55% mortality rate; I was the 1-in-2 that survived. And that was due to fast action by the emergency doctor, Western diagnostics, and life-saving intravenous antibiotics. I was very grateful for modern medicine at that point in my life as you can imagine.

Western medicine shines in acute emergency scenarios. But I believe it has immense limitations when it comes to chronic disease, and can even be damaging. Sadly, chronic disease is what we mostly see in vet practice – the dogs that scratch themselves to bits after a single flea bite, the cats that pull their own hair out, pets that get vomiting or diarrhoea or constipation on a weekly, or even daily, basis, chronic hormone imbalances, and nasty cancers at younger and younger ages.

With holistic medicine, we can offer more solutions. We integrate the best of Western medicine, which can include diagnostics, or surgery, or necessary medications or vaccines, with complementary modalities such as acupuncture, diet changes and herbal treatments.

We also take great care when prescribing any drugs, or selecting vaccines to administer. I have seen much evidence over my career of drug and vaccine reactions. Many are over-prescribed, both in human and veterinary practice. All that can be offered at times, is a lifetime of drug prescriptions that sadly are not always well tolerated. We advocate a minimal safe vaccine schedule, and only prescribe drugs when they are essential or when safer herbs or other natural medicines won’t do the job required.

I believe an holistic approach, where we look at the whole picture, the entire medical history, the behaviour of the animal, stress factors, lifestyle, diet, and the present symptoms, will move the pets we see in the direction of WELLNESS. That is what we are always striving for and that is true medicine.

Email: dr.renee@thenaturalvets.com.au www.thenaturalvets.com.au