nosodes - alternative to vaccinations

Nosodes are made from diseased tissues or discharges from an infected but unvaccinated and untreated animal. Many people think of nosodes simply as homeopathic vaccines but this is not their only function. Nosodes can be administered either therapeutically (in order to treat a disease) or prophylactically in order to prevent a disease.

Though nosodes do contain a causative organism, their efficacy doesn't depend on the presence of the organism itself. It is the substances formed by the animal's immune system in response to invasion by bacteria or viruses that make nosodes effective. In homeopathic terms, the substance in the nosode was taken from an animal suffering from a disease that manifested itself in a certain symptomatic picture, so the nosode is adminisered to an animal (or person) whose condition resembles that picture. For instance, the nosode, distemperinum may be used to treat distemper and the immune response to this or any nosode offers a more natural response to disease without the introduction of killed or modified viruses and harmful preservatives that can weaken the immune system when injected directly into the blood stream. It is important to note that very few diseases are introduced directly into the blood stream. Unlike vaccines, nosodes are said to be safe and many homeopathically trained veterinarians feel they are highly effective and valuable tools in the prevention of various feline and canine diseases.

A nosode is considered to be a particular homeopathic remedy, that can be administered to both cats and dogs rather easily, because the nosodes action works with the mucous membranes in the mouth. Your dog or cat doesn't need to ingest or swallow the remedy, its coating merely dissolves in their mouth which doesn't have to be opened. It's fine if it is dissolved under their tongue or around their gums or inside the lip. They come in tiny pellets or even powders. Some homeopathic vets will make up an easy to administer liquid form, as well.

Many nosodes have been 'proved' homeopathically ('proving' is the homeopathic procedure for ascertaining the effects of substances by administering them to healthy subjects in order to observe and record symptoms) and have an established homeopathic picture, but since most veterinary nosodes have only recently been developed, there have been no in depth 'provings.' The nosodes are primarilty used today for the prevention of a given disease or in its treatment. In some cases, the use of nosodes has brought out symptoms of a latent disease, but we don't know of their ever having produced the disease itself.

As with conventional vaccines, nosodes should be administered only to healthy animals when used preventatively. When they are given to sick animals (even those with only subtle symptoms such as thirst, a red line on the gums, or a dry coat), some dogs or cats may actually exhibit deeper signs of existing illness.

Currently nosodes are controversial for several reasons and even homeopaths pose the question as to whether or not the nosodes should be used at all for prevention? Just like the age old question in homeopathy is examined and debated often as to whether they should or should not be administered in combinations, ie kennel cough, distemper and rabies, or one at a time with a break in between. Should they be used routinely for prevention, like 'boosters', or only after exposure to a particular disease, or as a remedy when the animal has actually contracted the disease? For how long do they protect the animal? You can see by all these questions that much more work needs to be done to evaluate and standardize the use of nosodes, but none the less it is a protocol often advised by homeopathic veterinarians and one that is certainly worth our time and consideration as a safe and effective alternative to traditional vaccines.

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