Nosodes are Homeopathic Remedies
Nosodes are homeopathic remedies that are made from the specific
products of a particular disease. This can be tissue containing
the actual disease agents or tissue affected by those agents.
Sometimes nosodes are made from vaccines containing the organisms.
The nosodes are prepared in a diluted and potential form just like
all other homeopathic medicine.
There is no potential for an animal
to become infected with a given disease agent from a nosode because
of the pharmaceutical process that occurs which dilutes and inactivates
any viable organisms. Nosodes seem to work most effectively, homeopathically,
when they are given near or at the time of exposure. For instance,
giving a Parvovirus Nosode immediately before and after a potential
exposure would provide the best protection from the Nosode.
Homeopathic nosodes can be used when your companion becomes at risk
for a disease before three months of age, or if warranted, in unvaccinated
animals to help protect against some contagious diseases. Many
guardians use these homeopathic medicines to help protect their companions
against Parvovirus, Distemper, and Kennel Cough in dogs and Panleukopenia
and FIP in cats.
There are many reasons for Homeopathic medicines to be "animal friendly"
Dr. Charles Loops D.V. M. Homeopathic medicines are
"animal friendly" for several reasons. Because their action works
across the mucous membranes of the mouth, it is not necessary to swallow
the medicine. This makes it easier when dosing, since the mouth
doesn't have to be opened and the remedy can be placed on the gum or
inside the lip. The single dose powder is sweet tasting as it
is in a lactose sugar base and the liquid remedies are diluted at home
before giving, so that the alcohol taste is not a problem. Even
cats generally do not mind taking their medicine. In fact, they
often get excited when the bottle appears.
Homeopathic Antidote to Minimize the Side Effects of Vaccine Damage
By law, an animal must be vaccinated against rabies every three years.
To protect your pet, you can request a homeopathic antidote to minimize
the side effects of vaccine damage from Dr. Charlie Loops. For
rabies vaccine, the remedy is "lyssin". The cost $6.00 for single doses
and $15. for 1/4 ounce bottles for repeated dosing. Some nosodes seem
to work more effectively than others. None produce titers against
disease like a vaccination, so they are not vaccine replacements.
They do seem to moderate a disease condition if the animal is exposed,
even if they don't prevent it. Homeopathic nosodes are another option
for guardians who wish to avoid vaccinations. Nosodes cost $15. each
and provide many doses. They are dosed "as needed" and instructions
are provided.
Alternative Vaccines
by Randall Neustaedter
Conventional vaccines prepared by modern vaccine manufacturers represent
only one form of disease-specific prevention. Vaccines and preventive
medicines are also available to parents in homeopathic form. There is
a long history within homeopathic
medicine of attempting to prevent specific diseases, especially
during epidemics.
The medicines used in homeopathic form consist of two classes. One
class includes those substances obtained from the natural world of plants,
minerals, and animal products. The second class, called nosodes, includes
substances derived from disease products, tissue samples, mucus, pus
from discharges, or pure cultures of microorganisms.
Nosodes correspond to the specific diseases
associated with the individual bacteria or virus, or the infectious
material sample taken from a patient. Both of these classes have been
used to prevent disease. Examples of this include Lathyrus sativa (a
plant) for polio and Pertussin (a preparation of the bacteria Bordetella
pertussis) for whooping cough.
A medicine that has proven effective for a specific epidemic of a
disease in the community can be used as the preventive for other cases
of that disease, though homeopaths tend to use those medicines that
have proven themselves in the past. As a general rule, homeopaths utilize
the nosode of the infectious organism to prevent disease. Nosodes are
named with the Latin terms for the infection or organism, Morbillinum
for measles, Diphtherinum for diphtheria.
This method of homeopathic prophylaxis has been formulated into strategies
and rules of two types - short-term prevention during epidemics and
long-term prevention.
Experience with the use of nosodes during epidemics has led to a
level of confidence and optimism about the protective effect of this
method. Since the mid-nineteenth century, homeopaths have attempted
to prevent or limit the spread of disease during epidemics, with some
success. Most of the experience with this approach occurred during the
era preceding the availability of vaccines. Homeopaths reported a decrease
in the severity and frequency of disease in those patients who received
the nosode preventively.
The method of homeopathic prophylaxis has never been rigorously tested.
Nonetheless, there is some evidence suggesting that homeopathic medicines
do act to prevent diseases during epidemics. One study observed the
occurrence of meningitis in a group of children who received a homeopathic
preventive (Meningococcinum 10c in a single dose) during a 1974 epidemic
in Brazil. Of the 18,640 children given the homeopathic nosode, 4 developed
meningitis (0.02 percent), compared to 32 cases in the 6,340 unvaccinated
children (0.5 percent). This represents a significant difference in
a controlled study, although the control group was not randomized (Castro
and Nogueira, 1975). Eisfelder reported an uncontrolled study of 50,000
children who received Lathyrus, a homeopathic preparation used to treat
paralysis, in varying potencies during the polio epidemic of the 1950s.
Only one of these children developed (non-paralytic) polio. The general
population had a significantly higher rate of polio than 1 in 50,000
(Eisfelder, 1961).
These studies do not prove the effectiveness of homeopathic prophylaxis
in epidemics, but many homeopathic practitioners have been convinced
by their own experience with this form of disease prevention. The practice
of using homeopathic preparations to prevent disease during epidemic
exposure may be effective. The medicines cause no adverse effects, and,
in the absence of any other form of prevention, there was no reason
not to use them. In an epidemic of a serious disease their use is still
warranted, though there are valid reasons to allow children to undergo
the milder childhood occurrence of measles, mumps and chickenpox to
acquire lifelong immunity.
Alternative vaccines in homeopathic form are also available for long-term
prevention. Several protocols exist for the administration of homeopathic
nosodes or the corresponding remedies for the prevention of whooping
cough, meningitis, diphtheria, tetanus, polio, and other diseases during
childhood. There exists significant controversy within the homeopathic
profession about the appropriateness of using these preparations for
long-term prevention. This controversy involves the areas of effectiveness,
safety, and ethics.
No long-term studies have been conducted to evaluate the efficacy
of this form of prevention. There is no reason to assume that these
vaccines continue to act preventively years after administration, unless
immunity is shown through an objective test or clinical studies.
Homeopathic preparations have not been shown to raise antibody levels.
Smits tested the titre of antibodies to diphtheria, polio and tetanus
in ten children before and one month after giving homeopathic preparations
of these three vaccines (DTPol 30K and 200K). He found no rise in antibody
levels (Smits, 1995). He speculates that protection afforded by a homeopathic
remedy acts on a "deeper" level than that of antibodies. Other homeopaths
have stated similar opinions. Golden says, "unlike conventional vaccines,
the Homeopathic alternative does not rely on antibody formation." He
postulates that "Homeopathic remedies reduce the patient’s sensitivity
to the dynamic stimulus of the virus or bacteria, thus lessening the
patient’s predisposition to being overcome by this stimulus" (Golden,
1994).
If homeopathic remedies do not produce an increase in antibody levels,
then the only way to measure the effectiveness of homeopathic prophylaxis
is through clinical results. This is a formidable undertaking. The cost
of long-term studies using homeopathic prophylaxis would be prohibitive,
given the present resources available. Ethical problems could also prevent
such studies from occurring; it is doubtful that ethics committees would
allow children to be deprived of the commonly administered and approved
allopathic vaccines. Moskowitz has suggested that the sizable population
of unvaccinated children whose parents have refused vaccines, could
provide a control group to assess the long-term negative effects of
vaccines (Moskowitz, 1985). Perhaps this population could also serve
as a test group for homeopathic prophylaxis.
Parents need to understand that there is no evidence to support the
use of these homeopathic preparations for long-term prevention. There
is nothing in the literature that shows homeopathic prophylaxis provides
lasting immunity from specific diseases
Handbook of Homeopathic Alternatives to Immunizations by Susan
Curtis BA, MCH, RShom
This book was written as a practical guide to explain what homeopathy
has to offer as alternatives to immunization
Nosodes as an Alternative to Vaccines in Veterinary Medicine
Veterinary homeopaths in the past did not have access to any vaccine
or antibiotics and they hit this illness head on with their various
homeopathic medicines and nosodes. Research into the old texts many
of which are out of print and only found in the archives of universities
have produced information which may be of value for today.
In the 1830s veterinarian Doctor Wilhelm Lux was called to attend
a flock of sheep that were dying of Anthrax. This German scientist had
previously experienced success using nosodes to prevent and treat other
diseases in livestock.[J. H. Clarke, M.D. Dictionary of Materia Medica,
Vol.. pg. 118-119] Dr. Lux prepared an alcoholic extract from the spleen
of the sheep that had just died. Soon a number of physicians and veterinarians
were employing this new homeopathic medicine for their patients who
were suffering with serious illnesses. The lives of both sheep and their
shepherds were being spared by his gift of Anthracinum. [C. Hering,
M. D., The Guiding Symptoms of Our Materia Medica, Vol. 1, pg. 299]
Kennel Cough is best known Case Study
In veterinary medicine, probably the best known study was done by
Dr. Christopher Day of England involving `kennel cough' in a boarding
kennel. At the time he was called in, there were 40 dogs in the kennel
with 35 that had kennel cough. About half had been vaccinated for this
malady. He gave a nosode to all the animals that were there and all
the dogs that came in through the rest of the summer (another 214 dogs).
He successfully reduced the incidence of kennel cough from over 90%
to less than 2%. (Sorry Charlie, nothing is 100% foolproof.)
Nosodes have been developed and used
successfully for almost all animal disease and more recently for `heartworm'.
The late Dr. George MacLeod, in his book "Dogs: Homeopathic Remedies"
had this to say about nosodes: "…gives a more solid immunity inasmuch
as it incorporates the entire defense system, which is mobilized as
soon as the vaccine is taken into the mouth and builds up protection
with each further dose. This build-up leads from tonsillar tissue through
the lymphatics incorporating the entire reticuloendothelial system.
This procedure is equivalent to what is known as `street infection'
viz., ingestion of virus etc. during daily contact with other animals,
when immunity would be built up in the same way."
"…There are no side effects when using homeopathic
oral vaccines-a reaction may sometimes be observed…but such reaction
is transient and soon passes."
"…Another advantage in protection by homeopathic
means, is that vaccination can be started very early in the pup's life,
e.g., within the first week if necessary. This does not interfere with
the presence of any maternal antibodies."
Nosodes appear to stimulate the entire
natural immune system to react against a specific disease. One of the
many reasons that they have not been accepted in the `orthodox' medical
community, is that they do not produce specific, measurable antibodies!
This `titer testing' is of little value in measuring effective immunity
from nosode usage. Again, because the `mechanism' of action is poorly
understood, the 'orthodox' reaction is to reject all evidence as merely
`anecdotal.' Perhaps the `challenge' study by Dr. Schultz will provide
more acceptable evidence to this mentality.
The
Dangers of Vaccinations and the Advantages of Nosodes for Disease Prevention
by Dr. Donna Starita Mehan
The purpose of vaccination is to protect your pet from potentially
fatal infections by pathogenic (disease-causing) viruses such as distemper,
rabies,and others. The way this is done is to inject either a killed
or a "modified" (non-pathogenic) live virus, which sensitizes the immune
system to that particular virus. Thereafter, if your dog or cat is exposed
to, let's say, parvo virus, s/he will be able to respond quickly and
vigorously, producing antibodies to overcome the infection.
This sounds like a pretty good plan, on the surface. However, as
with any medical procedure, we must ask the simple and direct questions,
"Is it safe? Is it effective? Do the benefits outweigh the risks?"
The Problem with Routine Vaccinations
Routine" vaccination, as it is practiced today, is not always effective
(especially in the case of the feline leukemia vaccine), and frequently
has adverse side-effects, either short or long term. With the use of
multivalent (combination: 4 in 1, 6 in 1, etc.) vaccines that are repeated
year after year, the frequency and severity of these side-effects in
our pets has increased dramatically.
Not surprisingly, most of the problems involve the immune system.
After all, the immune system is what vaccines are designed to stimulate.
But they do so in a very unnatural way that can overwhelm and confuse
the immune system. The body may overreact to normally harmless substances
(allergies, especially flea allergies and other skin problems), or even
produce antibodies to itself (autoimmune disease). At the same time,
the body may be sluggish in responding to those things that it should
reject, such as common viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites. This
can result in increased susceptibility to acute infections (such as
ear infections in dogs, bladder infections in cats), chronic tapeworm
problems, or in more degenerative cases, cancer.
Lack of Alternatives
The big question has always been: What alternative is there? Despite
these potential problems, vaccination must surely be preferable to losing
puppies and kittens to distemper, parvo, and other fatal diseases! Until
recently, there have been no practical alternatives, so the short term
benefits of vaccination have seemed to outweigh the long term risks.
Now, however, there is a safe and effective alternative to vaccination:
homeopathic nosodes.
Homeopathic Nosodes: a Better Alternative
nosode is simply a homeopathic remedy that is made from a disease
product. Nosodes are not in any way infections, and can be used in the
same way as vaccines, that is, to prevent viral infection. Like vaccines,
nosodes sensitize the body to a particular virus, so the immune system
can react quickly and effectively to natural exposure. Nosodes are at
least as effective as vaccines, and in some cases have been shown to
be significantly more effective than vaccines in preventing infection.
The biggest advantage of nosodes over vaccines is the fact that they
are completely safe. There are no risks or side-effects whatever. And
they can be safely given to puppies and kittens much earlier than vaccines
can. In fact, the mother can be treated before she gives birth, giving
the puppies or kittens protection from the moment they are born.
Nosodes, like all homeopathic
remedies, are very easy to administer: they are given by mouth,
and don't even need to be swallowed. They are also very economical -
far less expensive, in fact, than vaccination.
Limitations of Nosodes
There are some limitations to the use of nosodes. Rabies vaccination
for dogs is required by law in most counties, and the rabies nosode,
called Lyssin, will not satisfy that requirement. You should
know, however, for the health of your animal, that all vaccines, including
rabies are legally and medically approved for use in healthy animals
only! So if your dog is showing any signs of acute or chronic disease,
he or she is exempt from that requirement and should not be vaccinated.
Despite the obvious advantages of nosodes, most boarding
kennels and veterinary hospitals will not accept them in lieu of vaccination.
If you need to board your dog or cat in a boarding kennel or veterinary
hospital, you may be forced to have him/her vaccinated. This is a problem
that will hopefully improve with time as more kennel owners and veterinarians
become familiar with nosodes.
Therapeutic Use of Nosodes
Donna Starita Mehan, DMV
In addition to helping prevent specific viral diseases with prophylactic
use, nosodes can be used even after exposure to a virus has taken place.
If given immediately after exposure, before symptoms develop, these
nosodes can prevent the development of clinical disease.
Viral diseases such a feline leukemia, feline infectious peritonitis,
canine distemper and canine parvo virus are usually incurable with conventional
medical treatment (antibiotics, steroids, etc.). However, they frequently
respond very quickly and favorably to homeopathic treatment. If your
pet shows any symptoms of illness, specific, individualized homeopathic
treatment will be needed. Due to the potential seriousness of these
conditions, you should seek professional help.
Veterinary Homeopath does not Recommend Routine Vaccination
Dr. Charles Loops D.V. M.
As a veterinary homeopath, I do not recommend routine vaccination for
dogs or cats, except for rabies in health dogs. If, for whatever reason,
you decide that you must vaccinate your pet, I would make the following
recommendations:
- Never vaccinate an animal with symptoms of acute or chronic
health problems, or at the time of surgery or any other physical
or emotional stress.
- Vaccinate for one disease at a time that is, avoid multivalent
(combination) vaccines. For cats, vaccinate for feline panleukopenia
alone. The vaccines for the two upper respiratory viruses (calicivirus
and rhinotracheitis) can be given together. I strongly recommend
against vaccination for feline leukemia or feline infectious peritonitis
virus. The vaccine is ineffective, and in my opinion, extremely
hazardous. For dogs, give parvo separately from distemper.
Do not vaccinate for leptospirosis, hepatitis, or parainfluenza. Never
give the rabies vaccine at the same time as any other vaccine.
- Avoid modified live virus vaccines whenever possible. Get killed
virus vaccines, especially for rabies, canine parvo virus, and feline
panleukopenia. (The canine distemper/hepatitis vaccine is not available
in a killed virus form).
- For middle ages dogs and cats, vaccinate every 2-3 years, instead
of yearly.
- After vaccination, give a dose of Thuja 30c.
Wait one week, then give a dose of Sulfur 6x once daily for 7 days.
Homeopathy, Immunity, Vaccinations, and Nosodes
An animal, properly fed and cared for, will have a significantly
enhanced resistance to disease. The degree of resistance relies principally
on nutrition and total care.
Nosodes are typically used in a therapeutic manner, to treat patients
with the same illness (isopathic), or a similar disease (homeopathic).
For example, Psorinum, the mange remedy, is made from human scabies,
and is useful in treating other skin conditions as well.
Nosodes, when properly prescribed, are useful and safe for young
animals who, while below the recommended age for vaccinations, have
become ill with a particular preventable disease, or similar disease
symptoms.
When using nosodes to treat an existing illness, such as EPM and
other seriously debilitating diseases, however, it would be a mistake
to look at a nosode, or any other homeopathic remedy, as the only solution.
One or more veterinarians should be consulted to evaluate the animal's
situation, and the results that follow treatment. For instance, if Hypericum
and the EPM nosode are given to two different horses, one horse may
have tremendous improvement, and another horse may appear much worse.
It is also vitally important to balance the nutrition, to support the
horse with vitamin and possibly herb therapy, and to consider other
therapies, to get him in a state of recovery. Finding a well-trained
homeopathic veterinarian is important if you choose this route. A list
of homeopathic veterinarians is available through the AVH and the AHVMA
(see SIDE BAR).
Regarding vaccinosis, if your animal is suffering from the ill-effects
of a particular vaccination, the nosode of that particular disease could
be used to antidote the effects. Some of the other remedies that may
help the body rid itself of vaccinosis include Lachesis, Pulsatilla,
Silicea, Sulphur, and Thuja. Chronic conditions, especially, are best
left to the professional homeopath.
Nosodes are also being used in a prophylactic, or preventive, manner,
such as in healthy young animals below vaccination age. It is viewed
by some as a way to expose the immune system to the energies of a disease,
without exposing it to the disease itself, thereby stimulating an immune
response. Unlike a vaccination, a nosode will not introduce foreign,
and possibly harmful, substances into the body.
It is believed by some homeopaths that energetic immunization can
be achieved with nosodes, orally, via contact with the nervous system.
There are more nerves in the mouth than anywhere else. In contrast to
vaccinations, nosodes activate the entire defense system, energetically
and physically, thereby yielding a more solid immunity.
Homeopathic Alternative to Vaccines
Homeopathy is a complete system of healing, discovered 200 years
ago by a German physician, Dr. Samuel Hahnemann. It has its own method
of diagnosing and its own special remedies. The remedies are all natural,
rarely have side-effects and are not addictive. They are safe for adults,
the elderly as well as for infants and children. Even pregnant women
can take the remedies safely. Homeopathic remedies are very effective
in acute and chronic diseases. In the U.S., homeopathy is a legally
recognized method of healing.
Nosodes are homeopathic preparations made from cultures of microbes
and viruses. The nosode is prepared by serial dilution. Nosodes are
administered in different two basic ways. In the case of nosodes from
bacteria and viruses, the preparation carries the molecular imprint
of the proteins and other constituents of the pathological agent. The
working of the nosode is based on the fact that the immune system is
sensitized to this molecular imprint without being exposed to the virulence
of the living agent. The use of nosodes as a replacement for vaccination
is based on this mechanism.
A nosode from a pathological agent, such as the measles, whooping
cough (pertussis), etc., carries the molecular imprint of the agent
and therefore sensitizes the immune system in such a way as to prepare
the body for the defense against that same pathological agent. This
is important in the case of children's diseases, where a primary infection
is necessary to immunize the child, often for life, at a moment when
the baby is highly vulnerable.
Whether a baby will be immunized with a vaccine or not, the administration
of a nosode for each of the common children's diseases is an ideal way
to start building immunity. Because of the fact that the agent is present
in the nosode as an imprint and not as a virulent entity, it is a safe
and gentle way to sensitize the immune system. It will protect against
shock and serious consequences in the case of infection or vaccination
Related:
Vaccines and preventive medicines are available to parents in safe and effective homeopathic form.
Titers: What do they tell us?
By Christie Keith
Many people who are trying to reduce vaccination are interested in
using "titers" as a test to measure whether or not their dog is still
immune to a disease. They often speak of titers as showing "high" or
"low" immunity, or of "having to" re-vaccinate when a titer is low.
While there is not a tremendous amount of research on titers in dogs,
I think it's fair to say there is quite a bit of misunderstanding on
the part of pet owners, and even many veterinarians, as to what a titer
test does or does not tell us.
A "titer" is a measurement of how much antibody to a certain virus
(or other antigen) is circulating in the blood at that moment. Titers
are usually expressed in a ratio, which is how many times they could
dilute the blood until they couldn't find antibodies anymore. So let's
say they could dilute it two times only and then they didn't find anymore,
that would be a titer of 1:2. If they could dilute it a thousand times
before they couldn't find any antibody, then that would be a titer of
1:1000.
A titer test does not and cannot measure immunity, because immunity
to specific viruses is reliant not on antibodies, but on memory cells,
which we have no way to measure. Memory cells are what prompt the immune
system to create antibodies and dispatch them to an infection caused
by the virus it "remembers." Memory cells don't need "reminders" in
the form of re-vaccination to keep producing antibodies. (Science, 1999;
"Immune system's memory does not need reminders.") If the animal recently
encountered the virus, their level of antibody might be quite high,
but that doesn't mean they are more immune than an animal with a lower titer.