Minutus

Hi Donna
He was new to the family this time last year so to clear him out a bit I gave him a dose of sulphur 30c in his water. I believe I did this about once a month for 3 months and it was ironic as I had no problems with fleas until after I had stopped the sulphur but even then I only had a flea or two. I did not put it together until I sat down and looked at my notes.
So this time around I am going to add the sulphur to the water as well and try it once a month again
I will keep you posted
I am also looking into the Australian bush essences as well as I have heard good things about them in terms of prevention

Donna

Good to hear 'real' experiences of using sulphur to prevent fleas. So far, the only homeopathic remedy I have seen 'published' as preventative for fleas is sulphur (in both Don Hamilton and H.G. Wolff books on homeopathic medicines for dogs). Someone (I think it was Don Hamilton) mentioned pulex irritans (human flea) might improve resistance – but I could find nothing more after that. There are plenty for soothing the irritation of the bite (apis, ledum, caladium, etc.), but they are focused on soothing the actual bite and not the systemic allergic reaction.
I am very curious how the bush essences would work – since their strength is rooted in emotional healing. Aways something new to learn!!!! If you find anything about their use for fleas – please let me know.
Donna

D C Rona, PhD, ND, DHM
www.NaturopathOnTheWeb.com
rona@consultant.com

From: >
Reply-To: >
Date: Wed, 23 Mar 2011 13:25:51 +0000 (UTC)
To: >
Subject: Re: [Minutus] Flea bite allergy - dermatitis
Hi Donna
He was new to the family this time last year so to clear him out a bit I gave him a dose of sulphur 30c in his water. I believe I did this about once a month for 3 months and it was ironic as I had no problems with fleas until after I had stopped the sulphur but even then I only had a flea or two. I did not put it together until I sat down and looked at my notes.
So this time around I am going to add the sulphur to the water as well and try it once a month again
I will keep you posted
I am also looking into the Australian bush essences as well as I have heard good things about them in terms of prevention

Donna

I think McCleod also mentions pulex. Cant put my finger on his book right now to check any
other rx that he might suggest.
t
________________________________

It seems that the healthier a person or animal or plant is, the less susceptible they are to pests in general--including fleas. I would think that plain ol' "constitutional" or chronic homeopathic treatment would tend to improve resistance to fleas?

I have read that Vitamin B1 in particular (or was it B2?) makes the blood taste nasty to fleas, so would assume that low levels of it (as could commonly happen during stress or less-than-optimal health) would make the blood smell / taste yummier, attract more fleas?

Why sulphur works, interesting; maybe in part because it has such a wide spectrum of action, seems to have "something to offer" in the way of (even if only partial) balancing for so many critters? It would be interesting to compare effects of this with effectiveness (I mean specifically against fleas) of chronic care prescribing.

Shannon

To the best of my knowledge, it is the B vitamins in the brewers yeast that make them less 'attractive' to fleas. And since brewers yeast delivers the B vitamins in a blend – as opposed to a single B out of context of the others – it is presumed to be a healthier way to dose.

Constitutional type prescribing, based on the status of the individual in front on you, is very difficult to contemplate for an otherwise overall healthy animal. Yes, their personalities and quirks give clues, but basically, if there are no symptoms outside healthy dog 'norm', then what/why are you treating? Those animals already under chronic care are presumably already in a compromised health condition – so there are a lot of additional factors to consider. Those animals I have worked with (domestic and wildlife rescues) that are undergoing homeopathic treatment seem to have a bit less drastic reaction to flea bites – but it does not seem to protect them from critters jumping on.

It is my understanding the theory behind sulphur dosing is that excess sulphur is disposed of through the skin – thus making the skin less 'attractive' to fleas. Those advocating sulphur as preventative frequently recommend either homeopathic and 'flowers of sulphur' - so the homeopathic remedy presumably makes the uptake and processing more efficient and therefore more is forced to the skin.

Donna

D C Rona, PhD, ND, DHM
www.NaturopathOnTheWeb.com
rona@consultant.com

From: Shannon Nelson >
Reply-To: >
Date: Wed, 23 Mar 2011 11:19:40 -0500
To: >
Subject: Re: [Minutus] Flea bite allergy - dermatitis
It seems that the healthier a person or animal or plant is, the less susceptible they are to pests in general--including fleas. I would think that plain ol' "constitutional" or chronic homeopathic treatment would tend to improve resistance to fleas?
I have read that Vitamin B1 in particular (or was it B2?) makes the blood taste nasty to fleas, so would assume that low levels of it (as could commonly happen during stress or less-than-optimal health) would make the blood smell / taste yummier, attract more fleas?

Why sulphur works, interesting; maybe in part because it has such a wide spectrum of action, seems to have "something to offer" in the way of (even if only partial) balancing for so many critters? It would be interesting to compare effects of this with effectiveness (I mean specifically against fleas) of chronic care prescribing.

Shannon

okay--stinky stuff that is bioavailable and safe: sulphur and B vitamins.
but there may be other sx that you are not noticing with the dog. it is hard to
see clearly what we are so used to living with. there must be some modalites
that would characterize the case?
tanya
________________________________

On Mar 23, 2011, at 11:48 AM, D C Rona wrote:
In a mostly healthy patient, the symptoms are more subtle. *But* susceptibility *is* a symptom--and I'd say even susceptibility to "pests" such as fleas. I guess it is a philosophical thing; I was not taught to avoid treating a problem simply because the patient is "mostly healthy"--I was taught to use e.g. "personalities and quirks", to take the clues here we find them.

E.g. below:
In this case you are treating susceptibility! And that *is* our "down-the-road" goal in homeopathy isn't it? That's one of the (many) things that gives our system more power, more potential--we do not HAVE to wait for a full-blown disease; we can treat susceptibility. I would think of this as one such example.

My own example of using this approach with a very happy success, is when two of my cats got tapeworms. Both had been quite healthy, so far as I could see, and both also had very distinct "personalities", with numerous "quirks." Going solely on that basis, one got Bufo, which stopped him sneezing, gagging and coughing up worms. It also caused him to re-gain the weight and luster he'd lost, while I kept wishing the problem (and the worms) would just go away

He also became more peaceful with his housemates, less goofy (mixed feelings here--but he's still delightfully goofy enough) and more sweetly affectionate. And coat even more lustrous than before.

The other (months later) got Sulphur, which stopped the choking up worms, and also stopped him bullying the other cats. Other than that, his health had been, and still is, excellent.

So--why wait for full-on disease? Why *not* treat based on personalities and quirks? Personally, I'm a fan...

Shannon

Hi Shannon
Yes you are absolutely correct as I had a cat who whenever was on an excellent remedy NEVER had a flea or tick on him. When I did begin to find them on him I knew it was time to redose with his remedy. His was a true Phos.

Donna

In Dr. M*ercola’s site there was an article by a vet a week or so ago, touting the properties of a green (algae but not sure what kind) food for pets. I made a note of it in my head and went back to the site this week, but the product was all sold out. I assume it sounded good to others, too. The vet who talked about it drew her references from wildlife rehabilitation among others.
On another topic, we had a beloved 5-year-old Russian spaniel who suddenly “came down” with an infestation of fleas for no discernable reason. I would catch 20-30 each time I flea-combed her. A couple of weeks later, she was killed by a speeding SUV, so I never knew for sure, but I felt it was likely that the infestation was caused by sudden poor health. She had not had fleas before the sudden outbreak. Our Border collie mix, Sally-Dog, living in the exact same environment, has had only a very few visible fleas over the space of 6 years. She gets 1 tsp. of Brewer’s yeast powder on her food daily—but then the spaniel had that, too. Teresa (Northern VA)
From: minutus@yahoogroups.com [mailto:minutus@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Kristy Lampe
I have several dogs that are in AKC competitions so they are not spayed. Whenever they go into heat, I give all females chlorophyll tablets in their food. When I lived in Florida (State Insect = the flea), I noticed that during those weeks and for 3-4 days after I stopped the chlorophyll, there were no fleas on them, even when we were out in the Florida Scrub.

Nowadays I spray specialized nematodes in the back yard; in the first year, there were still some fleas, but by the 2nd year, there were almost none.

Kristy

Hi Teresa,
I remember seeing that--I think it was spirulina.
A yummy food.