Rescue Remedy: How-To & Caution

The Bach Flower Remedies are a very popular and safe treatment for emotional issues in people--and pets. You find these at health food stores. They are considered “vibrational medicine” that helps address any kind of emotional turmoil that might lead to health or behavior problems. Holistic veterinarians and Bach practitioners generally recommend using single remedies to treat the issue. Mimulus is good for soothing fears, for instance. Vervain calms nervous energy, rock rose helps with terror, and vine cools down aggression. A pre-mix of five essences called Rescue Remedy is recommended for any sudden type of stress. What’s nice about Bach flower essences is that using the wrong one accidentally won’t cause problems--but using the right one usually works pretty quickly. The product comes as a liquid that you dilute and can add to a treat or drip onto the pet’s ear or paw pad. There’s also a spray, and I believe a cream product may be available. However, the newer “Pastilles” (candies) version poses danger to our pets! That’s because Xylitol sweetener has been added to some of the Pastilles formulations. That’s the artificial sweetener found in chewing gum that I’ve blogged about before, and can be poisonous to pets. The company has been advised of the problem. At least some of the websites that sell the Bach remedies now has warning labels on Xylitol-containing products to avoid giving to pets. Cats don’t tend to have a taste for sweets anyway, but sweet-loving dogs would be at higher risk.