SELECTING A HOMEOPATHIC PRACTITIONER»
By Carissa Kuehn
It is a common procedure among many who practice 'homeopathy' to prophylactically administer a homeopathic remedy before and after vaccination in an attempt to "detox" or "antidote" the vaccine. This practice is NOT classical homeopathy and can even be dangerous to the animal. Homeopathy is not harmless, and in the wrong hands it can result in deep and lasting damage since it is a deeply energetic form of medicine!
There are several reasons why this practice is unfounded and certainly not homeopathic. First, this practice of "antidoting" vaccines retains a rather allopathic, traditional approach. It assumes that every vaccine will act upon every animal in the exact same way, much like traditional medicine assumes a certain virus will create the same set of symptoms in every animal infected with it. This is not correct! Every animal is an individual, and every vaccine will affect each animal differently. We cannot possibly know just HOW that vaccine will affect the animal UNTIL the animal starts showing symptoms that are specific to it as an individual. Without the symptoms present, we cannot possibly know which remedy to prescribe.
For example, the distemper vaccine can cause two completely different sets of symptoms in two individuals. One dog might show chronic conjunctivitis, discharge from the eyes and nose, a thickening of the footpads, and a fissuring (splitting) of the nose. The other dog might have chronic skin eruptions and rashes on the underside of the body in the abdomen and groin area (frequently diagnosed by conventional vets as "staph infections"), recurrent diarrhea, and an overall failure to thrive. Both sets of symptoms fall under what we would associate with chronic distemper, but because of the different symptom expressions in the individuals, the remedy that would work for one may not work for the other. Homeopathic remedies would then be carefully selected to match the specific symptom pictures of the animals; this is one of the main principles of homeopathy—that a single remedy is selected to fit the totality of the individual's symptoms. Symptoms provide the necessary information to select the proper remedy; the symptoms are the body's way of telling us what is wrong with it and where it needs healing. At the time of vaccination, we cannot possibly know or predict what the symptom picture of this animal will be as a result of the shot; how, then, could we know what remedy to give since there are no symptoms to guide our decision (or the practitioner's decision)? All we can do is guess, and with an energetic form of medicine like homeopathy, guessing is not a good idea. The possibilities of symptoms and of remedies are incredibly diverse!
Second, it is impossible to "antidote" a vaccine once it has been given. Many feel that the only harmful part of the vaccine is its physical elements; this is only partially true. While the toxic chemicals and compounds contained in a vaccine can be harmful to the body and cause direct damage, the energy of the virus itself can also harm on a very deep and energetic level. So how do you "detox" or "antidote" an energetic system? Homeopathy is an energetic medicine, so can't it "antidote" the energetic effects of the vaccine? While this may be a common sentiment, the truth is that homeopathy cannot "antidote" the energetic effects of the vaccine. Homeopathy does not stop something from impacting the body negatively; it cannot 'stop' the reaction of the body—both physical and energetic—to the vaccine, because this would be suppressing the body's natural response to the invasion of the vaccine and its various components. Homeopathy does not work to suppress the body's natural mechanisms (unless used very inappropriately). The body will always mount an attack against the vaccine and its components, and these components will impact the body energetically as well on the physical level.
Homeopathy cannot "stop" the energetic part of the vaccine from doing its damage; how can it? It does not "bind up" the energy of the vaccine, because that is not what the remedy does. The homeopathic remedy is simply a "stimulant" to the life-force; it adds a specific energy into the system that guides the life-force in the right direction toward healing. It provides information and an extra energetic "boost" in the right direction for healing to occur, and then the body takes over and does the rest. So how can this possibly "antidote" a vaccine? The body has to react to the energy of the vaccine first before we can ever do something about it. Sometimes these reactions are immediate, like anaphylactic shock or local swelling. But most often the damage takes longer to show up as the body tries to deal with the physical and energetic components of the vaccine over time. The only true antidote for a vaccine is to never give it.
One of the most common "antidoting" remedies for vaccines is Thuja (also seen as "Thuya"). Thuja is a remedy that is made from the white cedar tree; it is a deep-acting remedy with a very specific set of symptoms. It is the remedy of choice for many 'homeopathic' or holistic veterinarians when vaccination time rolls around or when an animal is brought in for adverse reactions to vaccines or as a classic "vaccinosis" case. Why is this use of Thuja bad? It had to be used for vaccination "antidoting" at some point in time, didn't it? How is it that Thuja became the most common remedy for animals being vaccinated or suffering from vaccinosis?
Thuja was originally used by a British homeopathic physician—J Compton Burnett—in the late 1800s and early 1900s to treat cases of vaccinosis arising from the smallpox vaccine, and ONLY the smallpox vaccine. Burnett noticed that many of his patients were suffering from chronic symptoms after receiving the smallpox vaccine (please note that the symptom picture was present! He was not prophylactically administering remedies to people that did not have symptoms yet). Most of these symptoms were located in the urinary system, the intestines, the mucous membranes, the glands, the ovaries, the mind and the nerves. Burnett wrote a book about his treatment of smallpox vaccinosis with Thuja, titling it Vaccinosis and Its Cure by Thuja.
This is critically important: Thuja was used to treat a very specific set of symptoms arising from the smallpox vaccine, and only the smallpox vaccine. Burnett later applied Thuja to other cases where the symptoms fit and saw great success. But this success has since been misconstrued and misapplied by many 'homeopathic' vets and used to treat many 'vaccinosis' cases. Thuja also has since been used to "antidote" vaccines at the time of administration, often in very high potencies that are known for causing aggravations (200C, for example). This is NOT homeopathy!
Because Thuja is a very deep-acting remedy, the aggravations from this remedy can be very unpleasant. Using Thuja in such a mechanistic, allopathic manner in an attempt to "antidote" vaccines can result in mental, emotional, and physical issues in the animal that mirror the symptom picture of Thuja (the set of symptoms Thuja would be used to treat). Some of the symptoms that can be seen as a result of improper treatment with Thuja are outbreaks of sores or cauliflower-shaped warts all over the body.
Thuja has a very specific set of symptoms that fit it. Here is a brief description of Thuja's general picture:
Thuja patients are worse in cold damp weather, better with warm wind and air, and for wrapping the head. They are also better from motion and touch, for free running secretions and for sneezing. Some of Thuja's symptoms include hips giving way, coughing only during the day, cracking of the joints, retracted nipples, painful soles, skin that is brown, spotted, dirty, with bluish-white ulcers, warts, or growths, and the sensation of a live thing moving around inside. The symptoms recur periodically every year. It is a very important remedy for treating gonorrhea, syphilis, and vaccination when the symptoms fit.
Two other remedies that are commonly used in a way similar to Thuja are Sulphur and Lyssin. Again, using these remedies in such a mechanistic, prophylactic manner is NOT homeopathy. By attaching a certain homeopathic remedy to a general set of symptoms—such as "use Lyssin for rabies vaccinosis"—ignores the diverse symptoms that individuals display that would actually indicate different remedies (like in the chronic distemper example given above). It falls back into one of the same traps of conventional medicine—use X to cure Y—and takes away the flexibility and individuality of homeopathy. Many people have come away from such practices saying "Oh, I tried homeopathy and it did not work." It did not work because it was NOT proper homeopathy!
There are several other procedures that are not true classical homeopathy, but are practiced frequently by many 'homeopathic' practitioners. These would include the repeated, mechanistic dosing of large amounts of dry pellets. Repeat dosages in a short time frame is usually only indicated for acute, extreme situations where time is of the essence; these dosages are not indicated for chronic disease! Additionally, 'automatically' using large potencies like 200C should send up warning flags. One of the primary tenets of homeopathy is to use the gentlest dose possible. 200C is a very strong potency that is well-known for causing aggravations. Many practitioners cover up these aggravations by calling them "healing crises". In classical homeopathy, there are no such things as "healing crises". A healing crisis is an aggravation that was brought on by too strong a potency, too high a dose (often the result of giving large amounts of dry pellets; only one or two pellets are needed!), or by an incorrect remedy. Remember, homeopathic remedies can induce symptoms in an individual if that remedy does not fit that individual's symptom picture! When homeopathy is used properly—the single dose that most closely matches ALL of the patient's symptoms (physical, mental, emotional), that is given in the gentlest form possible (smallest dose, often in medicinal solution, and the lowest potency determined for the animal)—it should not produce these aggravations known as "healing crises".
Another practice of misguided homeopathy is that of using combination remedies. In true classical homeopathy and in the principles laid out by homeopathy's founder Samuel Hahnemann, there is only a single remedy that is used to treat the totality of the symptoms. There are many problems that come along with combination remedies. First, no one knows how these remedies interact with each other. How do they act together on the body? Do they interfere or conflict with each other? Do they even act together, or do they simply oppose each other or attempt to push the body in different directions? These questions have never been studied or answered, whereas each single remedy has an extensive list of symptoms—physical and mental/emotional—catalogued for it as a result of scientific provings of each remedy. Please note that these provings have been performed ONLY on the individual remedies and not on combination remedies. Second, we will never know which remedy it was that helped that particular person or animal. Conversely, if the person or animal has an aggravation, we will never know which remedy or remedies are causing the aggravation.
Combination remedies are viewed as the "shotgun approach" to homeopathy: gather up several similar remedies and throw them all at the body's life-force with the hope that one of them will fit the symptom picture and work. This is poor homeopathy and can cause harm! One remedy may fit, but what about the others? They are imposing artificial energetic conditions upon the body that may result in severe aggravation of the existing illness, or in the development of new symptoms. It is just adding even more stress to an already-stressed life-force.
This returns us to the initial concept of attempting to "antidote" vaccines with homeopathy. Administering homeopathic remedies in an attempt to "antidote" vaccines also adds more stress to a life-force and body that will soon be stressed immensely by the vaccine and all its various components. Not only will the animal (or human) have to deal with the virus particles, its energy, the various chemicals and preservatives and adjuvants and their energies, but it will also have to deal with the energy of a homeopathic remedy—energy that can and does induce an artificial disease state in an individual not exhibiting the symptoms of that remedy! How is this helping the body "antidote" the vaccine?
Please note that just using homeopathic remedies does not mean one is actually practiced in the art of using classical homeopathy to treat chronic disease or vaccinosis (nor does having a holistic medicine degree make one thoroughly qualified, either!). This next page contains a brief synopsis compiled by the TruthAboutVaccines and ClassicalHomeopathyPets lists that will help you select a qualified homeopath for your pets.