Autoimmune diseases

These are diseases characterized by the body’s rejection of its own tissue. Most autoimmune diseases in animals appear as skin diseases that are confused with allergies or chronic skin infections. The signs may appear in the nose, eyes and lips, sometimes ears and foot pads. This is called Discoid Lupus. We see this disease commonly in German Shepherds but other breeds and even mixed breeds can be affected. Sometimes the signs are limited to the toenails, which become inflamed, fall off and appear to melt; this is called Onychodystrophy. In other dogs it may appear as scaling of the skin with inflammation in spots, redness in the ears and muscle weakness; this is called Dermatomyositis.

Conventional treatment of autoimmune diseases is limited to suppressing the immune system with steroids (Cortisone, Hydrocortisone, Prednisone and Prednisolone).

On the other hand, homeopathic treatment aims at returning the immune system to its normal functioning.