• Shop

    Bundles

    PhytoMast® 12 Box & Consult Introductory Bundle
    PhytoMast® 2 Box & Book Introductory Bundle

    PhytoMast®

    PhytoMast® (original formula) All natural treatment of udder health & improved dairy quality without antibiotics
    PhytoMast® CBO A veterinary formulated non-prescription device to cleanse the teat.

    Other Herbal Remedies

    Heat Seek A balanced blend of "female" botanicals that enhance the visual signs of estrus in healthy animals not showing heat.
    LiV Well Enhances liver function
    Get Well Helps restore biological equilibrium when challenged
    Eat Well Strengthens and enhances digestion when sluggish

    Educational

    Consultation with Hubert J. Karreman VMD
    Treating Dairy Cows Naturally by Hubert Karreman VMD
    The Barn Guide to Treating Dairy Cows Naturally by Hubert Karreman VMD
    The Barn Guide to Treating Dairy Cows Naturally & Treating Dairy Cows Naturally Combo
    Four-Seasons Organic Cow Care by Hubert Karreman VMD
  • About
    • About Dr. K
    • FAQ About PhytoMast
  • Dr. K’s Blog
  • My Account
    • Customer Login
    • My Orders
    • Veterinary Wholesale
  • View Cart
  • Contact Us
old plant based medicines Animal Health

Veterinarians Don’t Use Natural Treatments for Livestock, But Why…

  • May 20, 2021May 20, 2021
  • by Dr. Karreman

As a farm animal vet I’ve often been asked, “Why is it that veterinarians don’t use natural treatments?” It’s true, very few farm animal vets use natural treatments. But why? The main reason is fairly simple: because modern day veterinarians are not trained in such methods.

Veterinary students are only trained in the latest cutting-edge scientific knowledge. This means learning about the most recent products which are brought forth to veterinary schools (often by the pharmaceutical industry) to be tested and validated. The testing is done by the researchers who are also the students’ professors. And veterinary students are a truly captive audience for professors professing their latest, greatest achievements in the name of science. Thus a “closed loop” begins to form in the minds of budding veterinarians about the catalog of drugs available to them. It is not their fault per se. It’s just the way the system is. 

So the main reason that veterinarians don’t use natural treatments is simply because they are not taught about them. If they were, they’d be using them. While the same research and teaching process has held true for many decades, factual information of former medicines has been layered over by time’s passage and the scientific fascination of new discoveries. Yet… older, scientifically documented information on pharmacy products is still just as valid and true as when it was first discovered and studied. It’s just not being taught anymore because of the new information is glitzier — and backed by a lot of money from the companies standing to benefit from an ideology that purports that single-molecule medicine is “scientific” and complex plant medicine is “anecdotal.” 

A little bit of history…

And what “older” pharmacy facts have been quietly set aside due to the constant onslaught of new information? It’s mainly medicine derived from plants (also known as botanical medicine or phytotherapy). Here are two facts about veterinary botanical medicine: (1) Veterinarians were previously trained in all aspects of plant medicine — the identification of plants, their preparation into usable medicines, their indications, dosages, physiology, toxicology and antidotes. (2) Botanical medicine has a scientific basis and was officially taught for decades at veterinary schools. 

But in the early to mid-1900’s pharmaceutical companies such as Parke-Davis, Eli Lilly, Wyethe, (Merck) Sharp & Dohme — companies founded on making drugs from plants (see photos) — were “freed” from the need to inspect raw plant material to identify and grade for quality. Chemists suddenly could identify the active ingredient of a plant and synthesize it in the laboratory. That is how most pharmaceutical companies got their start. All the “latest, greatest” discoveries have simply layered over medicines originally derived from plants. 

Complex plants gave way to single-molecule, patentable drugs

With breathtaking precision, single-ingredient synthetic products generated from giant factory laboratories can more easily be evaluated by scientific review teams at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to meet the requirements to get a New Animal Drug Approval (NADA) to legally market a medicine than their plant-based predecessors.

Over the years, the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act has evolved for both human and veterinary products. The requirements have become such that there need to be about a dozen different review teams for a new potential product. There are teams that evaluate the prospective medicine’s manufacturing process and chemistry to ensure consistent product, toxicology reviews and animal studies if needed, environmental impact assessments of the product’s manufacture and disposal in real-world conditions, metabolic breakdown trials of the drug in the animal (and for food animals the withholding times for milk and meat), field trials to show efficacy of the product for the intended purpose, and side effects measured. Ironically, all of these layers were necessary because single-molecule medicine is inherently more risky than botanical-based medicine.

Plant’s actions are less pointed and oftentimes better tolerated than their chemical cousins. So the same layers that were created to protect the public from the toxicology of single-molecule medicine now protect the manufacturers of single-molecule medicine to the detriment of natural medicines.

Veterinarians don’t use natural treatments because they look for approved drugs, and approval costs $20+ million

A full blown review of a new drug coming out of the laboratory costs approximately $20-60 million dollars and can take a number of years for review — and even then some products don’t make it through to the finish line. The problem for natural medicines is that they are subject to the same review process as pharmacologically derived substances. This is even the case for formulations made entirely of plants and ingredients Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS). The entire structure of the FDA review process is set up to analyze single molecules. The agency, as of yet, still doesn’t have a defined process to look at complex medicines that all plants are.

So the same things that make plant pharmacology less toxic — overlapping actions of many different agents within the plant — also make less likely easy review of those substances by the FDA. These are agency biases inherent in the agency’s charter and governing regulations, and they could be changed by statute and/or re-interpreting implementing regulations. The FDA structure works very well for drug companies in part because it effectively limits competition from natural products companies.

Perhaps it is now easier to understand why plant medicine, once the bedrock of veterinary medicine, has slipped out of the everyday comprehension of busy, practicing veterinarians. Veterinarians don’t use natural treatments because they have been trained almost exclusively about pharmaceutically sponsored drugs that have the official blessing of the FDA. This is a fact and not my opinion. And with veterinary education packed to the hilt for four years, even some pharmaceutical approaches are being layered over by the new, hot realm of gene therapy.

There’s no incentive for a natural medicine company to spend $20+ million for a product that isn’t patentable…

And while the FDA has started to develop processes by which botanical medicines can be reviewed — each plant having sometimes hundreds of compounds along with its active ingredient — the simple fact that most botanical medicines cannot be patented hinders even the best-intentioned botanical manufacturers from getting FDA approval.

And the way governing statutes and regulations currently are drafted, if anyone makes a “claim” — that a product cures a disease or even intimates that it may be helpful for a certain disease picture — pharmaceutical companies with patents on drugs to treat that disease can and do seek regulatory crackdown on manufactures of plant-based medicines. So while your great-grandpa may have known that plantain is really good for getting out splinters and against bug bites and burns, an herbal products manufacture cannot say very much about that on the label. Which means if the tradition of herbalism has been lost within families and communities, no one is there to tell you that there is something other than a steroid that may relieve inflammatory symptoms.

Vets use unapproved, “grandfathered” drugs all the time

Now let’s talk about an area that I’m intimately familiar with: inspectors who periodically visit dairy farms that use plant-based medicines. Kind of like veterinarians who don’t use natural treatments, inspectors also generally don’t know how to evaluate products that they see for the first time if they don’t have full FDA approval (with a NADA #). Even if the farmer or package says it’s “natural” and claim to be safe (because they are natural) — if there no NADA # on the package, then a 7-point debit can occur. Dairy farms inspections start at 100 points and cannot end below 90 to pass.

The Pasteurized Milk Ordinance (PMO) item 15r spells out for inspectors what can and cannot be stored on the shelves of dairy farms. Item 15r is often adjusted slightly at the biennial meetings of the Interstate Milk Shippers (IMS). These meetings are attended by processors, inspectors and also FDA personnel. It’s not a simple matter to know exactly who to talk with to get something officially changed in item 15r (such as botanical medicines to be permitted during inspection). As you can imagine, FDA-approved (NADA) products are generally allowed, with some needing veterinary prescription. 

Practicing dairy vets are highly aware of the issues of resistance and public perception surrounding antibiotic use in farm animals and their proper labeling and usage. Interestingly, the same veterinarians who don’t use natural treatments use and dispense many products that do not have an NADA — products like aspirin and 23% calcium (“grandfathered” products). Yet, those same veterinarians cast a leery eye upon botanical medicines (certainly “grandfathered”) simply because they do not have an NADA. I have heard it said directly to me many times: “I cannot recommend a product that is not FDA approved.” And yet they use many unapproved products daily. The reason is that the products they carry in their truck that are unapproved were used and taught by their professors during their veterinary school training, while botanical medicines were not taught (yet just as logical to use). That is how a veterinarian’s mind becomes trained. Others might call it brainwashed.

“Evidence-based” or hypocrisy? Why veterinarians don’t use natural treatments isn’t always why they think…

Oddly, farm veterinarians often quickly state their support of “evidence-based medicine” and “the scientific method” to defend their views of items they dispense. That’s the stated reason why veterinarians don’t use natural treatments. But botanical medicine was the original backbone of the pharmaceutical companies!! These are the same companies which veterinarians continue to buy products from without hardly any questions asked. Indeed, some current protocols using synthetic medicine are simply based on theoretical reasoning and understanding some basic mechanism of action.

For example, it is still not understood how aspirin exerts its anti-fever effects. But the same courtesy of scientific understanding and knowledge of mechanisms of action is not extended towards botanical medicine. That’s called a double standard. Others might call it hypocrisy. 

Thankfully, there are an increasing number of veterinarians interested in medicines and techniques other than only the latest, greatest pharmaceutical products. Some vets become genuinely interested in alternative modes of treatment because of …. scientific curiosity!  Others aren’t seeing the same effects with “regular” medicine as they once did. A few, myself included, saw alternative approaches work prior to veterinary school and wanted to learn both alternative and conventional modes of treatment to best help each patient.

Most of the alternative-minded vets work with small animals (pets). Most large animal alternative minded vets work with horses. Only a handful of vets gladly and willingly work primarily with farm animals, sifting through “old” veterinary textbooks (which were written primarily for farm animals) for botanical approaches to common problems. 

Welcome to a place where alternative approaches to farm animal health are described, promoted and celebrated.

Animal Health

Moo News: Spotting and treating pneumonia in cows

  • March 14, 2021March 17, 2021
  • by Dr. Karreman
Dry bedding and open-air barns are by far the best prevention for respiratory illness in animals, but even under the best of conditions, rapidly changing weather, dust in the bedding and other immune-system stressors can take a heavy toll on ruminant animals. (This picture was taken in Reverence Farms‘ barns in Feb. 2021, and the calves are separated from their moms over night and then return to be with them in the morning.)

Respiratory problems and life-threatening pneumonia in farm animals …. it can happen any season but most often in damp and chilly weather. Pneumonia makes every single breath difficult. If there’s difficulty breathing, then all other activities — like eating — quickly lose importance.  But why do respiratory problems happen in the first place? And how can we treat respiratory problems and pneumonia with natural treatments instead of antibiotics? In this five-minute read, I will explain how to beat pneumonia before a train wreck develops. 

This picture was taken in Latvia in 2014, and shows perfect setup for respiratory distress. Dampness and changing weather creates just the right conditions for pneumonia to develop.

Speaking as a dairy vet and a co-owner of a herd of dairy cows, pneumonia is an infection to be avoided at all costs, as it is quite damaging if a “let’s wait and see” approach is taken.  If pneumonia does occur, taking action at the *earliest* signs will enable a farmer to reduce antibiotic use and possibly avoid antibiotics altogether. 

Most respiratory infections start with animals that are somehow stressed – most commonly due to damp bedding, poor ventilation, and chilly weather. Then a virus gains the upper hand and starts punching holes along the respiratory tract. Then bacteria that normally live along the respiratory tract sense the upset and quickly multiply.  The first signs are usually a dry hacking cough when the animals move about, then a wetter and productive sounding cough, then quicker and shorter breaths are also noticed, then less activity, reduced eating and poorer hair coat. This can all happen within a few days time.

In advanced cases of pneumonia, animals will lie down more of the time than herd mates. You know pneumonia has advanced when you see any open-mouth breathing and/or straightening of the neck to make it easier to breathe. Advanced cases need antibiotics quickly to save the animal, if it’s not already too late.

BUT, if caught early, while the animal is still engaging in normal activities and only has a slight cough, using injectable vitamin, mineral and biological treatments can do remarkably well. Take temperatures of any animals that are coughing. If above 102.5 F (39.1C) this indicates a fever and that the animal is trying to respond to an infectious challenge. 

Dry bedding and fresh air are critical to prevent and reduce respiratory problems.  Continuous exposure to damp bedding and drafts at ground level can quickly lead to the demise of an ailing animal. Be on alert if the weather is damp and chilly and on high alert if freezing at night and then quite warm during the day – many cases occur then.

Do not ignore animals that are coughing, even just a little bit! Pay close attention to what the animals are telling you. Stay alert if it’s just one animal being affected or if there are more and more animals starting to cough over the next few days. The first signs will often be coughing when animals are rustled up and moving about, and you have to be discerning to tell if the coughing is due to eating something or dust in the air or if it’s the beginning signs of a respiratory infection — when natural treatments are the most likely to succeed. The thermometer is your friend in this regard, as an early-stage pneumonia case will still almost always have an accompanying fever. 

Nasal discharge can be one indicator of pneumonia.

If trying to reduce antibiotic use in general, here is a trusted and consistent protocol for animals that are coughing yet still have a normal temperature (less than 102.5F): Injections under the skin of vitamin A, D & E and MultiMinTM (follow label directions for dosing). These are allowed for certified organic use by 7CFR205.603(a)(21).

If animals are just weaned or otherwise recently stressed (disbudded), think also of using a proven immune stimulant like AmpliMuneTM,  which quickly stimulates the animal’s own interferon. Interferon strengthens the animal’s “firewall” from challenges.

If the animal is showing a little more coughing than others and has a fever but still runs along with the group, use of biological antibody products like BoviSeraTM, PolySerumTM or MultiSerumTM will provide immediate antibodies against germs that cause pneumonia. These are allowed for certified organic use by 7CFR205.238(a)(6). These products are the closest thing to antibiotics without actually being antibiotics. The injected antibodies will be at peak when initially injected and decline over a period of days but provide help to the animal to overcome the situation. These above products are available online and are a “once and done” type treatment, but animals will still need frequent monitoring to make sure symptoms abate.

If symptoms don’t change or get worse in the next day or two, quickly switching to an antibiotic will be the best chance to save the animal’s life and also still be a productive member of the herd in the future. The “let’s wait and see” approach is truly not your friend when it comes to respiratory problems. If you are certified organic and resort to using an antibiotic to save the animal’s life (legally required), keep in mind that you will be selling an animal or two every year anyway and that this one will be one of them. Perhaps it’s almost too ridiculous to say because it’s so obvious, but a live animal is better than a dead organic animal.

Once the injectable vitamins, minerals and biologics are given, it’s good to follow up with an oral garlic-based tincture the next few days: give twice daily for 3-4 days in a row. The one I developed during vet practice is called GetWell and is a strong combination of garlic, echinacea, ginseng, and barberry. Dosages are: calves 5cc, yearlings 10cc, adults 15-20cc each dose orally. Avoid giving anything more than 15-20 ml in the mouth. For instance, giving a cup (8oz/240ml) or pint (16oz/480ml) of whatever fluid can too easily land in the animal’s windpipe – and that would be the exact worse thing you could do in trying to help the animal. When dosing an animal in the mouth, never have the nose pointing up to the sky; instead, always have the mouth slightly above parallel to the ground and give any fluids little by little, allowing the animal to swallow correctly or spit it out if it starts to tickle the windpipe.

You could simply give a bulb of garlic to an adult (or a fraction thereof to younger stock) twice daily for a few days. If they are still eating and chewing cud they will activate the sections of garlic by chomping them (when administered or in their cud) which then releases garlic’s natural antibiotic qualities. 

At our farm, we’ve had to do this protocol occasionally with groups of calves, normally when weather goes from unseasonably warm/cold to the other extreme, and if we’ve had any mold in the bedding. Even with our very open barns with only knee high walls, smaller animals are closer to the ground and more sensitive to less-than-the-freshest bedding. It’s very satisfying to avoid using antibiotics as much as possible (even though we’re not certified organic, we still follow these principles as much as possible).

If there is an animal that’s been coughing with a fever and has been off on its own, it’s likely that that particular animal needs an antibiotic. If not treated early and appropriately, pneumonia can lead to permanently damaged lungs, if not death. In fact, pretty much any animal who has had a severe respiratory challenge will have life-long lung damage to some degree if let go too long, so early treatment is vital, regardless of whether you start with natural treatments or not. 

Cows near calves indoors can lead to pneumonia.

Natural treatments always are more effective when used early on in the progression of disease. If your goal is to avoid antibiotics, the “let’s wait and see” is almost never your friend.  Animals with permanently damaged lungs won’t ever perform as well as they would have otherwise.

There are many antibiotics for pneumonia: Naxcel, Excenel, Excede, Baytril, NuFlor, Micotil (and many more new ones that I’ve never used as a veterinarian). I only use antibiotics for those animals that have a wet cough with the slightest exertion, standing off on their own, and have a fever. It is always best to listen to the lungs with a stethoscope to determine the phase of infection. Veterinarians are well trained and experienced in listening to lungs and staging the degree of pneumonia.

If the lungs are just raspy when listening with a stethoscope and the animal is otherwise fine, then I use vitamins, minerals and biologics as mentioned above. But if the lungs are “wet” and wheezy and with ”pops” and “whistles” then the animal needs antibiotics right away. If the lungs only have sounds from the windpipes and no actual expansion, it’s usually too late even for antibiotics to save the animal. Please have your vet out to at least listen to the lungs so you can decide on how to treat for the best outcome of the animal while minimizing potential antibiotic use. 

This bears repeating because it’s so important: do not take a “wait and see” approach with early signs of pneumonia, especially if the weather has been damp and chilly or the seasons are rapidly changing. The non-antibiotic treatments mentioned have all done really well for me as a veterinarian and herd owner IF used early.

Treatment decisions should be based on observation and a stethoscope to see if an antibiotic is truly needed or not. Most cases of coughing animals do NOT need antibiotics IF treated early. Be attentive as conditions change and commit yourself to hands-on therapy for a few days. Animals treated for pneumonia without antibiotics take about a week to normalize. It is worth repeating… if using the non-antibiotic approach and the animal doesn’t respond over the next day or two, it likely needs antibiotics — do not delay.

I’ve treated many outbreaks of pneumonia over the years. When sorting out clinical presentations of animals along with immediately jumping on non-antibiotic treatments, it’s easy to reduce reliance on antibiotics, if not eliminate reliance upon them altogether. 

And what about vaccines? The use of intranasal vaccine can prevent and can even help stop an early outbreak if used immediately. The intranasal vaccines quickly stimulate interferon and antibody production along the respiratory tract. Never use injectable vaccines when there’s any coughing. Read labels – injectable vaccines are only for use in healthy animals … how can you be totally sure an animal isn’t already brewing the infection?

Prevention is always the best treatment for pneumonia and that is always by providing dry bedding and fresh air year-round to your animals. 

Dairy Farming

How I Started with Natural Treatments for Dairy Cattle…

  • March 11, 2021March 12, 2021
  • by Dr. Karreman

Working as a herdsman and later as a veterinarian led me to develop an herbal udder infusion for dairy cows

I was asked to start using natural treatments for dairy cow mastitis when I arrived at Seven Stars Biodynamic Farm in 1988. Seven Stars was, and still is, a pioneer in the organic and natural livestock world, and this seemed a divine appointment. The only things available to me at that time were homeopathic remedies, botanical salves, injectable colostrum-whey products and injectable vitamins. Prior to that, I had only worked on conventional farms where the medicine cabinet doors were always open for easy-to-reach antibiotic mastitis tubes. I had no idea how to use natural treatments for dairy cow mastitis.Thankfully, I learned about homeopathy from Dr. Ed Sheaffer and could get supplies from Leon Hess at Hess Farm Supply in nearby New Holland, PA. 

Dr. Karreman at Seven Stars Farm

I was hired to milk the cows. I love milking cows. There’s a special relationship created between the milker and each cow — getting to know each cow’s personality really well simply by spending a lot of close contact time with them. You get to know their udders, the individual quarters and even the way individual teats look like. You also get to know how each teat of the udder feels because of preparing them to milk. Especially important and revealing is how the milk looks from each quarter when checking their milk prior to actual milking. 

As any milker knows, using a strip cup helps to visually analyze if milk quality is normal or not. (I prefer a black-plate strip cup over a screen-top type cup, but everyone has their preference.)

If a cow would have stringy mastitis and fought me while stripping out the quarter, I would reach for homeopathic Phytolacca; if the cow was slow to move and had irregular milk in the right quarters I’d use homeopathic Bryonia; for “thick” milk I would use homeopathic Pulsatilla. I would give the homeopathic remedies orally, sometimes 3-4 times a day. For every case, I would inject 35cc colostrum-whey once daily at the top of the udder just below the vulva and inject 60cc vitamin C and 20cc vitamin B in the muscle once daily.

Mastitis in a swollen quarter

Working in a tie-stall barn made it easy to give highly individualized care. (The cows went out to graze in good weather during the grazing season.) I saw the vast majority of cases clear up – even when I would hold off treating just to see if the natural treatments for mastitis were actually causing the healing effects I was seeing vs. simply doing nothing and “waiting it out” (to see if things would get better on their own).

I became extremely immersed in homeopathy for dairy cows and at one point had a “eureka! moment” happen and was invisibly guided to go to veterinary school to learn why homeopathics might work. Vet schools don’t teach about homeopathy but I found answers through immunology.

As a practicing veterinarian, I had to have quick answers at hand for the increasing amounts of organic dairy farmers wanting to treat mastitis naturally. No longer could I sit with an individual cow who I knew really well as I did when I was a herdsman, intuitively figuring out which homeopathic remedy for mastitis would be best. And, after all, as a veterinarian I can only make suggestions on how to treat an animal… In the end it’s up to the farmer/owner how to treat his/her animal. 

Somewhere along the way as a veterinarian working with certified organic dairy farmers, I came upon the idea of infusing botanicals into the udder as a natural treatment for mastitis. It simply makes sense to infuse botanicals into the local environment of the teat in order to support udder health with their cleansing, antibacterial properties.

Dairy farmers need quick and easy-to-administer natural treatments for mastitis so any potential problems don’t become chronic. Looking at some products made abroad, I worked with my botanical manufacturer and developed a plant-based product here in the U.S. that I named PhytoMast (“phyto” means plant, as in phyto-therapy).

Almost 10 studies looking at PhytoMast in university studies (most performed at North Carolina State University) have been published in peer-reviewed journals showing that PhytoMast supports udder health. In fact, the very first successful PhD studying the non-antibiotic treatment of mastitis in the United States was awarded to Dr. Keena Mullen in 2013 at NC State. PhytoMast was the only intramammary product studied in her PhD work. The first published milk and meat withholding times for an intramammary natural product that supports udder health were done on PhytoMast.  

When I think back to the beginnings of my working with natural treatments for dairy cow mastitis, I have fond memories of spending lots of time with individual cows and pondering which homeopathic remedies to use. However, not everyone is in tie-stall barns nor has as much time as I did to study homeopathic remedies. Thus an easy-to-use, rational natural botanical product like PhytoMast with studies supporting its use for udder health is truly handy.

Mastitis on Dr. K’s boot

While there are many different kinds of mastitis, when farmers notice the first changes in milk quality they should quickly be able to reach for an easy-to-use product that has proven value while also helping to reduce antibiotic use and antibiotic resistance in the agricultural sector for the benefit of society at large. PhytoMast was developed to fit this exact need, and it’s something that I’m incredibly proud to share with the dairy world; for better udder health, for better milk, in one easy-to-use treatment. A lot has changed since I first started (including the mustache, or lack thereof), but I still believe, as do farmers, veterinarians, consumers, and researchers, that there’s a better way to treat mastitis in lactating dairy cows without antibiotics.

Dr. Karreman's Original Formulas
All products are made in the US.

It is up to the user to determine under what circumstances to use the product, in what manner, for how long, and where product is to be stored. Never allow to freeze. Neither the manufacturer or distributor makes any warranties or claims. NOT FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION.

Search for products

Follow Us

  • Instagram
  • Facebook

Subscribe for Updates & Special Offers

* indicates required

Privacy Policy
Copyright 2021 Dr. K's Formulas and Reverence Farms
Theme by Colorlib Powered by WordPress