Is alternative or 'new age' medicine Hokum?

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

Ok, long story but I'm going to try to make it short. Basically there's this man who brings his dog to the dog park who has recently been trying to give me (unsolicited) advice about Winston's allergies. I usually try to change the subject because he's one of these new age spiritual types, the kind I used to worship back when I was younger but have since become far more skeptical of. Talk of balancing energy fields through positive vibrations and what not usually makes me uncomfortable.

 

He says he's cured allergies and 'hot spots' and other such conditions in other dogs using his quantum rejuvination techniques. He did cure his own dog's hot spot as I saw the transition. He said he cured four different cancers in himself, and that this is the same science that Lance Armstrong used to cure his cancer (I googled around for Lance A. and alternative or new age medicine and didn't find much). From what I hear from the rumour mill this guy has a background in science and medicine and is also filthy rich. He has a website that I checked out and it seems rather bizarre, but if you're curious send me a message I'll give the address to you.

 

Anyway, after asking me a few times for a hair sample from Winston so that he can analyse it using his special technology or something, I finally gave in to morbid curiosity and said ok. I figure, what do I have to lose at this point since nothing else seems to work.

 

So he called me with the results of his analysis last night, and below are the notes I took on my computer as we were talking (keeping in mind that I was writing the notes down I was distracted by a pulsating pain in my head cause by a vicious cupboard door attack) - colour comment is mine.

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Worms – get deworming powder at the pet store - this will help with itchy butt. (hhhmmmmm... Winston had a negative fecal done very recently)

Grains &  Gluten intolerance (good thing Winston is now on grain free food)

Sprain or muscle spasms (his back leg has seemed quite stiff...)

Depression, rejection and some anxiety (no kidding)

Meridian system is over inflated (WTD???)

Spinal issues-compressed nerves (not sure about this but possible)

Dermatitis from allergies (I already knew this...)

Weak thyroid – medicine creating a dependency.  inconsistently give it to him. Break the cycle by stopping, then give it to him inconsistently so his body doesn’t get dependant on it. (I have a hard time understanding how stopping his thryroid pills will help him... but it is interesting that he noted the condition and he didn't know he was already diagnosed with it)

 

Allergies:(some of these foods are in his current kibble (orijen adult) or were in his past kibble (nutro lamb and rice and I have been giving him cookies that have some the ingrediants, like wheat, in them)

 

Acute:                                  

Bakers Yeast

Vegetables - only give him steamed as it is easier on his system (no wonder he doesn't eat his broccoli)

Chicken (this is the base protein of his kibble)

Wasps and mosquitoes

Tomatoes

Wheat

Grass

Chicken

Nuts

Broccoli

rapeseed (canola oil)

lamb

 

Chronic:

Shellfish

Whey (in a lot of dog food)

Bakers yeast

Mold

Animal hair such as cats - (Oh no! Penelope!!)

MSG (who isn't allergice to MSG and why would anyone give this to their dog anyway?)

Sweet Potatoes (interesting because he rejects these)

Aduki beans (funny, I had these for dinner the other night and had never heard of them before then)

Fish – particularly trout and cod (he did not do well on six fish orijen)

Coconut

Salmon

Egg whites (he rejects boiled eggs)

Peas that are raw

 

Iodine deficiency - feed him kelp or seaweed as it will help build the thyroid. (I should look into this, if this is true it couldn't hurt right?)

For his itchy Paws, use betadine (a diluted iodine). 2 minutes per paw. Half a capful of betadine in water. Dogs sweat through paws so betadine will absorb in his system – doing this on a daily basis will help. (I asked pharmacist about this and she thought it was nuts but admitted there could be something she doesn't know about it as she's not a dog expert)

 

Rhustox. 2 or 3 pellets – don’t touch, crush with spoon. Have Winston lick them. Sugar tablet. Stops itching. (this is some sort of a homeopathic substance)

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Ok, recognizing this guy might be completely out to lunch, I'm pretty skeptical. However, I'm wondering how much harm there is in testing some of his theories out given that nothing else I've tried works, including several different types of antihistimines, including the steroids and seasonal allergies are no longer the problem now that the weather is cold. He still knaws on his paws, and his leg-pits, as well as scratches his chin obssessively (I actually found scabs from where he must have broke the skin). I would never mess with his thyroid meds but is there any harm in trying out the homeopathic stuff and trying the de-worming powder and maybe making some dietary changes and trying out some sort of beef based diet?

 

On the other hand, I could make the two hour drive to Montreal and fork out the $300 to get a full blood work up for allergies as my vet had suggested as an option, which would be followed by $100 shots every 10 days which have only proved successful in about a quarter to half of her clients who have done this. I am not rich so I'm not sure this is an option right now...

 

So basically, Complete and total HOKUM, or is it worth a shot? I'm leaning towards Hokum, I'd bet my doodles that Karen and F will think so, but I thought this would make for an interesting discussion...

[F, Calla & Luca]

Yes, they have criteria to measure the reactivity.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Yep, they inject two controls, pure histamine, which is going to produce the strongest reaction, and then saline which shouldn't produce any reaction, and then they compare each reaction to the other substances along that scale.

Since I posted this discussion, I have learned a lot, and some of it is not quite accurate, but it gives you a good ides of the process, and there was another DK member who was a doctor and made some really helpful comments in this discussion:

http://www.doodlekisses.com/forum/topics/all-about-allergies

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Yes, google "Tzanck prep veterinary", you see a lot of references to yeasts and other skin infections.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Found a recent bill, it says Tzanck preparations revealed low numbers of epithelial cells, regarding the scrapings.

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

I think she was saying that he will want to drink the water. But actually, he's very obedient. if I tell him not to he won't do it.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

He won't drink the water.

He's smart besides obedient.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Sherri, this Zymox spray looks pretty good, and it seems to be widely available:

http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=hydrocortisone+spray+for+d...#

 

The Corti-care is good, too, though. I just looked at your link, and I  have used that before.

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

cool, I checked amazon for it (so I can use the DK link) and I see that they also have medicated shampoos, which gets me to my next qeuestion. I've been bathing him once a week with a basic oatmeal shampoo. I've been wanting to find something with a little more umph. i know i asked this somewhere before and you replied but I don't know where the discussion is anymore...

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Douxo Calm shampoo is the best. I also use Relief Shampoo with Colloidal Oatmeal and Praxomine, same as that spray, now I'm wondering if that's backordered too. But Douxo is wonderful.

With either one, you must leave the lather on for at least 10 minutes before rinsing, and use a cool dryer or air dry, no hot dryers.

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

Karen, I couldn't order this becasue it cannot be shipped to canada - which often means our health agency has likely banned it due to some sort of ingrediant in it that we deem to be unsafe. Even if you were to mail it to me it could be inspected by customs and returned. we could give it a try though...

 

The new vet i saw this afternoon suggested Cortisoothe. I said I'd look into it before deciding. It can only be ordered through a vet. It's $36 a bottle. She said I can soak his feet in a bath with it, and then dry them really well after. http://www.drugs.com/vet/cortisoothe-shampoo.html I think it looks good, but why is it so expensive??? sheesh.

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

AHA! Douxo is a different formula in Canada and I can only get it as a prescription by the vet.

http://www.drugs.com/vet/douxo-calm-shampoo-can.html 

 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

This is all such a rip-off. I originally purchased the shampoo from my vet, and he charged me $26 for a 6 oz bottle. (JD's specialist doesn't sell anything, which is one reason I trust her so much; it's never in her own best interests to recommend one thing over another.)

I later found it on-line for about half that, $13.50. There is shipping, but still!

What is particularly upsetting about this is, the on-line company isn't selling it for what they paid for it, they have to make a profit too, or they'd be out of business. So the $13.50 is already a mark-up over the cost from the distributor. For the vet to double that mark-up...WTD!!!! I love my vet, but I try not to buy anything from him.

I have read that some vet practices make as much if not more from the sale of merchandise: food, shampoos, etc., as they make from actually treating their patients.