Dogs For Dummies by Gina Spadafori

Author:Gina Spadafori
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781119609100
Publisher: Wiley
Published: 2019-06-25T00:00:00+00:00

TRADITIONAL VERSUS ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE

Call it anything you like — including “Eastern” or “holistic” — alternative medicine is very hot in human medicine and, not surprisingly, in veterinary medicine as well. The growth of alternative medicine is in part a backlash against high-tech, impersonal (and expensive) care that sometimes seems more interested in the disease than in the patient, but it’s also about getting back to the basics of sound preventive care. Alternative medicine includes a wide range of treatment options, from acupuncture to chiropractic to homeopathy to magnetic therapy.

In holistic medicine, the whole patient is the focus, rather than the specific disease. Traditional medicine tends to do better with acute illness, such as a bacterial infection, or with trauma, such as a broken leg. Alternative medicine’s strength is in dealing with more chronic conditions that can be helped by a whole-body improvement in health.

Some traditionally trained veterinarians now embrace alternative care exclusively, and a great many others accept elements of alternative care as a complement to traditional medicine. My best advice is to seek a veterinarian who’s open to using alternative approaches to problems that do not respond to traditional therapies. I’m not altogether keen on those veterinarians whose fervent embrace of alternatives sounds more like religious beliefs than medical recommendations. An open mind is a good thing in a veterinarian, no matter which side of this issue he’s on!

The American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association is perhaps the best place to start finding out more about alternative veterinary medicine. You can access the AHVMA on the AltVetMed Web site (www.altvetmed.com) or contact the organization directly at 2218 Old Emmorton Road, Bel Air, MD 21015; phone 410-569-0795.

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