Natural Therapies:

     Natural therapies include holistic medicine, homeopathy, chiropractics, acupuncture and many other modes of therapy.  The goals of natural therapies are to return the body to a normal, healthy state of being by means of natural supplements without inducing harm, which is common to many commonly used prescription medications.  This becomes more important with long term use of medications for conditions such as arthritis, asthma, allergies and even seizures.  The body must be supported in order to allow itself to heal, protect it from potential side effects of current prescription medications and to help ward off potential infections.                                                                                                           

     Many of today's current prescription medications are derived from naturally occuring substances such as plants.  In some cases, the prescription medications are more effective than the naturally occuring substance, but in other cases the natural product is better.  Given this philosophy, we need to take a closer look at supplementing patients with what Mother Nature has provided all along.  In today's human medical research, they are finding a link between nutrition and many commonly encountered diseases and maladies.  It has also been a notion that we are what we eat, however this is proving to be even more true as time goes by.  Our bodies, as well as those of our pets and livestock are subjected not only to poor nutrition, but we encounter various toxic substances in our food, environment, water and air on a daily basis.  In the short term, those toxins such as heavy metals pose no real health concern, however over long term periods those levels rise and accumulate leading to disease and a general poor state of health.  Many pet food products contain filler products, artificial ingredients, flavoring and color agents that can pose health risks with time.

     Although we may not be able to do anything about our environment or in some cases even the food that we consume, we may be able to put back into the body what we are lacking in terms of important vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.  There are even natural methods of "detoxifying" the body to help remove various heavy metals from our circulation and tissues.  Every little thing we can do to help the body continue to function is helpful, no matter what the condition.

     At Timbercreek Veterinary Hospital, we try to approach the patient as a whole.  Not only looking at the problem at hand but also taking into consideration the entire patient.  Our goal is to not only treat the current disease or issue, but to also make an attempt to provide the body what it needs or what it may be lacking in, in order to help prevent future recurrence.  This is accomplished via holistic or organic based diets, homeopathic herb preparations, high potency vitamin/mineral supplements, antioxidants, natural pain and inflammation reducers as well as immune system stimulants.  We try to utilize natural therapies in all of our patients from cats to horses.  In many cases, we will use natural therapies in conjunction with typical medical therapies to help treat various diseases.  In our opinion, many cases actually respond better when traditional therapies are combined with natural remedies.