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Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Why Vaccines Aren't All They're Cracked Up to Be

This week I wanted to delve into the controversial realm of vaccination and immunization.  I think that the main reason that it's such a controversial topic is because we have been made to believe that vaccination is a necessary and vital part of our health.  I, however, beg to differ.

First off, let me state that I believe there is a place for some vaccines for deadly diseases such as smallpox.  But, there shouldn't even be a vaccine for a small, harmless disease such as chicken pox.

That's where our health society has gotten off track these days.  They want to vaccinate for every single microbe and virus that they can, just so we can avoid a little discomfort.  When I was a kid, I got chicken pox.  I don't remember it very much but I do remember that it was uncomfortable.  I wasn't in the hospital, I didn't need life support.  That's because chicken pox is so harmless.  In fact, my parents had me play with my older brother who had chicken pox so I could get innoculated the way that nature intended, by contracting, fighting off, and building up a natural immunity.

One reason that the chicken pox vaccine is such a bad idea (beside the fact that it's a harmless virus) is that it has been linked to an increase in a more serious condition, shingles.  Also, these people who are getting the vaccine aren't building up their immunity to the virus like they should.

With most vaccines, you get a shot.  How often, if you want to build up a natural immunity, are you going to get a shot of chicken pox or the rhinovirus (common cold)?  I would venture to say never.  That's because the majority of your immune system isn't even in your blood.

You see, your body is smart.  When you get sick, you usually inhaled or swallowed the microbe in question.  And for that reason, the majority of your bacteria and virus fighting immune system is actually in your digestive tract.  When you inhale or swallow microbes, your body has a much better opportunity to fight off those microbes because you have more capabilities to do so in your digestive tract.

Now, you may have noticed that I have only been referring to the topic as vaccination and not immunization.  This may be just semantics but, I don't call it immunization because your body is not building up a natural and full immunity to the virus.  Therefore, it is not immunization. 

My wife and I just had our first child, and after doing much research and self reflection, we decided to forgo the whole vaccination process.  The reason we decided to do so was because we believe that the risks of vaccination far outweigh the benefits.  Like I said before, since you are not getting a full immunity to the virus, you still have a good chance of contracting the disease at a later age, which is usually more serious.  Also, there are preservatives in all vaccines to make sure that they last longer.  These preservatives have been linked to serious health conditions such as Autism, Guillian-Barre syndrome, paralysis, and sometimes death.

So, once again, this is just me stating my opinion and trying to educate people about both sides of an argument.  What I want is for people to make an informed decision about their health and their children's health before jumping into doing something just because someone told you to.

Do some research.  Make an informed decision.

7 comments:

  1. Dr. Mike, I would argue with one component of your discussion regarding vaccines. You state that "there is a place for some vaccines, such as smallpox". I disagree. If you will delve deeper into the historical aspect of vaccines, you will see that without exception, the diseases we now vaccinate against were in steep decline at the point vaccines were implemented for their prevention. These declines follow improvements in public sanitation and potable water supply. While vaccines take the credit, they do so unjustly. On close inspection, they are discovered to be (not only) useless, but powerful, dangerous assaults to the health of the humans who receive them. Glad to hear your child will be one less victim at the hands of the profiteering pharmaceutical industry.
    J.F. Zea, D.C.

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  2. Is anyone else questioning the science or logic behind this, or the fact that this is coming from a "doctor" of chiropractics? No offense...

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  3. In response to "Anonymous'" comment, there are many people out in the world today who are not only questioning the science of vaccines and the vaccination process, but there are many people who do NOT vaccinate their children. One very good resource to check out is the National Vaccine Information Center (found at www.nvic.org). There is a plethora of information on this website and links to other websites and material as well. I would highly recommend people looking into this.

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  4. Do you have any websites or links that have scientific primary literature or perhaps a Cochrane Review that discuss the issue, instead of a possibly and probably biased organization. I realize that on the website (which I did look into quite extensively) they claim to not recommend for or against vaccines, however the president/co-founder was the author of a 1985 "landmark book DPT: A Shot in the Dark" and many of the other executives and board members have been personally involved in possible "vaccine reactions." I am in no way discrediting any of their work or trying to dishonor their personal stories or medical afflictions. I am simply pointing out that, while they claim to not have a position, there is clearly room for considerable bias.

    I am more than happy to read any information you can dig up on the issue but am not interested in browsing a website that is possibly littered with information designed to sway people one way or another. Show me the raw data and facts please.

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  5. As of right now, here are a few studies dealing with specific adverse effects of vaccinating infants:

    Buttram, HE, M.D. and Yazbak, E., M.D. Shaken Baby Syndrome or Vaccine-Induced Encephalomyelitis? The Story of Baby Alan.

    Sanchez PJ, Laptook AR, Fisher L, Sumner J, Risser RC, Perlman JM. Apnea after immunization of preterm infants. J Pediatr 1997; 130(5):746-51.

    Sen S, Cloete Y, Hassan K, Buss P. Adverse events following vaccination in premature infants. Acta Paediatr 2001; 90(8):916-20.

    Botham SJ, Isaacs D, Henderson-Smart DJ. Incidence of apnoea and bradycardia in preterm infants following DTPw and Hib immunization: a prospective study. J Paediatr Child Health 1997; 33(5):418-21 .

    Slack MH, Schapira D. Severe apnoeas following immunisation in premature infants. Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed. 1999; 81(1):F67-8.

    Botham SJ, Isaacs D. Incidence of apnoea and bradycardia in preterm infants following triple antigen immunization. J Paediatr Child Health 1994; 30(6):533-5.

    Braun MM, Mootrey GT, Salive ME, Chen RT, Ellenberg SS. Infant immunization with acellular pertussis vaccines in the United States: assessment of the first two years' data from the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS). Pediatrics 2000; 106(4):E51 [23] Medical records of Alan Ream Yurko (1997). Princeton Hospital, Florida.

    I'm also attaching a couple links pointing to medical doctors being against vaccination if anyone is interested. It's not just us "alternative medicine" people.

    http://icpa4kids.org/Wellness-Research/quotes-from-medical-doctors-on-vaccines.html

    http://icpa4kids.org/Wellness-Research/medical-practitioners-do-not-follow-vaccination-recommendation.html

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  6. Here's another article from the National Vaccine Information Center. It contains a lot of reasearch articles listed in the bibliography that support the theory that vaccines aren't the best for you by studying adverse effects of vaccination.

    http://www.nvic.org/NVIC-Vaccine-News/January-2011/New-Vaccine-Science-Can-Help-Bridge-the-Divide.aspx

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