Over the last few years, I have been developing my interest in herbal medicine in an effort to better support my patients, especially those aging animals that have difficulty with prescription pain medications (often NSAIDS: non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs ). I have just finished the first year of a 2 year graduate course in Western Veterinary Herbal Medicine. The course is three quarters of a masters degree (not sure what I would need to do yet to get that last 1/4, but that’s not my biggest priority), by the end of the course I should be prepared to take a certification exam in veterinary herbalism, sponsored by the Veterinary Botanical Medicine Association (VBMA), and could call myself a “Certified Veterinary Herbalist”. More importantly, I hope to have some better answers for my patients and to understand the safety and interactions that are concerns with herbs.

I am studying Western, as opposed to Chinese or Ayurvedic or other traditional approaches to herbal medicine, though we are touching on these and other traditions to round it out--fascinating course! The Western approach looks at the herbs individually first, rather than by complex formulas, and I felt that I wanted to get to know the individual plants and know them well before mixing them into formulas. Something that I really like about this course is that it is "integrative.” The course combines the modern, conventional approach to medicine with beneficial herbal alternatives for treatment, providing a scientific/chemical action approach, as well as incorporating traditional "ethnobotanical" information--that is, blending the traditional uses with what we currently know about how the herbs act on the body, making it a truly holistic approach, in my opinion. There is still much to be learned in the field of herbal medicine, and it cannot be assumed that just because they are "natural" they are safe, but with the long term use (often thousands of years) of many of these plants I feel better about them than many of the modern pharmaceuticals with their long lists of side effects.

Each plant is composed of many chemical constituents that have different affects on the body. Pharmaceutical companies take advantage of these constituents, isolate them and make medicines all the time. The interesting thing is that some plants also contain minor constituents that actually protect the body from the possible side effects of the "primary active ingredient". Aspirin is a great example of this: the pharmaceutical pills can cause gastrointestinal ulcers, bleeding problems and liver damage, but herbs that contain the ingredient, salicin, originally isolated to create the drug, have fewer side effects. Meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria, previously Spiraea ulmaria), the plant that gave aspirin the “spir” its name, is actually used to treat stomach ulcers. Often herbs can be used in combination to achieve a synergistic effect, or with pharmaceutical drugs to allow for a reduced dosage. Many of these herbs are used as food, and often the benefit is nutritional as much as "medicinal.”

I am starting to see some real benefits in my patients whose owners are interested in this treatment option, and am finding more possibilities for supporting animals, especially those with osteoarthritis, liver, kidney and urinary tract disease, diabetes and other geriatric conditions that we sometimes feel helpless in treating. During this next year (2012) in my course, we will be exploring diseases and their herbal therapies in depth by system, so I am looking forward to more helpful options for allergies and skin disease, inflammatory conditions of respiratory and gastrointestinal systems (more help for those vomiting cats!), and much more. This is not a cure-all, but it does give me another tool to support my patients--those with active disease and as a preventative measure. Also, I get to play in my garden and call it "work"!

If you have any questions or are interested in what herbal support can do for your pet, please contact me for a consultation.