>giving it to their pets are performing animal testing.  just because
>the doctor prescribes it doesn't necesarily mean it is good.  and just
>because it is natural doesn't necessarily mean it doesn't kill.
 
Thank you thank you thank you thank you!!!!!!!
 
*digs around for the soap box & climbs on*
 
Speaking as a chiropractic physician: you would not BELIEVE the things
patients ask me about wanting to try, thinking that it might help them.  A
lot of people do themselves all kinds of damage, all the while thinking
that they are actually helping themselves because they have bought into the
power of the words "holistic" and "natural."  (And occasionally get great
results from a placebo effect, but that's another story.)
 
Yes, and I'm the one practicing holistic medicine!
 
Part of the problem, I think, is that "big business" has clued into the
fact that people will pay lots and lots of money for anything labelled
"natural" these days.  For gods' sake, my bag of cane sugar is marked
"fat-free!" as a selling point!  And I know countless people who are
scarfing down their echinacea every day with their morning juice and
patting themselves on the head at how smart they are by preventing colds.
Ha. (and please, let's NOT start an echinacea thread.  Let's NOT go there!)
 
And as we do for ourselves, so do we wish to do for our pets.  We love them
and want them to be healthy.  And if we are into "natural", we want it for
them, too.  Heck, so do I!  If one of my fuzzies got sick I would try just
about anything to help her!  But some of these "cures" like colloidal
silver can be potentially dangerous.
 
Something else you need to be alert to is something called "the natural
history of a disease/injury." For example, as a chiropractor I know that
most cases of low back/disc problems tend to get better on their own in 6
months, whether or not any treatment is rendered.  People come to me so
they won't be miserable for six months while that healing process is taking
place.  I don't "cure" anyone.  I facilitate.  That's all any doctor does,
imho; we help, and the body heals itself...whether it's with an antibiotic,
an adjustment, or an adrenal surgery.  So sometimes we give our fuzzies
herbs or another preparation, and the ferret gets better.  Does that mean
the herb healed the ferret?  Maybe, but not necessarily.  That's why we do
clinical studies...to find out.
 
True holistic health care can and does have its place, and its place is
become quite prominent and with good reason.  I'm also very, very sure that
the current "holistic" movement by "big business" has made many people
(including my parents, thank god) realize they need to make positive
changes in their lifestyles.  But please don't let all the hype suck you
in.  There are good things out there, and there is hype, and sometimes it's
very hard to distinguish between them.  And remember that doctors and vets
are human, too, and can just as easily get sucked into hype if they are not
wary and cautious and attentive to detail and research.
 
If your ferret is sick and needs an antibiotic, go see your vet.  If you
can find valid studies/track records on herbs and supplements and your vet
thinks it's a good idea, then good!  Just please be careful.  Remember the
old saw "if it sounds too good to be true, it probably isn't."  A vet
experienced with the species of animals you own is the one most qualified
to care for them.
 
FWIW, here are what a few of my references have to say about silver
in humans.
 
[two-part post combined into one]
 
This is hardly an effective argument against colloidal silver, nor am I
trying to make one.  I do want to point out that silver can be potentially
harmful in humans.  As Bill Killian said so well, "When some true
medical/scientific testing is performed and colloidal silver actually is
shown to be beneficial [as an internal antibiotic I assume he means] I will
change my mind."
 
Just because something works externally doesn't necessarily mean it will
(a) work or (b) be safe, taken internally.  And in this case, silver has
some notable problems even used externally.
 
>Please beware of products with higher concentrations, as they can
>attack friendly bacteria in your system the same way some prescription
>antibiotics do and this could upset your body's natural balance.
 
Sigh.
 
Antibiotics act in different ways depending on their chemical structure.
For example, some prevent crosslinking of peptidogylcan strands in the cell
wall.  That's what penicillin does.  Some interfere with lipid layers of
the cell wall.  Another inhibits synthesis of mycolic acids in the cell
walls of mycobacteria.  Others compete with assorted receptors, bind to
ribosomes, bind to RNA polymerase, inhibit folic acid, bind to DNA gyrase.
Etc etc etc.  Specificity of an antibiotic towards an organism takes place
on a VERY low level.  There is no way in H*LL that silver is going to
selectively kill "bad" things and let "good" flora live, but kill "good"
flora too when taken at larger doses.  None, nope, sorry.  Antibiotic
action just does not have alterable selectivity based on dosage alone.  No
way.  It does what it does.  If you give a higher dosage, it will just do
more of the same!
 
It's also /extraordinarily/ unlikely, to the point where I'm tempted to say
absolutely impossible, that something as simple, chemically, as silver can
selctively differentiate between the set of "good" flora (of which there is
more than one!) and everything else.
 
If this is an example of the "science" supporting colloidal silver...I'm
seriously tempted to have a giggle fit.  I'm sorry, Ela.  I'm not flaming
you, and I hope it doesn't sound that way.  It's not your fault you found
gibberish that looked factual.  Someone somewhere is putting someone (or
lots of someones) on and making money off it.  Silver DOES help with
infections topically, yes.  Perhaps whomever is selling this stuff is
quoting this sort of assertion out of context and saying it applies
internally, too.  For the rest of it...like I said before, let's see some
research.  The sole fact that the lethal blood level for silver in humans
is so low is enough to make me decide not to ever use it on my ferrets
until it is proven safe and effective for them.
 
Lastly, if you are not sure if someone is an MD, call the department of
health in his/her state and ask; they'll tell you if he/she holds a valid
medical license.  (Doesn't help if they are not actively practicing,
though; in that case, try the AMA.)
 
*Hops back off the soapbox*
 
(WA-state) Megan & 5 sleepy fuzzies
 
--
Megan O'Shaughnessy, D.C.       | North Cascades Chiropractic Clinic
360-853-9023                    | Concrete, WA
 
[Moderator's note: I think the middle part of this post might never have
been received based upon what Megan says below about one part of a 3 part
post getting rejected.  Looks like part 1 and 3 arrived -- I hope that
doesn't totally screw things up if part 2 is missing!  BIG]
[Posted in FML issue 2565]