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"Holistic Medicine"
Holistic medicine is not a new field, although lately it seems to be growing in popularity. As more and more people seek natural healing alternatives for themselves, they find they would like to have same options for their pets. Although most Vet Schools offer little to no holistic training, a few good post graduate continuing education opportunities in Veterinary holistic medicine have now become available. Interested veterinarians who have chosen to dedicate the time and effort to obtain the extensive extra training required to practice holistic medicine can now do so. The end result is that everyone wins when more options become available to doctors patients, and caretakers alike.
The term holistic medicine is very broad. It encompasses many different modalities of medical practice. These include, but are not limited to, herbal medicine, acupuncture, acupressure, homeopathy, chiropractic, nutritional therapy, flower essence therapy, and massage. The scope is so broad that many subdivisions can be made. For example herbal medicine can be broken down into Chinese herbal medicine, Western herbal medicine, Ayurvedic herbal medicine, Native American herbal medicine and so on. Most practitioners will be most comfortable with two or three categories, and use a few key remedies from the other categories as needed. In holistic medicine, we strive to treat the whole patient in as natural a manner as possible, allowing the body to heal itself. By saying the whole patient, I mean physical and mental health, diet, environment and other outside influences which can have an effect on overall health and well being. Holistic practitioners will look at an animal with several seemingly unrelated symptoms, or problems, and try to find the one root problem. Just as a tree has a single trunk and root despite the difference in appearance which is seen among its branches, many of our diseases are also constructed this way, the symptoms being the branches. Truly integrative medicine is not really different from holistic medicine. It takes the holistic approach towards disease, but integrative practitioners don’t hesitate to use conventional western medicine if it is absolutely the best cure available. In my opinion, there is a time and place for western medicine, and sometimes surgery or a strong modern drug really is the right answer, but it is best to consider all available options before deciding this. The goal of all medicine, after all, is to contribute to the well being of the patient.
This is the first of hopefully many monthly articles which you will find here on holistic medicine. In this column I will attempt to answer specific questions which you may write in, if you are so inclined. Bear in mind though that without seeing a patient, I can only speak in general terms, and therapies do vary between individuals, but I will do my best. I will also try to introduce seasonal concerns and topics, and ways that we can all begin to address our animals’ health (and maybe even our own) more holistically.
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