Happy Pets

Several of the commonest first aid remedies are described briefly here in order to give a little more background in their use and essential characteristics. Full ‘remedy pictures’ for all remedies are to be found in homoeopathic materia medicas and repertories — these are very detailed textbooks which contain much information on the symptoms, physical and mental, which indicate certain remedies in treatment. These reference books are probably too detailed for home use as they are designed to be consulted by those with a good working knowledge of the principles and practice of homoeopathy, usually gained by academic study of the subject. Examination of such texts, however, does give an indication of both the full scope and complexity of homoeopathy as a medical treatment.

In veterinary medicine, a frequently used repertory is the Homoeopathic Materia Medica with Repertory by William Boericke, MD. This text is useful because, unlike some of the other human-oriented books, it does not focus so heavily on subjective, psychological symptoms, which animals cannot relay directly to us. Instead, it concentrates on physical symptoms of disease which can be more easily picked up by routine observation. There are also materia medicas specifically written with individual animal species in mind. Many healthfood shops contain a selection of these books.

Arnica

Plant from which extract is prepared:

Arnica montana

This plant, known also as Leopard’s bane and Mountain tobacco, is a member of the daisy family. It grows in mountainous regions and flowers in mid-summer. It is a highly valued homoeopathic treatment and has wide applications for any type of injury or trauma. It is especially useful after surgery, dental treatment or any wound causing bleeding, bruising or inflammation, and for over-exertion and muscular sprains/strains in the most general sense. Pain from parturition (birth) also responds to Arnica, though other remedies are also appropriate here. Patients that ‘cannot get comfortable’ and have to keep changing position often benefit from this remedy. In people, 4rnica can be used for mental, as well as physical over-exertion or exhaustion.

It is the single most important first aid remedy, and is the one that everyone should have available. It will never do any harm and in most cases will help the situation. If you only keep one remedy, make sure it is this one.

Aconite

Plant from which extract is prepared: Aconitum napellus

Aconitum, also known as Wolf’s bane, belongs to the buttercup family. It is a perennial plant and flowers with purple blossom in summer. The flowers somewhat resemble a monk’s hood, giving the plant its other common name (monk’s hood or monk’s cowl).

Aconitum is, potentially, a very toxic plant indeed, although homoeopathic preparations are of course extremely safe since there are effectively no molecules of the toxin (aconitine) present in them, owing to the successive dilution process that is undertaken. However, the plant’s underlying tendencies are reflected in the symptoms for which the associated remedy is chosen, and these are summarised by the term ’suddenness’. Aconite as a remedy is appropriate for anything that is sudden in onset or appearance: sudden shock, grief, fright, panic, sudden onset of symptoms such as fever, and so on. As can be seen, the suddenness can relate to mental as well as physical symptoms.

In veterinary first aid, it finds use as an initial remedy following severe trauma and medical shock (before switching to Arnica), and also has a role in psychological disturbances such as extreme fear (e.g. during thunderstorms or fireworks). It is appropriate when any general symptoms appear very suddenly, e.g. sudden onset of severe sneezing in kittens, sudden onset of vomiting/diarrhoea, etc. In general, only one or two doses are given, usually in quick succession, before moving on to another remedy appropriate for the symptoms seen.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 16th, 2008 at 6:25 am and is filed under Health, Kittens. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.