Dr. Barchas, I am taking an herbal/homeopathic
blend to “detoxify” my body of chemicals,
metals etc. Are there any such herbal/homeopathic
medicines for dogs?

Joe Anne
Mechanicsville, MD

There are many homeopathic products available for pets. In fact, there seem to be several blends available for every conceivable condition, as well as many products for “cleansing” the systems healthy pets.

Homeopathy and herbal medicine cause almost as many arguments among veterinarians as vaccines. In the general public, supporters and opponents of homeopathy both have such strong feelings that they often sound like fanatics when the subject comes up.

I have no doubt that certain blends of herbs and natural products may have health benefits for pets. However, I’d urge you to perform due diligence if you are thinking about administering a homeopathic treatment to your pet.

For one thing, the efficacy of many homeopathic products is unproven. And in my opinion, that’s a big deal. It is very easy to prove that a treatment works. Simply set up a controlled, randomized double-blind study with a sample size that will yield statistically relevant results. That may sound technical, but it’s actually very easy to do. If no study has been done to prove the efficacy of a product, it raises a red flag in my mind. Why has the manufacturer not bothered to take this simple step?

Another problem is that the world of homeopathy is not well regulated by governments. This leads to wide disparities in the qualifications of homeopathic practitioners and the quality of their products.

Some practitioners of homeopathy are veterinarians or other individuals with advanced training. These individuals create products that are likely to be safe.

Other homeopathy practitioners are basically snake oil salespeople. They have no training at all. They simply want to cash in on a profitable enterprise.

A third group consists of well-meaning people who are knowledgeable about human homeopathic remedies but have little training with animals. Members of this group can be especially dangerous. Some of them are not aware that certain compounds can be beneficial to humans yet dangerous to pets (grapes, chocolate and garlic come to mind). Sadly, I have seen pets suffer kidney failure, anemia and other adverse effects after consuming human homeopathic products.

I am not opposed to the use of homeopathic and herbal products. But do some research before you purchase and administer these creations. If you aren’t careful you may do more harm than good.

• Does Pet Food Cause Health Problems?
• Study Reveals High Levels of Dangerous Chemicals in Pets’ Bodies
• Protect Your Pet From Three Common Poisons
• Vaccines Poised for a Comeback
• Commonly Used Medicines may Have Little Known Side Effects: Part 1

I would like to thank Amanda of Environmental Working Group for alerting me to a report that her organization recently released. An excerpt from the report is below.

High Levels of Toxic Industrial Chemicals Contaminate Cats And Dogs

. . . In the first study of its kind, Environmental Working Group found that American pets are polluted with even higher levels of many of the same synthetic industrial chemicals that researchers have recently found in people, including newborns.

The results show that America’s pets are serving as involuntary sentinels of the widespread chemical contamination that scientists increasingly link to a growing array of health problems across a wide range of animals—wild, domesticated and human.

I recommend that you read the report. The findings are disturbing. For instance, consider the following.

Dogs and cats were contaminated with 48 of 70 industrial chemicals tested, including 43 chemicals at levels higher than those typically found in people, according to our study of plastics and food packaging chemicals, heavy metals, fire retardants, and stain-proofing chemicals in pooled samples of blood and urine from 20 dogs and 37 cats collected at a Virginia veterinary clinic.

Diseases such as cancer and hyperthyroidism are becoming more prevalent in pets. Part of the increase in prevalence can be explained by the longer life expectancies that pets currently enjoy. Cancer, in particular, is more likely to strike when animals are older.

However, the bodily effects of many chemicals listed in the study are not fully understood. In my mind, it is very likely that chemical body burden is playing a role in these disease processes.

Environmental Working Group has launched a campaign to raise awareness about this issue. You can view the campaign’s website by clicking here. The campaign’s spokesdog, Eddie, has a good blog. He also has a profile on Dogster.

• Vaccines Poised for a Comeback
• Which Breeds Are Most Likely to Develop Cancer?
• Can Dogs and Cats Take Herbal Cleansers?
• Does Pet Food Cause Health Problems?
• Protect Your Pet From Three Common Poisons

Vaccines are a perennially controversial subject in veterinary (and human) medicine. As I have mentioned many times on this blog, nobody knows with any true certainty how often pets should receive vaccines (although plenty of people have strong opinions about the matter).

Over the last several years, the trend in the veterinary community has been to vaccinate pets less often. But researchers are discovering new uses for vaccines that might reverse that trend.

Historically, vaccines have been used to protect individuals from communicable diseases such as parvovirus. However, a new generation of vaccines is likely to emerge in the next decade to combat an entirely different problem: cancer.

In fact, anti-cancer vaccines already exist. The vaccine for human papilloma virus is, in essence, a vaccine against cervical cancer in people. And, as I mentioned in a previous post, veterinary oncologists are using a vaccine to help treat oral melanoma in dogs.

A veritable army of researchers is exploring new ways to use vaccines to fight cancer. And the work is paying off. An article in the May 31, 2008 issue of The Economist discusses the results of clinical trials of a vaccine against a highly deadly type of brain tumor. An excerpt from the article is below.

A piece of research expected to be unveiled on June 1st by Duane Mitchell of Duke University . . . hints that glioblastomas, the most lethal form of brain tumor, may . . . be susceptible to vaccination.

There are two means by which vaccines may be used to fight cancer. The first is to vaccinate against cancer-causing viruses (this is the basis for the vaccines against cervical cancer and glioblastoma). The second is to give a vaccine that stimulates the body’s immune system to attack cancerous cells (this is how the canine melanoma vaccine works).

Cancer is a leading killer of pets and people. Vaccines may prove to be a very important tool for fighting cancer in the future.

• Does Pet Food Cause Health Problems?
• Study Reveals High Levels of Dangerous Chemicals in Pets’ Bodies
• Which Breeds Are Most Likely to Develop Cancer?
• Can Dogs and Cats Take Herbal Cleansers?
• Protect Your Pet From Three Common Poisons

Most medicines prescribed by vets are safe. This means that they are not likely to cause serious adverse effects or toxicity.

Nonetheless, any time a pet takes a medicine there is a chance that side effects can occur, even if the side effects are not common.

Because of the risk of side effects, I try not to prescribe medications unless I have a solid reason to believe that they will help my patient. When I diagnose a condition that will resolve rapidly on its own without treatment, I prefer not to prescribe any medicine at all.

That sounds straightforward. But believe it or not, sometimes it upsets clients. Some people feel that they have wasted their time and money if they come home from the vet without some sort of medicine.

When a beloved pet is not feeling well, it is natural to want to do something about the problem. When people give medicine to their pet, they feel that they are helping their pet. However, if the medicine is not appropriate for the condition it may cause more harm than good.

Consider the following letter from a reader.

Hi, My baby Ginger just turned 8 this past
week and lately she has been coughing quite a
bit. It almost sounds croupey. She has an over-the-
counter allergy medicine that I give her and I’m
guessing she might have allergies. What do you
think I should do? (I’m planning to take her to
our vet this week, but I’d like your opinion.)

Allergies rarely cause coughing in 8-year-old dogs. Syndromes such as collapsing trachea, bronchitis, and heart disease are more likely culprits. It is unlikely that an over-the-counter allergy medicine will help much. (A trip to the vet, on the other hand, is exactly what I’d recommend.)

Over-the-counter allergy medicines (antihistamines) may cause sedation, agitation, or upset stomach. What’s more, they have been linked to some scary side effects in people. A number of studies have correlated the use of antihistamines (many of which fall into a class of medications known as anticholinergics) with cognitive decline (dementia) in elderly people. For an article that describes these effects in more detail, click here (warning: the article is somewhat technical in nature).

Some experts now recommend that people with familial histories of Alzheimer’s disease avoid over-the-counter antihistamines.

Animals do not suffer from Alzheimer’s disease per se. However, cognitive dysfunction and dementia appear to be common in elderly cats and dogs.

No link has yet been made between antihistamines and cognitive dysfunction in pets. Nonetheless, the brains and bodies of our pets are very similar to our own. In time a correlation may (or may not) be discovered.

Antihistamines have many valid uses in veterinary medicine. However, unless a pet has been diagnosed with a condition for which antihistamines are the appropriate treatment, I see no reason to give them.

• Can Dogs and Cats Take Herbal Cleansers?
• Does Pet Food Cause Health Problems?
• Protect Your Cat From Five Common Hazards
• Study Reveals High Levels of Dangerous Chemicals in Pets’ Bodies
• Protect Your Pet From Three Common Poisons

Over the last few years, I have written several times about the confusion that clouds the subject of animal vaccines. Nobody, and I mean nobody, can provide definitive answers to quandaries such as how often pets should receive vaccines and which vaccines should be administered to which pets. People love to argue about the subjects, the the simple fact is that there are no simple answers to the questions.

As a concerned pet lover, it may (or may not) please you to know that similar controversies exist in the human medical community as well. I was reminded of this as I was perusing the February, 2008 issue of the American Journal of Public Health. The Journal contained a lengthy paper discussing the history of the controversial (and now discredited) suspected link between vaccines and autism in humans.

In the medical community, that particular controversy has for the most part died down. But plenty of other controversies remain. In fact, the subject of human vaccination is just as contentious as its veterinary counterpart.

Sadly for doctors of all stripes, an end to the controversy is not in sight.

For reference, the paper mentioned in this post is Baker, Am J Public Health 2008;98:244-253.

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Emotional well-being and physical well-being are closely linked. This fact seems self-evident. It makes sense that sick people recover faster if they are happy, comfortable, and free of pain. However, anyone who has spent time in a hospital will probably agree that patients’ emotional well-being often takes a back seat to raw science.

Some members of the nursing profession are working to make hospitals more pleasant for patients. An article in the May, 2008 issue of American Nurse Today points out one way to enhance patients’ emotional well-being: pet therapy. (Hat tip to Denie for passing along the article, which is written for nurses.)

By providing the benefits of human-animal interactions, pet therapy can promote a patient’s health and recovery. And you can use this creative intervention for patients in almost any setting–even patients who don’t have pets.

The article makes several points. First, the authors state that people who are hospitalized often worry about pets who are at home without anyone to care for them. The authors suggest that nurses help to confirm that the pets are being responsibly cared for. This leads to decreased stress and improved clinical condition in hospitalized humans.

The authors also recommend that, if possible, sick people should be allowed to visit with their pets. And they point out that people who don’t have pets often benefit from time spent with specially trained and certified therapy animals.

Finally, regular readers of this blog know that I love to talk about the health benefits that humans derive from their pets. (For instance, see here, here and here.) Therefore, I found the following boxed text in the article to be completely irresistible.

How pets improve our health. The benefits of pet companionship and interactions include:

less stress

lower blood pressure

lower cholesterol levels

less cardiovascular disease

reduced sense of loneliness

increased socialization and reminiscences

increased sense of responsibility and alertness

increased physical activity

improved overall health, leading to fewer doctor appointments

increased fun!

The article discussed in this post was written by Charlotte McKenny, BSN, RN and Rebecca Johnson, PhD, RN, FAAN.

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Chemotherapy for cancer causes severe side effects in many people. Patients may lose their hair, become weak, and suffer from extreme nausea. Some patients feel that the treatment is worse than the disease.

In cats and dogs, side effects from chemotherapy usually aren’t as severe. In fact, many pets tolerate entire courses of chemo without showing any side effects whatsoever. But not every pet that is treated for cancer is so lucky–side effects do occur sometimes.

Therefore, an article in the April 18, 2008 issue of The Week offers encouraging news for pets and people who are diagnosed with cancer. An excerpt from the article follows.

A new technique minimizes the nausea and other side effects of chemotherapy at the same time that it kills more cancer cells. Curiously, the method isn’t a drug or a therapy, but an extremely restrictive diet: Patients are told to starve themselves for two days before every dose of the toxic chemotherapy drugs.

The method works by causing normal cells in the body to enter a state in which they are less affected by the chemo drugs. Cancer cells, however, do not enter this state and therefore are still susceptible.

Although the method appears promising, I confess that I have some reservations. Weight loss and emaciation are common among animal cancer patients, and I personally would be extremely hesitant to withhold food for two days from an already underweight animal.

However, studies on the technique are still in the early stages. As we learn more, it may turn out that the method could help some pets as well as people.

• Study Reveals High Levels of Dangerous Chemicals in Pets’ Bodies
• Vaccines Poised for a Comeback
• Which Breeds Are Most Likely to Develop Cancer?
• Experts Point Out Another Reason to Watch Your Pet’s Weight
• Campaign has goal of curing canine cancer within 20 years

Pets are good for people. I firmly believe that, and I have mentioned it repeatedly on this blog. People with dogs get more exercise, on average, than people who don’t have dogs. (The other day I saw a very elderly man walking his Jack Russell Terrier. Without the dog, I have a hunch that gentleman would rarely leave the house.) Pets provide companionship and a sense of well-being to the people with whom they live. Cats and dogs are used in hospitals and nursing homes to cheer and comfort patients–with remarkable success. They can be trained to assist people with vision impairment, Parkinson’s disease, hearing loss, and even diabetes.

Of course, most of us on Catster and Dogster will agree that pets are good for our health and well-being. And a growing amount of scientific evidence is proving that pets benefit us in ways that are not so self-evident.

A recent article published by the AFP (a French global news agency) states that children who live with dogs may get an immune system boost from the family pet.

Blood tests showed that, in households with dogs, children were less at risk from becoming sensitised to pollens and inhaled allergens–the triggers for asthma and wheezing, allergic rhinitis and eczema–than counterparts in dog-less homes.

Sadly, the article also contains some disappointing news.

Oddly, though, the benefit seen in the children’s antibodies did not show through in terms of symptoms, the study found. Children with a dog were as susceptible to asthma and the other problems as counterparts without the pets.

This statement should not be construed to imply that the children were not receiving a health benefit from their canine companions. The study provides potent evidence that a household pet can help to stimulate the development of early childhood immune systems.

As scientists and doctors love to say: more research is necessary.

• Report Links Breed, Spay/Neuter Status to Certain Allergies in Dogs
• Why are all of the dogs in America suddenly itching?
• How safe is prednisone for allergy treatment?
• What Causes Cysts in Pets?
• Can Dogs and Cats Take Herbal Cleansers?

The Economist is a rich source of material for this blog. The February 2, 2008 issue contained an article that discusses probable links between nutrition and antisocial behavior in people.

The article discusses a study that will be carried out in the United Kingdom on 1,000 prison inmates. From the article:

The trial will replicate, on a larger scale, a stucy carried out . . . in 2002. Then, volunteers were given either capsules containing their official daily requirements of vitamins, minerals, and essential fatty acids (such as omega-3s) or placebos . . . [t]hose who received the extra nutrients committed 26.3% fewer offences than those who got the placebo. For violent offences, the reduction was 37%.

The current study will involve blood testing, and will correlate nutrient levels with “impulsivity” and heart-rate variability (which is ultimately a predictor of anti-social behavior). The goal is to determine if certain nutrients may help to inhibit undesirable behaviors.

How, you may ask, does this relate to pets? Like many organs, the brains of animals are similar to those of humans. Many undesirable behaviors in pets, such as aggression, biting or scratching, appear to be impulsive and anti-social in many cases. Syndromes such as separation anxiety in dogs may be related to human conditions, such as attention deficit disorder, that may be affected by diet.

In the future, an increased understanding of animal nutrition may lead to a reduction of these sorts of behaviors in pets. However, don’t run off to the pet store for nutritional supplements right away. We have a lot to learn before this becomes reality.

• Veterinary Behavior Society Reminder: Punishment Usually Doesn’t Work
• Why Does My Dog Lick the Air?

The March, 2008 issue of Diabetes Forecast, the healthy living magazine of the American Diabetes Association, contained an article (PDF format) describing yet another way in which pets are beneficial to the health of the people with whom they live.

From the article:

No one knows for sure how they do it, but a growing number of canine companions are helping people with diabetes avoid dangerous hypoglycemia.

Diabetes is a disease marked by abnormal blood sugar levels. Most of the time, diabetics suffer from levels that are too high. However, in some instances sudden drops in blood sugar can occur. This may lead to hypoglycemia, or dangerously low blood sugar levels. Extreme hypoglycemia can result in coma, seizures, or even death.

The article describes several instances in which dogs, cats, and even rabbits and birds have alerted their human companions that their blood sugar levels were too low. Many people credit their pets with saving their lives. In some cases, dogs are able to detect an impending drop in blood sugar even before it occurs.

Dogs now are being trained to assist diabetics, much like they aid people with vision or hearing deficits. Dogs4Diabetics, based in Concord, California, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to training dogs for this purpose.

Dogs are helpful for the prevention of diabetes (because they cause people to exercise more). And it turns out that for people who have diabetes, a pet can be a true lifesaver.

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