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and Susan Wynn, which purportedly showed no protection against canine parvovirus with nosodes, and this study is periodically touted as proof that nosodes do not work. The study, however, was designed inappropriately, and failure was a sure outcome. I discussed this with Dr. Wynn prior to the study; she had con- tacted me about my input and suggestions. When she told me how the study would be done, I informed her that the study would show no protection because it was designed for the vaccine model, and nosodes do not work like vaccines. Unfortunately, while she seemed to understand my comments, the study was car- ried out with that original plan. They gave nosodes on some schedule, waited two weeks or so (I don’t remember the exact details), and then exposed the poor dogs to parvovirus. Naturally, and as I had predicted, all the dogs became infected. This is outside the time win- dow I discussed previously. Nosodes do not provide future protection in the manner that vaccines do. Dr. Wynn and others now report that the study showed that nosodes do not pro- vide any protection against parvovirus. In fact, the study merely showed that nosodes do not provide future protection. The study supports my hypothesis that the protection is only near exposure, which is how nosodes have historically been used, during disease outbreaks or epidemics.
This study does, however, show why the old protocol from George MacLeod did not work adequately, at least in my experience. I have seen failures with this protocol, not only dogs who got parvovirus despite the protocol, but also dogs who had adverse responses to the protocol. This was the protocol that was some- thing like 30C daily for a week then once a week for a month, then 200C once a month for three months, then 1M every 4 months. I do not think this procedure gives adequate protection other than during the 30C phase; furthermore the repeated 1M remedies are risky and unnec- essary, as is the initial daily 30C dosing.
Another factor in effectiveness may have to do with the disease type. As with vaccination, in diseases which are really chronic immune dys- function diseases, like Feline Leukemia virus diseases and Lyme disease, nosodes may not provide such good protection. I have felt, how- ever, that sometimes a nosode for Feline Infectious Peritonitis Virus (Feline Coronavirus) may protect other cats in a household from flip- ping into the FIP form of disease despite expo- sure to other coronavirus infected cats. And possibly, if we knew that a given dog had been bitten by a Borrelia infected tick, a nosode given right away might protect. Some people use Ledum in this case, though, as a presumed pre- ventive due to the nature of the bite. But I would be less confident about nosode protection in either of these situations than for diseases like canine distemper virus or the parvoviruses.
It is these sorts of diseases, the ones I call the truly contagious diseases, that probably
benefit the most with nosodes. For dogs this would be distemper, parvovirus, kennel cough, and adenovirus (primarily the hepatitis variant), although in almost 35 years of practice, I have never encountered a case of canine hepatitis virus infection. I have seen plenty of chronic hepatitis that appears to come from the vac- cine, though. Similarly, coronavirus nosode would probably work, but coronavirus is pretty much a non-issue from my research and expe- rience. In cats, panleukopenia virus (feline par- vovirus) is the most critical, but the upper respiratory viruses also benefit from nosode administration. If a young cat were introduced to a household with endemic FIP virus, FeLV, or FIV, I would consider those nosodes, but not otherwise in most cats.
To recap, then: my experience, especially that in the animal control facility, shows clear evidence of protection from nosodes. I have also used kennel cough nosodes in many ani- mals when they go for grooming or boarding, giving a 30C before going and another dose after the return home, and have so far never had a breakthrough of disease, even when other dogs in the boarding facility developed kennel cough. If the dog will be boarding longer than 5 days, it is best if the kennel personnel give a dose every four to five days. I would give this more frequently than for parvoviruses or canine distemper, as the incubation time is short for kennel cough. But I am pretty certain that this nosode has protected dogs from ken- nel cough based upon clinical use.
With canine distemper and parvovirus, I am less certain. The only case of parvovirus I know about in a dog on nosodes was a dog on the MacLeod protocol. But absence of the disease in other dogs on nosodes really does not prove much, as the exposure is rather uncertain. I cannot remember ever using nosodes in cats to protect against panleukopenia virus, but I would think it would be effective as long as it was close to exposure.
Therefore, only for guardians who are afraid to do nothing, I will sometimes use nosodes to protect against parvovirus (dog or cat) or canine distemper, and give these once a week, starting at 10-12 weeks of age and con- tinuing until the dog or cat is about 6 months old. For cats, I might also use the cat flu com- bination nosode (herpesvirus, calicivirus, chlamydia) in young kittens, from perhaps 6 weeks until 16 weeks. After that time, they have probably been exposed to the virus. In dogs, I prefer to separate the nosodes, so I have guardians administer one nosode on the week- end and the other mid-week.
Nosodes for rabies virus would probably work, especially if given after a bite of a poten- tially infected animal, but of course in countries where rabies virus is endemic, vaccines are legally mandated, and recommending against vaccination puts one on shaky ground. The risk of dire consequences is rather too much to put
one’s license on the line.
I have seen one dog wherein I felt the
repeated 1M combination nosode induced a parvovirus proving, with diarrhea and mild par- vovirus-like symptoms. This was about twenty- five years ago, when I tended to reach for Thuja for vaccinosis, and I treated that dog with Thuja, assuming this to be rather a vaccinosis-like sit- uation. The dog improved greatly. It was inter- esting. The dog even had produced a light blue color on the parvovirus test, but it was pretty certain the dog had not been exposed to the virus. A second test, a couple of days later, after the Thuja, was negative. Rather a curious situ- ation. As a consequence of this and of general homeopathic theory, I do not therefore routinely recommend weekly nosodes as a matter of course. I prefer to use good diet and home care and trust in the immune system, hoping to be able to treat a disease if it occurs. This is not foolproof, though. I have seen outbreaks from time to time, and I know of one situation where several unvaccinated cats in a household got panleukopenia virus infections, and three cats died. These cats were not under my care at the time. But this does underscore the risk of not vaccinating, although we all know too well the risks of vaccinating.
I will use the kennel cough nosode for dogs who go occasionally for boarding or grooming, and I have not recognized any problems. Similarly I occasionally use the cat flu nosode for kittens in houses where one of the viruses is endemic. And I have used the feline coronavirus (FIP) nosode a few times in households with endemic FIPV, with apparent (or possible) success, as coronavirus titers dropped in cats with high titers but who were otherwise symptom-free.
The best use of nosodes is around certain or at least likely exposure, as with epidemic or endemic clusters. Using Influenzinum in humans when everyone around has influenza would be a good example of this. I suppose this could be useful for canine influenza virus, although I have not done this and do not know if there is a nosode available. This sort of use is also frequently applied in horse stables. With diseases like the parvoviruses or canine dis- temper, though, we don’t usually know when there is an exposure unless it is at a puppy class, so this method is more difficult. T
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