THE HEALTHY ANIMAL UPDATE November 2014 |
Well, slightly late again. I will get back on schedule soon.
The RSS feed is now REALLY, really working. My partner, Mark, got the RSS feed working on the web site and the wonderful staff at AWeber has it working to the right of this message
where it says: Get live updates. There is so much wonderful information to share with you to help your animals stay healthy. This is your way to hear the newest info.
Please let me know what you would like to learn about, how I can best help you heal your animals and yourselves while healing our planet. Prior newsletters can be found on my site, www.MyHealthyAnimals.com
November 2014 index - Classes so you can heal your
animals
- Holistic Perspectives and Treatments – tongue diagnosis
- News
1. Classes Baltimore area: World of Pets Expo at the Timonium Fair Grounds is Jan 23,24,25. I will be doing a class there covering any issue you want covered in addition to the basic keys to keeping and getting your pets healthy. My
promise is you will save more money in the next year than the class costs. We will have the registration materials posted on my website in the next week. Or email me at HealthyAnimals@aol.com with your interest.
2. Holistic Perspectives and Treatments Tongue
diagnosis
I have often written about how much preventative medicine you can do at home. Keeping a journal and recording the symptoms and observations makes you aware of how your animal is changing for improved or worsening health. I suggest using the Early Warning Signs as subtle clues of
your pet’s health. Another subtle clue used by TCVM practitioners is the color, shape, coating and texture of the tongue. Just as every acupressure point is represented on the ear, the tongue has areas specifically corresponding to internal organs. The tongue coatings can change in minutes, especially after acupuncture or acupressure treatments. Do your observations when your pet is at rest and has not just eaten. Remember that some dogs (chows) have black colors on their gums and tongue. When I
was a freshman in veterinary school I helped out in the small animal clinic for experience. One time, the person doing anesthesia was called away and I was supposed to monitor the capillary perfusion by pressing on the gums every few minutes. The dog was draped and completely covered. I panicked when I did my first look at the gums – they were blue (to me) - a sign of cyanosis and I said that the dog is dying! They knew because they had plenty of blood in the abdomen, that the dog was fine and
pointed out to me it was a chow.
A healthy stomach produces fermentation products to produce the color, texture and moisture of the tongue. The tongue reflects the chi of spleen and blood. - Healthy – thin, white coating for dog; white coating for cat (thicker than dog).
- Coating dry, color yellow or dark – acute indicates fever and dehydration; chronic indicates heat generated from lungs, liver, stomach or kidney. If you have been looking at your
pet’s tongue and notice that it is dark, do a careful evaluation of other symptoms and maybe contact your integrative veterinarian.
- Dog with a thick white coating – coldness in the body. Sees in radiation.
- Phlegm – stagnation. Pockets of heat build up to create stagnation. Like mucous. Nose, digestive system, joints.
- Normal color – pink
- Darker red – internal heat. This can reflect pain in the body. We know our pets often are stoic, so this can be our clue.
Internal heat can also be caused by drugs, and may be accompanied by increased thirst. If it is red merely around the edges, think of liver and gall bladder stagnation. Infections – bacterial or viral. Some diseases may include hyperthyroidism, diabetes, cancer or accumulation of toxins. Often I see a transient deeper red tongue after vaccines or flea treatments.
- Pale – blood deficiency and internal cold, weak state. Skin problems often result from blood deficiencies. When diets are
improved and the skin improves, you will see a healthier pink tongue. Can be seen with parasites, malnutrition, organ malfunction. As pets age the color may become pale and some accept this as normal. I say it means you need to deepen your search for the best health treatments for your pet. From a conventional standpoint a pale tongue or nose indicates anemia, hemorrhage. Especially in cats it is important that you are regularly checking color because some cats normally are on the paler side. If
you know the normal, you will recognize the abnormal.
- Purple –congestion and stasis, often in the liver, pancreas, stomach or intestines. Purple and bluish tongue can also indicate pain. Of course cardio vascular problems will cause bluish tinged membranes and tongue. Also toxic states, liver, and autoimmune problems.
- Yellow, of course, could indicate bile duct blockage and liver problems, as can an orange tinge. It can also indicate stomach issues.
- Shape and size
change more slowly than color.
- Too large with teeth imprints – spleen imbalance (this is referring to the Chinese “spleen”, not meaning the physical spleen is necessarily ill.
- Shriveled – lack of fluids, especially kidney or internal coldness.
Organ locations as represented on the tongue: a.Tip – heart b.Just behind tip – lungs c.Center – stomach, spleen, pancreas d.Back – kidneys and bladder e.Sides – liver and gall bladder
Practical applications of tongue color. While it is best to be working with a skilled veterinarian until you learn the colors of your pet, you can note correlation with problems and could even try some of the over the counter herbal
combos. Natural Pet Medicine has many combinations labeled for specific problems. If you were deciding between DermaPhyte (excess) or DermaTopic (deficient) for your chronically itchy dog, you could look at the tongue. If the normally pink tongue was now pale, you would start
with the DermaTopic. If the tongue was bright red, or even a darker red, you would look for possible toxins and choose the DermaPhyte to begin with.
When using Cheryl Schwartz’s book, Four Paws, Five Directions, ( order at my site) you will see comments
throughout about tongue color as you are selecting acupressure points or other suggested treatments.
Even practically, if your normally cool seeking dog has a pale tongue, you may want to offer some warmer alternatives for her comfort.
If you are changing diets, maybe to a raw meat one (one frozen one is BARF).
News World Veterinary Association recently started a discussion about a new article in the Journal of clinical Microbiology by Gold showing increasing resistance of Staphylococcus pseudintermedius. Guelph University commented on this report, saying that it is not surprising since so many bacteria are becoming resistant. What to do? Only use antibiotics when really necessary, avoid contamination, and do not use MRSA drugs needlessly. Of course, if you are using holistic approaches, you will not be getting antibiotics ever, or very rarely.
If you go to a conventional vet and they want to give you antibiotics, tell them you are working with a holistic vet - then quickly call for alternatives to antibiotics.
Have safe and joyous holiday preparation and hug those animals (if they like hugging). |
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