Homeopathy

[Davinci]

I have studied homeopathy a little bit. I use it on my family members and animals. There are a few basic remedies that one should keep on hand. You can find most of these at bigger drugstores that carry a vitamin section. Please be very aware that a homeopathically prepared remedy is NOT the same as that same item in a capsule or loose powder you buy in bulk. There is a huge difference and do not interchange one with the other. A homeopathic remedy is labelled as such, buy those!

ARNICA MONTANA is the number one go-to remedy for shock and crushing injuries or head injuries. Almost any trauma will benefit from an immediate dose of ARNICA. For example if a chicken survives a coyote attack. She will be in shock, will have damage to large muscle areas due to the crushing power of a coyote's bite. ARNICA is very good for both.

For painful gut upset like colic in a horse ARESNICUM and ACONITE are two remedies to have on hand. They will not clear a physical impaction. If it needs vet care, it needs vet care. But if you catch the colic in the early stages, give a dose of either, or both.

For animals who have been bitten on their legs, areas rich with tendons and tendon sheaths and there might be bone bruising, ARNICA and RUTA GRAVEOLENS are good. If a horse kicks another horse, or kicks you, ARNICA AND RUTA are good bets.

A word about honey. Had I not seen it with my own eyes I would still be a scoffer. BUt having seen its powerful ability to prevent infection, the sooner you get honey on an injury, the better of your animal (or yourself) will be. Unpasturized honey is best, but if you don't have that, any honey will work. Warm it slightly if you can, to make it easier to drizzle or spread on wound. You will be amazed at the reduced incidents of infection from something as simple as honey.

There are many books on homeopathy, but a very user friendly, basic guide is, Homeopathy for Common Ailments, by Robin Hayfield. It is easy to read, entry level and most of the suggested remedies are easily available. Or if you come across a pre-made homeopathic kit, they usually contain 25 to 40 different remedies, buy it! They are pricey, but something in there is likely to serve your needs and will last a long, long time.

[Sweetened]

I really couldn't agree more when it comes to honey. Something I really like about it is it keeps a wound moist enough to heal but not so much so it rots, which is a hard thing to regulate. It's great for packing wounds as well.

Thanks for the other herbs. A lot of A's there that I must absolutely look up as I haven't heard of using them, or thought of it anyway. My go to to's are as follows:

Oregano Oil
This item, above all, is something I desperately work to keep on hand. It is my go to item for infections, cough and even bloat if I'm out of vegetable/olive oil as I try not to use mineral oil (a petrol product). Use sparingly. Oregano oil is potent. One or two drops will often do the trick when ingested. It is not cheap (I pay $16 for 5ml).

Oregano oil (Oo) is an antifungal, antibacterial, antiviral and anti-inflammatory. Unlike modern medications (Tylan, Oxytetracycline and so on), it has not been shown to breed resistant bacteria or viruses by using too little, the right dose for a less than recommended time period, or for an extended time period.

Topically it can stimulate bloodflow, but can be painful on an open wound. It can be mixed in with coconut oil and beeswax in smaller doses to be used as a salve to cover larger areas without the intensity while still maintaining its efficacy. Internally it is a pain killer (documentation can be found on it being more effective than morphine) on top of its other attributes and is fast acting. I have noticed a difference within 12 hours on animals that are sick with congestion or chicks with cocci. It is especially good at treating puncture wounds.

I have had great success using Oo to treat the following (either solo or as part of a regiment)
Chicks with Coccidiosis, even those near death
Chickens with large flesh wounds from dog attacks
Cats with upper respiratory infections
Puncture wounds, gashes and cuts, including on wounds with smelly infection that would have otherwise needed to be debrided
Goats with upper respiratory infection
Mastitis in cows (not the cow you may have seen me post about recently)

Caution: Your oregano oil must be diluted! Undiluted oregano oil can BURN fleshy surfaces it comes in contact with. At minimum, you should mix (or buy a premixed ratio) to 25%, using a 3:1 ratio of olive oil to oregano oil. Even at this dilution, the oil is incredibly strong and, literally, difficult to swallow.

Raw, Unpasteurized Honey (as previously stated, these are my uses)
Honey used for healing purposes must be RAW(R), unpasteurized(U), and if you can get it with some remaining chunky bits of wax in it, even better, as you know it wasn't over-filtered. If your RU honey is crystalized, heat it very slowly on very minimal heat for the absolute least amount of time required to make it fluid.

RU Honey is also antifungal, antiviral and antibacterial (part of the reason it shouldn't be used for Kombucha). It is great for slathering on wounds and mixing in warm (not hot) water. When mixed with water, it goes through a chemical reaction that produces hydrogen peroxide, which can be integral in oxygenating the blood in order to assist and support a healing immune system and body. In the past, I have seen honey heal a large, 4 inch diameter hole on a horses leg due to a stallion fight, as well as be used to aid healing tissue while sloughing the hind end of a horse who had been bitten by a brown recluse and survived. Personally, I use it on wounds, when sick as a throat soother and to bind wounds if there is loose skin. I push it into the wounds and wrap a bandaid or bandage around it to hold it closed and the skin seems to knit up over night. It can be added to waterers to give chickens and other animals a boost.

In addition, it tastes great. Can't beat that.

Raw, Unpasteurized Apple Cider Vinegar with the mother
A nice addition to any daily health regimen (for you or the animals), ACV has highly bioavailable nutrients due to the fermentation process and existence of the mother culture. It provides nutrients key to vitamin and mineral uptake, helping the body by fueling it with the right levels of nutrition. It can be added to feed or water and is great for helping to balance gut flora. It is touted by people who use it as being a wormer, helping to keep the gut clear of intestinal parasites by causing undesirable living conditions, is great for the coat and as an extra boost in times of healing, stress or birth.

I have personal experience using this as part of a treatment regimen for coccidiosis in chicks, including those near death, with excellent results.

Aloe Vera Juice
AVJ is another one of my absolute favorites. While researching coccidiosis in chickens, I came across a series of papers from African scientists who observed tribes with livestock. They observed when animals were ill, the caretakers would feed them aloe vera or the juice therein. Chickens with high levels of internal parasites have been documented as specifically seeking out and targetting aloe vera plants where naturally available and consuming them.

AVJ is a system flush and must be used in conjunction with lots of water. I use AVJ to systematically flush the system of ill animals. Ratios in water depend on what I'm treating and how intensively I'm doing so. The major benefit to using AVJ to flush is it provides nutrients where other conventional system flushes can rob the body of nutrients and damage healthy gut flora levels at the same time. AVJ targets bad bacteria and pulls it from the system, which, in high doses, can sometimes cause a healing crisis, which is why I'll treat at smaller levels for longer periods. AVJ is another key ingredient to my Cocci treatment and I think this item, above all others, has brought chicks from the brink of death more than any of the other components.

Caution: Use very sparingly with pregnant animals and under the consultation of a vet.

Probiotics
These are the kickers to any and all treatment and you can probably see a pattern by this point: it treats the gut. Restoring good gut flora to an ill animal or person is an integral part of promoting healing. If you can allow the body to focus on the primary issue without having to fight off other problems, you will get results quicker. A gut filled with healthy flora at optimal levels will berate viruses and negative bacteria and flora levels with a ferocity that is unrivaled by medication. The most simple way to add probiotics to your treatment is with the use of Probitic yogurt without all the fillers. I use Astro's baltic plain yogurt. Yogurt is an excellent vector for convincing animals to consume oregano oil.

Other probiotics like Kombucha and other fermented products can also be used, but I find yogurt to be a good base, accepted by more animals (and people!) than some other ones.



I like where this is going

[Davinci]

After I made this post the only glitch I could think of was...if you have an animal with a vicious flesh wound and you know you will be seeking vet care (stitches) do not apply honey. Vet's are not very happy to sterilize, clean and stitch a big, sticky mess. So if you know vet attention is in the animal's immediate future, ixnay on the honey.

However, as soon as the vet pulls out of the yard, very carefully apply honey to the newly sutured wound.

Oh, Sweetened, must make one point that makes me sound like a picky old bat, but homeopathic remedies are not herbs! No no no. They are very specifically prepared medicines, you cannot make them yourself and you CANNOT replace them with like named herbs! Thinking this can lead to badness.

Example, the remedy ARSENICUM is indeed arsenic based. However, giving your sick animals a dose of plain old arsenic will NOT have the outcome you are hoping for! Homeopathic prepared Arsenicum is a much different animal. Do not EVER use anything in a homeopathic capacity that is not a pre-prepared homeopathic remedy.

[Sweetened]

Doh!  I know this as well, homeopathy and naturopathy = different. Sorry I hijacked your post, clearly I need more sleep

[Davinci]

You did NOT hijack! YOu made a perfect opportunity for me to say what most people do not grasp the first time they read it. That (just as you said) homeopathy is NOT naturopathy!

If I tell you to give your goat an ARNICA pill, but you don't have one and instead give him ground, dried ARNICA you got at the health food store...you better expect a different outcome. Because the herb acts on the body differently than the homeopathic remedy.

It is a difference that is best if a person researches on their own. Too long to get into here in much detail.

[niglefritz]

On the honey note...

I had someone tell me just lately that their neighbor had a wound that went clear through into some muscle and he put honey on it until it healed. She said that now you cannot even see a scar.

We have used honey on a duck's back when it got beaten up by another. It healed up very well, with no infection.

What we are doing currently with honey...We are using RU honey mixed with cayenne (hoping to help warm) on a cow's frozen teats. We are also using some honey on a child's scraped up nose right now as well. It is healing quickly and fairly well so far. It has been one week and the area is almost healed. We are thinking of using some as well on the tips of our rooster's frozen comb (stupid, prolonged, COLD winter) to help heal what he still has and help prevent any infection. We are hoping for good results. We will see.

It is good stuff.

[Sponsored content]