Kinesiology for your Beagle: Allergies - part 1

4/4/2018

We are getting increasing numbers of inquiries from owners at their wit's end regarding their Beagles' allergies - from gunky ears to red, inflamed bellies and as excessive as hairloss, crusty skin and biting and scratching themselves raw.
The vets usually prescribe cortisone but more and more owners would prefer not to go down this road as a sole long-term solution, looking for supplementary solutions.

We asked Fanny Lacroix from Human, Horse & Hound Kinesiology to help us understand allergies.

What are allergies?

Allergies can cause a host of unpleasant reactions: skin and ear problems, excessive paw biting and licking, digestive issues, runny and itchy eyes or nose and shortness of breath. These reactions are due to the hypersensitivity of your dog’s immune system to the allergen, and not by the allergen itself. Indeed, allergens are harmless substances for the most part. Any dog might get sick from eating raisins or chocolate, which have been proven to be toxic to our canine companions. However, contact with grass, for instance, only causes an adverse reaction in some dogs because of an imbalance in their immune system.

Symptomatic treatments such as corticosteroids do provide temporary relief from inflammation and itching, but may also eventually lower immune function even more. Besides, they tend to push the illness back into the body.

Let me explain: in an attempt to protect the internal organs, the body may “push” the illness out to the skin, which is the largest organ in the body, where it can be spread out and cause less harm. Cortisone creams may improve the appearance of the skin and reduce itchiness, but at the same time, push the illness back into the body, where it could damage the internal organs.

In part 2 - Find out how Kinesiology can help your Beagle with allergies

6 Comments

4/4/2018 01:09:40 pm

"in an attempt to protect the internal organs, the body may “push” the illness out to the skin, which is the largest organ in the body, where it can be spread out and cause less harm."

This is dangerously inaccurate, pseudoscientific nonsense, clearly setting up a fallacious scenario for a pseudoscientific "solution" later in the series.

I recognise that many beagle owners don't want to put their dogs on long term steroids. But replacing them with this rubbish will merely continue your beagle's suffering. This is snake oil with no scientific basis whatsoever

Fanny Lacroix link

4/5/2018 04:58:28 am

Thank you very much for your feedback, and for pointing out the need for me to refine my statement.
I indeed believe that some clarifications are required on my part: Kinesiology does not claim to replace any conventional veterinary treatment, and I apologize if this was not made clear enough in this article.
Kinesiology does not belong to the medical model, but to the energetic model of healing. As such, it does not diagnose, cure or prescribe, as these activities are the prerogative of veterinarians. The point I was trying to make was that kinesiology may provide a different, energy-based approach to allergy support, and potentially allow for a reduction in the use of corticosteroids. As a kinesiologist, I believe that allergies, just like other ailments, may have an emotional and/or mental aspect which is worth addressing. As such, this modality represents a valid complementary therapy to veterinary care. Please feel free to contact me should you have any further query.

4/5/2018 06:45:07 am

Thank you for the clarification, Fanny.

While I don't believe that your treatment will have any discernible effect, I have no problem with complementary treatments that would affect the scientifically proven regimens prescribed by qualified veterinarians.

It's when one is used to replace the other - often to the detriment of the patient (be it animal or human) - that I feel it crosses a line.

Eduardo D'Almeida link

4/4/2018 11:47:04 pm

I have 2 beagles and they both suffer from skin alergie. They are at the moment on a long period treatment with ATOPICA capsules and VIRBAC CORTAVANCE spray. The itchy has reduced but secondary skin infection is notice. Is this a good treatment? Should I persist on the treatment or is there a better solution out There?
Thanks for the post.

4/5/2018 04:59:57 am

Thank you for your question. As a kinesiologist, I am not habilitated to use or prescribe medication of any type, only supplements, essences and certain homeopathic remedies. Therefore, I cannot comment on the relevance of the treatment that your Beagles were given. However, if you feel that your dogs would benefit from additional support, you may want to consider alternative therapies such as kinesiology as a complement to veterinary care.

4/5/2018 01:07:58 am

Eduardo

Our beagles are also on long-term Atopica and a daily cortisone tablet for skin allergies. It's expensive and certainly not an ideal situation, but it is definitely better than the alternative, which was discomfort, itching and infection. We have managed to cut down the Atopica dose from 1 tablet a day to one every three days (under veterinary advice) without the symptoms returning, so that's better.
If you beagles are still suffering with skin problems despite this treatment, I'd revisit treatment options with your vet.

What I can say is that these complementary treatments are of no help - either in humans or in dogs. The Placebo Effect might "work" for humans, because they know that they have paid good money for the process and they will take any coincidental improvement as proof of its success. Dogs don't know that they are supposed to be feeling better, and taking off them off their proper, proven medical treatment to allow this new complementary treatment to "work", you're actually putting them at more risk by allowing those initial symptoms of infections and the problems that come with them to gain a foothold again.

Kinesiology for your Beagle: Allergies - part 1

What are allergies?

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