Less Than Credulous Trusting no one, we find out for ourselves

Dr. Frank’s Pet Pain Spray Redux

I have already written about this topic once before, in fact, almost two years ago.  My original article, while overly thin in content, had a huge response and I've decided to revisit the topic again.  I hope this time I can expand on some of the points and criticisms my original post received.

First, let's once again include the definition of homeopathy:

Homeopathy (also spelled Homoeopathy or Homœopathy) is a form of alternative medicine, first proposed by German physician Samuel Hahnemann in 1796, that treats patients with heavily diluted preparations which are thought to cause effects similar to the symptoms presented. Homeopathic remedies are prepared by serial dilution with shaking by forceful striking, which homeopaths term "succussion," after each dilution under the assumption that this increases the effect of the treatment. Homeopaths call this process "potentization". Dilution often continues until none of the original substance remains.

There is often a lot of confusion as to what homeopathy is. It's not just any "alternative" medicine. That's a whole other topic that I may or may not choose to write on. Homeopathy is the process of diluting active substances so much that none of the original substance remains. Again, it's just water.

When it comes to animals, and what people will do for their companion animals, I get it. I really do. My wife and I have adopted 5 dogs together and before we met, I had adopted a cat named Ozzy. Three of our pets are over ten years of age, which seems to be a dividing line between young and geriatric animals. Luckily none of our animals have reached their old age, but when they do we'll be sure to do everything we can to keep them comfortable and happy.

A lot of people feel the same way about keeping their animals comfortable and happy. They see the commercials for Dr. Frank's Pet Pain Spray where overweight dogs waddle around in obvious discomfort. They see video of people spraying something in the dogs' water bowl, and viola! The dog is now playing like he is a puppy again. What is in this magic spray? I'll get to that in a bit, but first let's look at some "great" quotes from Dr. Frank's website:

* "Homeopathy is an alternative form of medicine which relies on research that uses homeopathic provings. This is entirely different than the scientific double blind study methods most people are familiar with." It's refreshing to see the website admit they don't do tests that could prove effectiveness. Double-blind tests are a necessity for proving the efficacy of any medication. Without them, you shouldn't even waste your time. For more information on double-blind tests click here.

* "All these ingredients are present in exceedingly small amounts; all diluted more than one trillion times. It is for this reason that they are well known for having no substantiated reports of side effects." In other words, it's just water, and since water has no known side effects, it's cool.

* "The ingredients in the formula are identified by Latin names for the natural ingredients that are, for the most part, plants or minerals." This sounds like window dressing to make the ingredients sound more impressive than they are.

And now, on to the ingredients:

* Bryonia Alba - This treatment is derived from the white bryony vine – a plant that's in the same family as the cucumber Water.
* Calcarea Carbonica - This treatment is derived from calcium carbonate. Water.

* Causticum - This treatment is derived from calcium also. Water.

* Sulfur - This is organic sulfur. This is kind of funny to see. First, because it's an actual substance that can do something in the body. Supposedly I was/am allergic to penicillin so when I was sick as a kid, I used to take these foul tasting sulfur-based medicines to fight off infections. Secondly, there are some studies out there that were designed to test whether sulfur helped arthritis (I can't find any positive results though). Alas, Dr. Frank has decided to dilute it down to, yep, water.

* Rhus Toxicondendron - It is made from poison ivy. It will not and has never caused a poison oak or ivy outbreak because it is so highly diluted. Water...again.

* Ruta Graveolens - This treatment is made from a small evergreen shrub. Water.

* Pulsatilla Nigrans - This treatment derived from the wild plant commonly known as wind flower or meadow anemone is often called the queen of homeopathic remedies since it is indicated in so many conditions including pain of the back and extremities. Water.

* Calcarea Phosphorica - This is another homeopathic form of calcium. Water.

* Silicea - This is homeopathic silica, a compound of silicon which is found in quartz and other rocks. Water.

So after looking at all the active ingredients, they all boil down to water. Distilled water. There is no substance left that has any interaction with the body for anything other than hydration. So if you think homeopathy works, remember what you're really saying is that you believe water takes on the "vibrations" or "essence" of the original substance after massive dilution and even though this has never been proven, you believe this imbued water somehow heals the body.

Specifically looking at Dr. Frank's Pet Pain Spray, you have a product with nothing but distilled water from a process the site admits doesn't use double blind scientific tests. There is a web page that tries to explain homeopathy too, but it's pretty disingenuous. I don't think the website has any intention of promoting good science.

So why does it work? It really doesn't. A couple things are in action here. The biggest one is simply that guardians of animals trick themselves into seeing their animals improving. Guardians might push their pets to be more active or simply pay more attention. Another thing that could happen, is that the animal gets better. It happens, and it's not uncommon. It doesn't mean the "magic" water had anything to do with it.

I said in the beginning of this article that I really get it when it comes to animals, so really, I don't want to sound too harsh when it comes to people with animals. Please, don't spend another dime on this scam. Feed your animal a little less, get him/her to lose some weight, and talk to your vet about real medicine. Homeopathy is not real medicine. It's a relic from the 1780's when our knowledge of medicine, physiology and biology was just a fraction of what we know now. It's a relic that I wish would just go away.

Note: Anything in italics was taken from here: https://www.mypetspainrelief.com/formula.php