Veterinary Homeopathy

Hypericum and its Role in Veterinary Science

Written by Gautam Unny

Dr. Gautam Unny discusses the role of Hypericum in Veterinary Medicine.

Hypericum Perfolatum or St. Johns Wart is one of the best and most popular remedies used in our practice. It has widespread uses, is a non-polychrest remedy and is popularly called the Arnica of the nerves.

We have used it extensively in bites, nail avulsions, nerve injuries, vertebral disc issues, deep wounds, asthma etc. with great success. My practice is mostly with dogs and cats and they seem to show a very positive result on being given the remedy. I mostly use it in the mother tincture form, though I keep the potencies too in the clinic.

It was my own experiences with this wonder drug that made me such an ardent prescriber of the same. It’s very common for one of us staff at the clinic to get bitten. If anyone has had an animal bite on his finger, he would know the pulsating pain that is felt.

One such bite on my finger made me wrap my finger with a gauze dipped in hypericum mt and take a dose of its 30 potency orally. In a matter of minutes, the pain had ebbed and half an hour later vanished.

A second instance was when I had severe pain in my spine that could be best described as pulsating pain that radiates upward. My condition improved in two days post medication.

Coming back to its uses in animals at our clinic, the first cases where we have seen the maximum success is in deep wounds. Where there are deep wounds that need slow granulation tissues to form and are not infected, we apply the mother tincture mixed with normal saline in a 1: 5 ratio.

Where the wound is more superficial, we mix it with Calendula mt and normal saline in the ratio 1:1:8. This is called Hypercal and has totally replaced all our allopathic wound cleansers and antiseptics over the past  year.

It can also be used as an ear wash par excellence. I pour the diluted mother tincture into any dog bite puncture wound for pain relief, wound healing and to prevent tetanus.

There are cases where the dew claw or the inner nail of the pet gets stuck in a cloth or rug and breaks. Such cases if severe need the nail to be cut. Since the nail has a rich supply of nerves it is very painful. In the past we would have the pet take painkillers for a short period.

Nowadays when we clip the avulsed nail, we just dress it with Hypericum MT and we find that no further pain management is needed. In fact, Boericke states that it can supersede morphine for analgesia post surgery.

Around mid-January this year in Delhi a boxer aged 7 was presented to the clinic. It had difficulty breathing and had signs of asthma. We did start it with antibiotics as the leucocyte count was high. The severe winter and foggy winter were making life miserable for the patient who was not responding well to nebulisation and other medications.

It was then that we started him on Hypericum 200 four pills thrice a day (Boericke – “asthma worse foggy weather”). In three days the owner reported marked improvement in his pet and we stopped all allopathic medications and gave the homeopathic preparation for 10 days. In that fortnight we had helped cure 3 patients with this remedy presenting asthma in foggy weather.

The last but most common condition we use this remedy for is in disc disease. The combination of very smooth flooring, lifestyle ailments like obesity and inbreeding are making joint and disc problems a matter of concern for vets and pet parents alike.

In almost all cases of patients with pinched nerves and pressed spinal cords we give this wonder drug. We also give other medications but for the pain nothing works like hypericum in combination with Calc Fluor 3X.

In Homeopathic Care of Cats and Dogs by Don Hamilton, he rates this as the top remedy for slipped disc due to damaged nerves followed by Natrum Mur 3X and Nux Vomica. 

In Dogs: Homeopathic Remedies by George Macleod, the author  suggests this remedy for photo sensitization apart from the other uses listed above. It has also been mentioned as a particularly good cure for allergies. Its use in hemorrhoids and other coccygeal issues are also highlighted in the homeopathic literature.

In his book Veterinary Homeopathy the late Dr. P. K. Naveen, a well known Indian veterinary homeopath, mentioned hypericum’s role in curing tetanus. I had the good fortune to gain pearls of wisdom when he gave classes in homeopathy for our batch.

Recently at the clinic we have given it in a few cases of limb amputation after reading its uses in phantom limb pain in humans.

To sum up, Hypericum is the go to medication in pains involving nerve injuries especially spinal nerves. Its material doses are preferred in animals as often mental signs cannot be ascertained. When classical peculiar and queer signs like the asthma in foggy weather are noted, higher potencies produce dramatic results.

About the author

Gautam Unny

Dr. Gautam Unny B.V.Sc, M.I.S.V.S. is a practicing veterinarian in New Delhi, India. He has over two decades of clinical experience. He has recently completed his Post Graduation Certification in Veterinary Homeopathy from Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (KVASU). He is now treating his animals in a One Animal One Health approach with a combination of Homeopathy and Allopathy. The Amrita Pet Care Clinic - http://drgautamunny.com

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