Nosodes
 What it is:
- A nosode is a particular form of homeopathic remedy. It is prepared from the actual tissue, discharge, or causative organism recovered from the patient. This means that there is a "living" element to the remedy. Some nosodes are intended for use in a wide variety of individuals. For instance, all dogs afflicted with canine distemper could benefit from a canine distemper nosode. Many diseases are unique to an individual. These might include allergies, digestive upsets, or deep seated infections where the bacteria or virus can not be isolated. For these conditions, the nosode is custom prepared from samples taken from this individual.
Sometimes nosodes are used to prevent disease rather than treat it. Even well established homeopaths for humans are uncertain how well nosodes are at preventing versus aiding the elimination of, imbalances. In the United States, there are also legal issues to consider when using nosodes for prevention rather than standard vaccinations. (Don't despair; there is a way to get the best of both worlds!)
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What it is not:
- Nosodes are not vaccines in the usual sense. They are similar to medications called autogenous bacterins. Autogenous bacterins are prepared from tissue or bacterial samples from the patient but they are then processed much like a normal vaccine. That means that the sample is treated with chemicals, heat, or radiation to hopefully remove the infectious part of the disease before injecting the resulting chemical soup back into the patient.
The tissue sample that becomes a nosode is not treated with chemicals, heat, nor radiation. It is prepared in the true homeopathic protocol of dilution and succussion (see "Homeopathy" section). As a result, the nosode retains the ability to selectively assist the body in eliminate the disease without adding any by-products such as chemicals or mutated bacteria.
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