Herbal Veterinary Medicine

There is currently a large amount of interest in alternative and complementary treatments for animals. Recently I have developed an interest in herbal medicines. Conventional medicines are extremely effective when treating acute and life-threatening conditions but they do not tend to be very good at treating long term, chronic conditions such as skin problems, chronic diarrhoea and respiratory problems. This is where herbal medicines can often be used to good effect. If you are looking for good quality herbal remedies for your pet you could try the Dorwest range of products which have a long history of use in the UK.

Herbal medicines have many potential uses in veterinary medicine which is hardly surprising when one considers the complex nature of the plant world. Many of our current drugs used in mainstream conventional medicine have originally come from plants, for example digoxin from the Foxglove and vincristine from the Madagascar periwinkle.

One of the main differences when herbs are used medicinally rather than the drug extracted from them is that the whole plant is used. This allows the body to utilise many different aspects of the plant's biochemistry in the healing process, rather than bombarding it with one powerful and concentrated chemical. This tends to mean that herbal medicines, used correctly, are more gentle on the body with fewer side effects than conventional drugs. They also tend to work more slowly but are capable of working at a much deeper level than conventional medicines.

There are not many vets at the moment who use herbal medicines in their practices, however if you live in the UK you might like to contact MayfieldVet where herbal medicines are used alongside conventional treatments- the aim being to find the most appropriate treatment for your pet and try to bring back an optimal state of health.