Page 11 - Summer 15

left lumbri-coidal region. He could not be touched without strong pain reactions and trying to bite the owner. Under sedation all the fur had to be cut off over a palm-sized large part of red eczema, which was hugely swollen and the hairs already starting to fall off over half of the area. There was no pus or necrosis of the skin yet but this would probably have been the next step. The owner reported that the day before there had been nothing out of the ordinary. After some questioning about changes of food or other possible reasons, the owner remembered being on a place, where insecticides seemed to have been applied on plants, where the dog had intensely rubbed his back end.
After shaving and cleaning the wound Fly got Acidum carbolicum C30, 2 times a day and a iodine-cream on the skin and an Elizabethan collar around his neck to protect the wound from licking.
Follow up: already the next day the skin much less red, swelling nearly disappeared and the pain as well. Treatment continued with ac- carb. C30, only once a day for 2 more days. Last check up mid-August: dried up completely, started to heal, no more temperature, pain or suppuration.
Article written by Chris Gosling, Organic Dairy Farmer
August 2015
In May I volunteered to exhibit for HAWL (Homeopathy At Wellie Level, Ed.) at the Alliance of Registered Homeopaths conference in London, and I am so glad that I did, it was a very interesting and enjoyable day. Once I had set up the display boards (not an easy task for a beginner) and put out all the flyers etc., I could relax and talk to the delegates about the HAWL course and how homeopathy can be used on the farm. We discussed the remedies that are regularly used for various illnesses and stressful situations and the similarities and differences between treating humans and animals. A lot of the homeopaths thought that treating animals would be difficult, because they can’t tell you their symptoms and how they feel. I explained the observational skills that most farmers have for finding symptoms and gave examples of cow behaviour at times of calving, bulling or not bulling, mastitis, lameness, other illnesses, TB testing and at other stressful times and how this behaviour can be translated into remedy states. They were very interested in the concept of preventative homeopathy and how it could be incorporated into the farming year. Many took flyers away to read and some were interested in taking the course, so that their practices could include their local farms. I surprised myself at how much I had to say about farm homeopathy and realised, just how much I have learnt from the HAWL course and further training days, which also encouraged me to learn further from books and online courses. I am also lucky to have an excellent homeopathic vet, who has taught me a lot as well. I started out feeling so afraid of not using conventional medicine, especially for mastitis cases. Now I very rarely use, or want to use, any conventional medicine. I feel much more confident and know that my cows are healthier without it, although I do have respect for it in life or death situations. I remember one of the HAWL tutors saying that we may become obsessed with homeopathy and start buying remedies and books instead of shoes ... she was right! I had support on the stand from Oliver Dowding, who was a dairy farmer in Somerset and successfully used homeopathy for his herd for many years. He gave an excellent presentation on farm homeopathy. He said that at a time, when antibiotic resistance is becoming a major issue and an estimated 80% of our antibiotic exposure comes via the food chain, homeopathy clearly has a major role to play in healthy food production. He gave examples of successful cases on his own farm and training needed for the farm staff to be able to use it efficiently. The other presentations were also very interesting. I could see from my stand at the side of the conference room that the delegates were spell bound and emotionally charged by the speakers, especially Delny Britton who gave a particularly disturbing presentation on the cruel testing of homeopathic remedies on animals. This is totally against, what homeopathy stands for, as Hahnemann said: “first do no harm”, and it is also totally unnecessary. I enjoyed talking to the other exhibitors. Nelsons, who had the stand next to mine and generously gave me the full Bach’s flower remedy kit! Weleda remedies, aromatherapy oils and Narayani remedies. The latter sell combination remedies based on matching similarity of state. They believe that the best prescription is always unique and similar to the individual, whether it presents as one remedy or several, a combination or a sequence. The remedies have been tried and tested very successfully in the busy clinics in India, Mauritius and South Africa by qualified doctors and experienced homeopaths and have been given to thousands of sick patients. There was also a book shop and amongst the hundreds of books I found “Insights into Veterinary Homeopathy” by Peter Gregory, homeopathic vet and past president of the British Association of Homeopathic Veterinary Surgeons. As well as a detailed explanation of the concepts of homeopathy, he also describes the most common remedy states encountered in practice with guidance on how to recognise them in an animal patient, including farm animals. He does this in an easy to understand and a very entertaining way. It is a fantastic book. So it was a great day and thank you to Karin (Mont, Ed.) and ARH (Alliance of Registered Homeopaths, Ed.) for making me feel so welcome.
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