Holistic Care
by
Melinda D. Luper DVM
Fur & Feather Veterinary Hospital
Holistic (or alternative) therapy is being sought out more and more by pet owners wanting other
options besides traditional medications. Holistic therapies use many Eastern medicine methods
and techniques. These include herbal extracts, supplements, and acupuncture and are luckily
becoming more accepted in regular medicine.
Holistic therapies support the whole body. When one body system is not optimally functioning,
ailments can develop and be expressed within a completely different system. Traditional
medicine is designed to treat symptoms, yet sometimes does not get to the core of the disease
or condition and can lead to recurrence of the symptoms. For example, a patient with skin
allergies would most likely be treated in regular medicine with a drug to control the allergy and
an antibiotic for the secondary infection. This is a good start but it is treating the skin only.
Holistic therapies would also examine and treat the endocrine system and gastrointestinal tract
if these are struggling. A healthy liver detoxifies the body and healthy intestines block the
absorption of allergens that can trigger the skin allergies.
Another major aspect of holistic therapy involves quality nutrition. Most traditional pet foods
have been highly processed to the extent of nutrients need to be added back in due to the
destruction during the manufacturing. Holistic methods may include using fresh ingredients for
home-cooked and raw diets but this needs to be under the supervision of a veterinarian to make
sure all nutritional aspects are being properly met and balanced.
Both traditional and holistic therapies have their place in treating ailments. I have found an
integrated approach allows the best of both worlds. Traditional Western medicine methods are
wonderful to treat symptoms quickly, and a holistic approach sets up for better overall health
and prevents symptoms from reoccurring. At Fur & Feather Veterinary Hospital we treat and
support the whole body. For example, we can take our skin allergy case. We still use traditional
medications such as antibiotics if a secondary bacterial skin infection is present. But our initial
assessment can also include blood work to look for any underlying issues such as liver
inflammation or an endocrine imbalance. We support these systems with herbal supplements.
We also assess nutrition to see if this could be the cause of an inflamed or leaky gastrointestinal
tract. Cooling proteins such as duck or rabbit are used since allergies are considered by
Chinese medicine to be a hot disease causing red, inflamed skin. We also eliminate other
triggers in the diet and choose the least processed food that a client is comfortable feeding their
pet. Once all of the systems are brought back into harmony, symptoms not only resolve, they
have less chance to return. A healthy body makes for healthy and happy pets!