An interesting (and possibly controverisal) article from Dogs Naturally magazine which gives cause for concern re the use of Apoquel in the treatment of allergies in dogs http://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.co...d8c4089b7d7fbb76b9e8556c5187d434f9b03d798eb7e
All drugs that actually work have the potential for side effects. As with all drugs owners have to talk with their vet about the impact of leaving conditions untreated and the impact of treating. With itchy dogs, leaving the condition untreated results in permanent skin changes (thickened, elephant like skin) and ongoing misery and discomfort for the dog. Unfortunately, treatment (with drugs that work) is necessary. There are a lot of irresponsible claims made in that article, like 'Apoquel will give your dog cancer' while 'the medication I prescribe will cure cancer'. I see that the author of that article is strongly affiliated with an organisation that promotes the use of homeopathy. Homeopathy has been proved to be bunkum. On the plus side homeopathic remedies probably won't harm your dog because they basically have zero effect on anything (the solutions used are so diluted they are both harmless and ineffective). Don't cause misery for your dog by using ineffective 'remedies' though. Use proper drugs that work and will make your dog comfortable.
Oban was on Atopica, also mentionned in that article, for three years. It was a godsend but I always considered it to be a lesser evil than the prednisone it replaced. @Oberon do you have links to the proof homeopathy is proved to be bunkum? I have used some homeopathy on myself and on Oban. Oban's former Vet practices it but more convincing to me were doggy friends I respected who swore by a couple of remedies. But none of it worked for either of us. Where did you find these quotes? I read twice, not the links though, are they in the links?
Proof that homeopathy is bunkum....hmmm....like proof wombles don't exist? Wombles do exist, of course. Otherwise Wimbledon Common would be covered in litter. Obviously.
National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) information paper on the evidence for the effectiveness of homeopathy: https://www.nhmrc.gov.au/_files_nhmrc/publications/attachments/cam02a_information_paper.pdf If you don't want to read the paper, the concise version is: There is no evidence that it works. The NHMRC is an Australian government body that funds medical research and produces public health, medical and clinical guidelines, based on expert review. The 'quotes' I gave weren't quotes, which is why I didn't use quotation marks. They were my paraphrases based on my reading of the article. Sorry for not making that clear
Ha ha @julie - I hadn't seen that, before, its hilarious! It is SO difficult to prove any of the alternative treatments work, because it is so terribly complex to develop "sham" control groups. I practice a bit of acupuncture (on humans) having a certificate of competence to do so from the British Medical Acupunture Society (BMAS) the main UK based Western medical acupuncture regulator. I used to do more, but time doesn't allow. I think the concepts behind acupuncture are really interesting. Not the fire/earth/water part, yin/yang and energy flow, but for musculoskeletal issues where there are trigger points and more hard tangible applications of the "Gate Theory of Pain". Pain control particulalry in Fibromyalgia (aka Persistant somatoform pain disorder) is one of my particular interests. There is a lot of work on the use of sham acupuncture needles, but they aren't proven to be completely "sham" so trials aren't really that well developed. I have no problem at all at people trying alternative treatment if they are actually complementary. That is, not treating asthma with homeopathy for instance. I find a lot of complementary therapies fascinating to be honest, but in no way shape or form a SUBSTITUTE for well researched EVIDENCE-BASED MEDICINE, be that human or veterinary.
@JulieT, absolutely loved the video. The vet I worked for tried homeopathy and found it didn't appear to work, another vet I was friends with, also used homeopathy for some time in his practice but again found it wasn't effective.
There is some evidence that acupuncture works for some things, though @drjs@5, isn't there? I remember looking it up when the rehabilitation place Charlie went to started to try acupuncture on dogs. They concluded that it helped some dogs, a bit. I don't find it surprising that acupuncture might help tense muscles, or pain from poor posture etc, around injury sites etc.
NICE had it in their back pain guideline for best practice Julie but I think they revised and removed it. Just away out, can check later.
My dad used acupuncture for help with arthritis. It was of some benefit but not sufficient to use it as sole means of pain management. He also found there were other simple things he could do like keeping joints warm and protected from draughts that helped.
Well, yes, for sure. I also don't find it surprising that there are cheaper, easier things than acupuncture that have the same effect!
Vet I worked for did use acupuncture and it did seem to help old dogs who were very much in pain to begin with but did not appear to have lasting results after a while. I was given in on NHS for bad shoulder, didn't help at all. Maybe the placebo effect on some people and even dogs!
