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A Victoria naturopath is claiming to have treated a four-year-old boy's fear of werewolves by prescribing a remedy made from rabid dog saliva.

Dr. Anke Zimmerman says in a blog post that's touched off a social media frenzy, the boy was brought in to see her last October because he was having trouble sleeping.

"A bite from an animal, with or without rabies vaccination, has the potential to imprint an altered state in the person who was bitten, in some ways similar to a rabies infection. This can include over-excitability, difficulties sleeping, aggression and various fears, especially of dogs or wolves," she wrote.

She claims the boy was much calmer and more relaxed after the treatment.

But, Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says while homeopathic remedies may be helpful in some cases, there's no evidence to show the remedy, lysinnum, has therapeutic benefits.

"More importantly, I am concerned that if a product did actually contain what is suggested, saliva from a rabid dog, that would put the patient at risk of contracting rabies, a serious, fatal illness," Henry said in a statement.

"Our tragedy is our chief medical officer doesn’t understand homeopathy," Zimmerman told CTV. "What do they think, I have rabid dogs chained in my backyard?”

– with files from CTV Vancouver Island