Natural medicine for animals

Advice from an Island vet by Donal O'Riain MRCVS of Green & Forster Veterinary Surgeons:

FIRST aid at home can be hugely beneficial to your pet. Having a basic kit of natural medicines to hand for when your animal has an accident or has  surgery will encourage healing and  speed recovery.
The first medicine in your first aid kit should be arnica. This homeopathic remedy is widely available, economical and easy to use. I recommend any pet who has undergone trauma to be put on arnica as soon as possible.
This incredible remedy will reduce bruising, relieve muscular aching and help any sprains and strains. For example, if your dog was to run into a groyne on the beach or jump awkwardly, taking arnica would prevent bruising and therefore reduce prolonged pain and lameness.
Cats can also damage themselves when jumping. Any post-operative animal will benefit from a course of arnica to reduce bruising.
Arnica, as with many homeopathic remedies, is available as tablets, tinctures or creams. Therefore you can find the form that suits the administration for your pet.
If an animal has suffered any trauma, shock is a very real danger. As with humans, it is not only the injuries that cause life-threatening issues. Therefore the second medicine I recommend is the homeopathic remedy aconite.
I have witnessed many miraculous recoveries with the use of aconite at the surgery. After a traumatic event, such as road traffic accident or fight, it can have a calming effect. Any accident will be frightening and stressful for an animal. Taking aconite can calm your pet, reducing the effects of shock.
Aconite is a very good medicine for allaying fear and anxiety, such as that caused by visiting the vet. I have one patient, a cockatiel, who would almost die of fright every time he came to the vets for claw clipping. Since taking aconite before each visit, he has been unperturbed.
I use homeopathy every day in conjunction with conventional medicine and have been very impressed by the additional benefits it offers.