ON-LINE CURES FOR WORMS, FLEAS, CANCER…

The internet is an amazing place…so much information, and so easy to buy anything at the click of a button. But it has it’s dangers.

Imagine your dog is due for worming…you usually get some stuff from the vet but it’s quite expensive and you aren’t heading in to town so you look online. First you find your usual wormer available from an internet pharmacy. You check the pharmacy is properly registered in the UK, and that you don’t need a prescription, and you’re just about to pay when….

You notice an article saying how bad chemical wormers are for pets. You read it and it’s scary stuff! One dog died, another had fits. So now you start looking for a more natural approach…something herbal. There are lots to choose from and they are all quite cheap, come with glowing testimonials and there is no mention of side effects. Great! Let’s order some….

Or maybe your cat has been diagnosed with cancer and the vet says there is nothing that can be done other than supportive care…but a quick internet search reveals several herbal tonics with great reviews…

HERBAL REMEDY QUALITY, SAFETY, AND EFFECTIVENESS

Before you put in your credit card details have a really good look at the products. The manufacturer should be able to tell you what herbs are in the product, at what strength. They should be talking about amounts of active chemicals, not just how much dry or fresh herb was used as herbs can vary in strength from season to season. Can the producer tell you how they quality check the herbs and where the herbs come from? Many herbs are rare in the wild and must be farmers of collected under strict controls, other herbs look similar to plants which are toxic or have no medicinal actions. Has the product been tested to show it is safe and effective? Beware of simple testimonials; “I use ‘herbal worm prevent’ on my dog and he never has worm!” may be true…but as most worm infestations aren’t obvious without faecal testing can the owner really be sure? For a worming product we would expect to see a study where pets were tested for worm eggs before treatment and split into a control group (no treatment) and a treated group, then tested again. Similar tests can easily be done to show the effectiveness of flea products. Cancer treatments are more difficult for a small herbal company to test and though most will do no harm, they may also do little good. Cancers can be very variable in how they affect pets. Some grow slowly and some grow fast even if you do nothing at all. Many herbs have well known side effects, especially at higher doses- does the company mention these, or any interactions with conventional drugs (there are many!).

RELIABLE, SAFE, HONEST HERBAL MEDICINES

We don’t offer miracle cures. We prefer monitoring for parasites and using appropriate doses of licenced products when required. These products can have side effects, but they are uncommon and well known and we take them into account when weighing up which products to use.

We do offer bespoke herbal medicines to support pets with a huge range of medical conditions, but our training means we are well aware of potential side-effects, drug interactions etc. We only buy herbs from manufacturers who follow Good Manufacturing Practice, and source herbs in an ethical and sustainable way.

So….instead of buying a miracle potion….book a consultation with us!