You may want to consider the homeopathic alternative to vaccines, called "nosodes." Like vaccines, nosodes contain an infinitesimal bit of the disease against which the host is to be immunized. The differences are subtle but profound. A far smaller amount of the disease is isolated and prepared as a tincture, then diluted with nine drops of water or alcohol and shaken exactly 108 times, so as to add kinetic energy to the dilution. After several more dilutions with exponentially more water or alcohol (ninety-nine drops for the second dilution, 999 drops for the third, and so on, with the dilution shaken 108 times at each stage), the nosode is then said to be "potentized." This means that it retains none of the actual isolate of the disease, only the isolate's "energy memory," which can provoke the immune system into producing antibodies without any risks of virulence.
If this sounds a bit like witchcraft--well, it is arcane, but only to those who've never heard of nosode or seen them work. In fact, nosodes have been used in Europe since the nineteenth century, and are championed by a growing number of homeopathic veterinarians in this country. John Fudens, D.V.M, had written about them, and offers the analogy of a car's combustion engine to explain the "energy" that nosodes impart. "We don't use gasoline to power our cars," he observes. "The gasoline is mixed with air and exploded by a spark. It is the energy released by this process that drives our car, not the raw gasoline." By the same logic, he adds, "we do not use natural gas, coal, or diesel fuel that power stations consume to heat, cool, and light our homes. We use the energy of those materials broken down by the stations. The energy is called electricity. We cannot see this energy directly, only indirectly, in our homes and offices. The same principle is made with homeopathic nosodes."
One of the great appeals of nosodes, Fudens observes, is that they're benign. They're taken orally, so the trauma of injections (both viscerally and to the patient's immune system) is avoided. Not only are nosodes virus-free, they also contain no antibiotics or chemicals. And, says Fudens, "they work. There are hundreds of reports in the literature of homeopathy stopping human epidemics and saving lives when conventional medicine, with or without injectable vaccines, could do nothing." Currently for animals, nosodes are available for canine distemper, parvovirus, heartworm, Lyme, feline leukemia, feline infectious peritonitis, and kennel cough, as well as other diseases.
I include nosodes here because Fudens is not alone in his enthusiasm for them. In my own practice, I've used them as a backup to vaccines, even as a substitute. Though, as it happens, my mentor on vaccines, Jean Dodds, still views nosodes rather warily. "There's strong experimental data," she says of nosodes, "but no real evidence of efficacy. Many people are happy giving pets nosodes. But the absence of a reaction doesn't prove that what you did worked. It may just prove that one particular animal doesn't need vaccines because he had natural immunity." And indeed, I'm happier not using them. Partly it's due to the emphasis I choose to put on health rather than disease. Health unleashes such a powerful form of energy, both physical and psychological, that neither nosodes nor vaccines should be necessary, in most cases, as adjuncts.
Ultimately, the best alternative to vaccines, the one that allows us to keep our use of vaccinations to a bare minimum in a pet's youth and repeat them rarely if at all, is neither arcane nor complicated. Indeed, it couldn't be simpler, yet it's the concept on which my whole practice is based. Good health!
Excerpted from The Nature of Animal Healing by Martin Goldstein Copyright© 2000 by Martin Goldstein. Excerpted by permission of Ballantine, a division of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Dr. Martin Goldstein earned his B.S. and D.V.M. from Cornell University. He has written numerous articles about holistic veterinary medicine and alternative therapies for many magazines, journals and related publications. He has many happy and healthy dogs and cats, all of which are living proof of the philosophy contained in his book, The Nature of Animal Healing.
The information provided here is for educational and entertainment purposes only, and should not be relied on as medical advise for your pet, or in lieu of consultation with your own veterinarian. We urge you to always consult your veterinarian for specific advice and diagnoses concerning your pet.
