Antibiotics, Steroids and Your Dog's Health Antibiotics, Steroids & Other Allopathic Drugs: My 6 year old dog has skin problems along with arthritis and other medical problems. She gets cortisone shots or some type of antibiotic almost every other week, is this safe? Your dog could be suffering from an overabundance of shots. Read the information provided below to get an idea of what exactly is happening with your dogs immune system. Drug Treatment and Suppression by Dr. Jeffrey Levy DVM PCH Treatment with allopathic drugs (antibiotics, steroids, hormones, etc.) should be avoided unless absolutely necessary. The need for drug treatment is actually quite unusual, and should be considered a last resort. Antibiotics are often completely superfluous, such as in treating abscesses or viral infections. They should also not be used routinely to prevent infection, such as after most surgery or dental procedures. For most situations in which antibiotics are given, there are safe, effective alternatives. Corticosteroids (cortisone-type anti-inflammatory drugs) are the most abused and dangerous class of drugs. Not only do they not cure the underlying cause of the problem, they usually make the underlying problem, that is, the real problem, worse. The greatest harm of drug treatment is usually not so much the toxicity or side effects as it is the effects of suppression. Allopathic (conventional Western) medical thinking generally seeks immediate gratification: just make the symptom go away. So the patient may be better in the short term, but is usually worse in the longer term. Homeopathy is just the opposite: sometimes the symptoms are worse in the short term (such as with aggravation or the reversal of a previous suppression), but the real benefit is in the longer term. A symptom, say itchy skin, is the body's response to a deeper problem. When a symptom is suppressed, it is only the outward manifestation of the problem that goes away. Since the deeper problem is still there, the body may, in time, produce the same symptom again. Another possibility is that, as a result of the suppression, the deeper problem progresses to the point that a deeper, more serious symptom is produced. So the itchy skin may go away, but then chronic diarrhea develops. If the diarrhea is then suppressed as well, it may lead to, say, liver disease. But hey, at least the skin is cleared up! I see this pattern, or variations on it, very frequently in reviewing the medical records of new patients. It is the unrecognized, and often high, price that we pay for the quick fix, for immediate gratification, for the shot or pill that seems to make the problem go away. Steroids - The Great Pretender (Cortisone, Prednisone, etc.) Doctors tell you that steroids only cause side effects after many years. But new research shows that permanent damage is immediate and devastating. Studies show that steroids cause permanent, debilitating effects after a single dosage. 'Steroids are probably the most sleazy of modern day medications,' says John Mills, former professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco and chief of infectious diseases at San Francisco General Hospital. You take your dog to the vet with a skin disorder. Your vet gives your dog a steroid injection. The skin disorder clears up. Later, you discover your dog has kidney disease. Is there a clear connection between the steroid injection and your dog's diseased kidneys? You don't know. But we do know that steroids are known to damage kidneys. We also know, from the drug manufacturers' own data sheets, that steroids can cause liver damage, brittle bones, diabetes, adrenal insufficiency, inability to deal with stress, and damage to the immune system. Like antibiotics, steroids are one of the most abused class of drugs in the orthodox veterinarian field of medicine. At one time, they were reserved for the extreme emergency cases. Today, they are being used on the most trivial of conditions. Why? They give the appearance of an instant miracle cure which matches the “expectation” level of the client. Thus, many vets turn to steroids as the first line of attack for their anti-inflammatory and anti-allergic effects. Steroids mimic the action of the adrenal glands, the body's most powerful regulator of general metabolism. Far from being a wonder drug a cure all at steroids cannot cure one single condition. All they do is suppress the body's ability to express a normal response. Steroids are all broad -spectrum- that is, they don't specify simply the area of the body you wish to treat, but scatter through every cell including the central nervous system, cells in bone, smooth muscle, blood, liver, etc. They are considered the drug of choice for asthma, eczema, arthritis, back problems, bowel problems, and for any and all inflammations or allergic reactions How many vets have provided their clients with any indication of the possible dangers of steroids, prior to administering the drug? How many vets are even aware that even short course application can present permanent damage? With the many natural methods available to deal with problems where steroids are called for, why not do what's best for your dog. What if he had the choice? Antibiotics - Friend or Foe? antibiotics literally means against life (anti = against, biotic = life). In a healthy body, there is both good and bad bacteria in the intestinal tract. There should be about 80% good bacteria and about 20% bad bacteria. Let's be very clear about antibiotics: They are used to kill bacteria. When antibiotics are used, both good and bad bacteria are destroyed in your dogs intestinal tract! Once the antibiotics are stopped, the bad bacteria grow back first - and faster. Some friendly bacteria such as Lactobacillus acidophilus protect the body from yeast infection and unfriendly bacteria. Some of the good guys manufacture B vitamins, others lactase, still others their own form of antibiotics against flora. The good bacteria fight tumors, work to lower high cholesterol levels, and improve digestion. Candida albicans is a normal inhabitant of the body, but when antibiotics knock out its competitors, it spreads! This leads to infections, producing antigens and toxins which cause a weak immune system, neurological, and endocrinology disorders. Diarrhea, irritable bowel syndrome, skin disorders, fever, elevated white blood cell count, weak immune system, vomiting, dehydration, potassium deficiencies, allergies, bad breath, eczema, yeast infections, nutritional deficiencies and constipation are just some of the many side effects and problems linked to antibiotics. How to help your dog If your dog is being treated for kennel cough using antibiotics, then you will want to read: http://www.k911.biz/Petsafety/CoughingDog.htm
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