Less than a week ago the NY Times reported on a dog flu that appears to kill about 5% of the dogs who get it. The Department of Agriculture has released a new vaccine for this particular strain of flu. It is called the H3N8 flu. It originated in horses and jumped over to dogs about 5 years ago. It is currently in 30 different states although there it is not spreading as vigorously as the initial fears were. It is considered to be a flu with high morbidity but not mortality. It seems that where the most danger lies is in areas where there is a group of dogs that are together, such as in kennels, shelters, pet stores, dog schools. For the most part the dogs who are most at risk with this flu are dogs with short noses, have breathing problems, or are overweight.
While some may find it comforting to have a vaccine available, vaccines, in recent years, have become somewhat controversial as to the long term health effects on the animals.
The third Chinese herbal remedy that everyone should know about and should have in their medicine chest is for treating bronchial infections and flu. Yin Chiao was first developed in the Ching Dynasty of China. This is a totally herbal supplement so there is no concern over animal parts in the remedy. The ingredients are:
- Honeysuckle, also known as Jin Yin Hua or Lonicera flos - Cleans Toxins
- Forsythia, known as Lian Qiao or Forsythia Suspensa Fructus - Cleans Toxins
- Balloon Flower, known as Jie Geng or Platycodi Grandiflori Radix - Transforms Cold Phlegm, Circulates Lung Energy, Benefits the Throat
- Peppermint, known as Bo He or Menthe Herba - Clears the Head and Eyes and Benefits the Throat
- Edible Burdock, known as Niu Bang Zi or Arctium Lappa - Benefits the Throat
- Fermented Soy Bean, known as Dan Dou QiSojae Praeparatum Semen - Alleviates Irritability
- Crested Grass, known as Dan Zhu Ye or Lophatheri Gracilis - Lessens Irritability, Relieves Thirst
- Schizonepeta, known as Jing Jie or Schizonepeta Tenuifolia - Lowers fevers, promotes sweating and has antibacterial properties
- Chinese Licorice root also known as Gan Cao Glycyrrhiza Uranelsis Radix - Moderates and Harmonizes Other Herbs
In his book "Love, Medicine and Animal Healing", Dr. Allen Schoen talks about using this remedy to help two different cats that were not being helped with traditional medicine. The first cat had been treated with numerous antibiotics for 3 weeks to no avail. He still had a bad respiratory infection and was losing weight. He had been tested for feline leukemia, feline AIDS, feline infectious peritonitis and toxoplasmosis, all of which had come back negative. Taken to Dr. Schoen in a moment of desperation, the cat was started on the Yin Chiao. Within 48 hours of his first treatment his temperature returned to normal and he started eating well again. Within a week the symptoms had all disappeared. The second cat was actually a cat that belonged to a friend. The cat had a fever and had stopped eating. After antibiotics failed he put the cat on the Yin Chiao and it recovered at about the same rate as the previous cat. It is interesting that this cat did not actually have an upper respiratory infection so the herbs obviously work on other infections as well, although it is known for treatments of colds and flu. Dr. Schoen also used the remedy for himself when he started to come down with a cold as he was headed out of town to deliver a lecture. It was the relief that he felt personally that encouraged him to try this on his patients.
A word of caution with this remedy. There are versions of it that contain aspirins and antihistamines. You want to make sure that if you are giving this to a cat it does not contain aspirin as aspirin is poisonous to cats. There is a web site that has a comparison chart for different brands of the remedy and tells you if there is possibly anything else besides the herbs in the formula. In response to an email inquiring as to whether or not their formula contained anything other than herbs, curingherbs.com replied saying "We carry only high quality products from certified manufacturers and products that pass quality control before allowed to be imported. Our Yin Chiao contains only herbal ingredients."
As always, the information given here is not meant as a replacement for the advice of your veterinarian. It is intended to give you information so that you can make an informed decision.
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For more information:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/30/health/30flu.html?_r=1&ref=health
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canine_influenza
http://www.yinchiao.com/yinchiao.htm
http://www.yinchiao.com/plumflower.htm
http://curingherbs.com/
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