How GRO Welfare Products Are Made: Natural Ingredients and Animal Welfare Benefits
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How GRO Welfare Products Were Developed
The products are specially formulated blends of naturally occurring ingredients that are derived from plants. These ingredients were selected from an initial list of 200+ naturally occurring ingredients which was then shortlisted to 11 and then to the final formulations. The three products which make up the GRO Welfare range each have between 4 and 7 of the 11 ingredients which were shortlisted, depending on the purpose of the formulation. These final ingredients have been extensively used in traditional medicines around the world. In many cases, individually, the ingredients have been scientifically researched and have been clinically proven to provide at least one of the key elements which were being sought when formulating the product.
The key elements that were being sought from the ingredients when formulating the product were:
- Pain relief
- Reduced bleeding
- Anti-inflammatory
- Antiseptic
- Aromatic calming
- Anti-microbial
- Anti-bacterial
- Increased immune response
- Insect repellency.
Once the final ingredients were selected, research was done to understand the potency of each ingredient towards each of the target elements. From this point, many different formulations and mixtures were devised. These formulations were then trialed in the field to assess effectiveness and the degree of this effectiveness between the different formulations. Ultimately, after treating many animals, assessing the performance of the formulations, with strong consideration for ease of use and most importantly, efficacy a final formulation was decided upon. If you are new to marking-day jobs like ear tagging, our guide to installing ear tags correctly and our battery powered ear tagger guide cover the tagging side.
The Benefits Behind the Ingredients
1. Pain Relief
What is it? Pain relievers can work in several different ways. Nerve blockers change the way that the brain responds to pain and anti-inflammatories which help prevent inflammation which leads to an increase in pain. Both have a beneficial effect when applied to wounds.
Why is it important? Pain relief helps with the recovery process by helping to protect the body from feeling pain. The sooner pain relief is applied to a wound the less inflation and the less sensitive the wound becomes. In the longer term is has been scientifically proven that being exposed to strong pain can lead to a higher level of sensitivity to pain in the future throughout life. Pain relief plays a significant part in avoiding this and helps to a return to normality sooner after a wound is caused. Commercially, farmers are seeing improved market access when using pain relief products.
2. Reduced Bleeding
What is it? The restriction of blood vessels plus the increased coagulation of blood at the wound helps to slow bleeding.
Why is it important? By reducing the bleeding, the risk of the adverse and sometimes fatal effects of blood loss can be avoided. Excessive bleeding from a wound can cause a lowering of blood pressure. This can lead to dizziness, tiredness and a shortness of breath. In extreme situations blood loss can cause death. Blood can also attract flies and other insects to the wound, increasing the risk of infection.
3. Wound & Skin Tissue Healing
What is it? Wound & skin tissue healing can be improved by protecting the wound from infection, irritation from insects and further injury. By protecting the wound it is often the case that a wound will heal more quickly.
Why is it important? By decreasing wound healing time, a patient can return to normal life more quickly. It also means that the amount of time which a wound is at risk of becoming infected is reduced.
4. Anti-Inflammatory
What is it? Anti-inflammatory agents help to prevent the wound from inflammation and swelling. Meaning that the wound is less sensitive to pain.
Why is it important? Inflammation is a body's natural response to a wound when it occurs. It makes a wound more sensitive to pain which in turn means that more pain is experienced. By protecting a wound from inflammation, less pain is experienced overall, a patient will return to a normal life more quickly and welfare is improved.
5. Insect Repellent
What is it? Repels insects such as flies and mosquitoes that can be attracted to the open wound.
Why is it important? Flies and other insects, if attracted to an open wound can cause significant irritation to the animal. As a minimum, this irritation can cause unnecessary stress to the animal. In addition to this the irritation may cause the animal to scratch or rub a partially healed wound, which in turn my cause the wound to be re-opened and to be more susceptible to infection. Insects can also introduce infection to the wound leading to ill-health and or slower healing.
6. Antimicrobial
What is it? Antimicrobial, Anti-fungal and Anti-bacterial elements all help to prevent foreign microbes from establishing a population on or in the wound.
Why is it important? By applying these anti-infection substances to the open wound at the time of the operation they can help provide protection from infection immediately. Along with the animals own natural immune defences, these substances can help to ensure that the wound healing process begins without the complications of infection.
7. Antiseptic
What is it? Antiseptic provides a barrier to microbes and other infectious materials entering the wound and establishing an infection.
Why is it important? These substances will help to cleanse the wound of any germs or foreign particles that may cause the wound to heal more slowly or become infected. The sooner the wound heals, the sooner the animal is able to heal.
8. Skin Tissue Healing
What is it? The growth of skin tissue is promoted by these elements.
Why is it important? Substances that help to promote skin healing can help to ensure that the natural barrier that has been removed through the surgical procedure is reformed and fully repaired more quickly.
9. Increased Immune Response
What is it? An increase in immune response helps the body to ward off the free radicals and other foreign invaders.
Why is it important? The immune system is the animal's natural protection system to disease and infection. Some substances when introduced to the body, can help to protect the body by providing a protective barrier, or they can boost the body's natural ability to fight off disease promoting free radicals. Generally, the stronger the immune system, the healthier and more productive an animal will be.
How These Ingredients Come Together in the GRO Welfare Range
All products in the GRO welfare range, including GRO Wound Relief and Welfare, GRO Wound Relief and Repair and GRO Blood-Less Spray have been formulated from natural ingredients that have been identified through clinical trials, or through traditional medicine to provide some of the benefits listed above in this document. The ingredients which make up each of the GRO Welfare Range formulations are specifically included with the intent of providing the target species with all or some of the benefits listed above. Before making your purchase of any of the GRO Welfare products ensure that you understand clearly which product best suits your situation and welfare needs.
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