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Medications are used to treat or prevent diseases. Some medications cure disease, while others are palliative: they relieve symptoms without treating the underlying cause.

A medication is a substance that affects the function of living cells. Some medications (antibiotics) work to inhibit the growth of, or kill, pathogens. Others (e.g., glucocorticoids) target the patient's physiology.

Primum Non Nocere (first do no harm). This statement (part of the Hippocratic Oath) serves as an ethical guide for medical practitioners. To ensure an animal is not harmed, treatments are based on the identification of the pathogen or the diagnosis of the problem. In many countries, it is not legal to administer medications to wildlife without diagnosis and a prescription for the appropriate medication from a consulting veterinarian.

Because certain medications are harmful to some animals, species-specific knowledge of drugs, dosages, and routes of administration is crucial. For example, animals such as rabbits and deer rely entirely on their gut flora to digest food. Administering the wrong kind of antibiotic can kill them. As another example, birds, reptiles and amphibians have very different anatomies and physiologies from mammals. Injecting a drug into the wrong area of their bodies can be fatal. Avoiding harm requires knowing your patient.

There are two types of medications: allopathic and alternative.

Allopathic medicine (also known as conventional, traditional or western medicine) works on the principle of demonstrable, rational cause-and-effect, and reproducible outcomes. It uses manufactured drugs to eliminate pathogens (e.g., antibiotics), and vaccines (e.g., rabies vaccine) to prevent diseases caused by bacteria and viruses. Other allopathic pharmaceuticals are used for such purposes as reducing inflammation, relieving pain, or altering gastrointestinal motility.

One of the best resources for conventional treatments is the Merck Veterinary Manual.

Merck Veterinary Manual Online
Choose 'pharmacology' from the table of contents (left menu) for a list of pathogens, treatments, therapeutic indications and dosages.

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Therapies described as 'alternative' include:

Homeopathy
Homeopathy is based on the concept 'like cures like', and that disease can be cured when the patient is treated with minute quantities of a symptom-producing substance.

Naturopathic or Holistic Medicine
Methods are chosen upon the basis of patient individuality, and naturopathic medicine considers the 'whole' patient: physical, mental, emotional, genetic, environmental, social and other factors. Naturopathic medicines and treatments are described as agents that are not directed against the disease: they support the body's ability to mount a defense by identifying and removing obstacles to health and recovery, facilitated by the creation of a healthy internal and external environment. Treatments include 'natural' or herbal products. In many countries, herbal products are not regulated, thus there is no guarantee of their safety or purity. However, as researchers work to find alternatives to antibiotics and other medications, more herbs and herbal preparations are undergoing investigation.

Complementary Medicine
Complementary medicine combines uses treatments from both allopathic and alternative medicine.

For information on alternative medicine and medications, choose one of the links below:

The Herb Research Foundation
A reliable source of information on herb research:

The Island Wildlife Natural Care Centre
The Island Wildlife Natural Care Centre specializes in alternative healing in wildlife rehabilitation and offers information on homeopathy (homeopathic treatments), herbal treatments and physical therapies

Medical Botany
A goldmine of information on medical botany (check out the links!) from an eminent ethnobotanist:

National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Perhaps the best source for reliable information on complementary and alternative human medicine

University of Pittsburgh
Medical botany: An herbal supersite

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