Under The Weather And Out Of Luck?

As I lied in bed, miserably sick whilst on my spring break in Orlando, Florida, I had a lot of time to think about some things regarding being sick and veganism.

When I first became vegan, I didn't pay much attention to medicine. I read the ingredients label, and if nothing stood out to me right away, I took it. Then, as time went on, I found out that pretty much all medicines are tested on animals, therefore making any medication you take nonvegan. At first, this wasn't a problem for me. I simply stopped taking the less serious medicines like GasX and Tylenol. I don't really get sick very often, so the thought of other medicines escaped my mind.

Then, when I did start to get really sick, I was really stubborn about taking medicine. I thought if I took it, it would mean that I was cashing in my morals just to feel a little better. I still don't really like to take medicine if I don't absolutely need it, but my view on the issue has changed slightly over the years.

In today's world, we don't live in a society where non-cruelty free medicine exists. It would be amazing if there was a way to test medicine in a way that did not torture animals, especially considering that they are killed afterwards every time, but science just is not there yet. I was at war with myself. There was one week when I had a high fever and couldn't even walk to the bathroom without feeling like I was going to faint. Right now I'm so congested I can't breath, and I've coughed so much that I barely have a voice left.

Lots of vegan bloggers have written about medicine, and some of the most helpful writers have said things like this:

Vegans avoid using animals 'as far as is practicable and possible'. In most countries, medicines have to pass safety tests before they can be prescribed, and these tests are routinely carried out on non-human animals. If you suffer from a medical condition you may currently have no practical alternative to taking such prescribed medicines. Looking after yourself is important if you wish to be an effective vegan advocate.

Charities like the Dr Hadwen Trust are working hard to end the use of non-human animals in safety testing. Yet this will not happen overnight and in the meantime you know your own situation best - so together with your doctor, decide what is best for your own health. Never stop taking prescribed medicines without first talking to a medical professional.

While I am still a bit stubborn about taking things like DayQuil or Claritin, I am much easier on myself about taking less severe medicine to help with symptoms, and really serious medication if I'm ever at the doctor's or in the hospital. The only thing I look for now is animal ingredients.

I can't avoid taking all prescription medicine. I suffer from depression and anxiety, and I feel much, much less than my best when I don't take my medicine. But the Vegan Society has a point: you can talk to you doctor about avoiding animal ingredients. The antidepressant I take now only contains the active ingredient, and comes in a gelcap that I can open and sprinkle the medicine out of. Now, I'm not avoiding buying something that has an animal ingredient, but at least I'm getting around consuming it.

For sickness, I think it's necessary to focus on the first like of the Vegan Society's article, which is also a line from the official statement of what veganism is. "Practicable and possible" focuses on putting your personal health above your stubbornness. You can't help the animals if you're constantly getting sick and not feeling 100%. While I think that taking medicine when you don't feel you totally need it, I definitely do not agree with avoiding it when you're really under the weather. If you're a vegan or cruelty-free, use your own judgement when medicating, but know that you'll be able to do the most good when you're feeling good.

I also looked into the Dr. Hadwen Trust, and their work in animal-free medicine testing. Here is some of what I found:

To achieve our aim, the DHT supports and assists scientists to implement existing techniques and develop new ones which are more human-relevant and will replace animal experiments. We award grants to scientists in universities, hospitals and research organisations following a rigorous and independent peer-reviewed selection procedure. Only those projects with the highest scientific calibre and the best potential for the replacement of animals will be awarded funding.

Then, I looked through the site's catalogue of research projects involving non-animal studies that have been funded. One on brain mapping went into detail concerning in vitro studies as replacement:

Animal studies of JEV (Japanese encephalitis virus) and other flaviviruses have included inoculation of Rhesus monkeys that caused animals to suffer depression, anorexia, tremors, paralysis, coma and death. More commonly, mice are used to study JEV and WNV (West Nile virus) with signs of infection being leg paralysis, a hunched back, ruffled fur, minimal activity, and sometimes seizures.

There are some important differences between human material and that from mice, so a robust model of the human BBB (Blood Brain Barrier), which allowed viral interactions at this important interface to be studied, would by scientifically preferable and obviate the need for much of the current work on viral encephalitis in the rodent models.

This research is really promising, and was only one of MANY projects on the page. I feel confident that there is serious progress being made to eradicate medical animal testing, even if that day is not in the immediate future, organizations like the Dr. Hadwen Trust are working hard to make that day come sooner than we think.