I got some comments on my last post. First off, thanks Brian for your support!!
Kristy, I do not mind at all if you link my site on yours. I would love it. And your comment reminded me that I need to get to Pizza Fusion soon with the kids, they will LOVE it! And I will definitely call your doctor, I am going to email you first to talk more about her.
I got another comment which I will post, with the exception of some personal info:
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"Terri, I came across your blog blogsurfing. I have some questions. I only have one child, but have heard many stories about children and vaccinations. I personally am VERY afraid on not getting my children vaccinated. I didn't have a choice with my daughter. She was a preemie and they would not release her from the hospital {our stay was 3 months} until she was vaccinated. I made them give them to her one at a time and wait a few days in-between each shot. My question to you is how do you prevent something {disease} from happening to your children? I am asking in all sincerity. I am not judging for any choice that you have made, I just want to know what you are doing to protect your children? I am very into holistic medicine. If there is a better way to go about it, I want to know. Please if you have information for me I would love to know
Thanks!"
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I read the comment last night and have been swamped all last night and today and yet have been thinking of just how I would answer this (this is long). I don't think there is anyway to "prevent" disease, even in your vaccinated children. Children still sometimes get chicken pox even with the vaccine, same for all the other diseases. The real issue becomes, how do you bolster your child's natural immune defense to fight disease easily and thereby becoming stronger against future attacks. That is the hope for us all, that we encounter these threats (which we do DAILY) and our immune system is functioning well enough that it is not even a blip on our radar. For example, I now know that when I start feeling really, really tired I need to slow down, go to bed early, watch my nutrition, boost up my immune support (vitamin C, zinc, multi-vitamins) and drink plenty of water. So if you look at ways to make sure your immune system is in good working order here's what I think is best:
1) Sleep - the main way our body restores and recharges itself, it needs plenty
2) Water
3) Nutrition - Most of our immune system is located in our gut. It knows how to handle invasions from the mucous membranes. Good nutrition can bolster it and poor nutrition can hinder it. Refined sugar (as little as 1 tsp) can suppress the immune system for hours. Think about when the flu/cold season hits, October when we are deluged with candy from Halloween and it is carried through the holidays where we eat our way through Nov/Dec and then into Feb where we show our "love" through behemoth boxes of chocolate. Our sugar-heavy months are also the biggest for colds/flus. Also, eating seasonal foods will help. Did you ever wonder why the oranges are overflowing when we need vitamin C the most? I laughed when a neighbor brought us a huge bag of oranges, love it when nature gives us what we need when we need it!
4) Supplements - there are many, many supplements to fight bacteria and viruses. Did you know the supplement Lysine is effective against herpes (including chicken pox)? There is also an herb called Larrea Tridentata which you have to buy a specific form (http://www.larrearx.com/) that is AS EFFECTIVE as valtrex? In an herb....hmmmm...maybe our ancestors wheren't so dumb in understanding herbal medicine. Virastop is an enzyme we use that actually is supposed to break down the cell wall of viruses (comprised of a hard protein coating which protects the virus from our immune system and allows it to replicate quickly) which allows your body to kill it in the way it was designed. There are many, many other supplements which can effectively fight viruses. So then why don't mainstream doctors tell us this? Unless you see an naturopath, you are likely to believe the old story of "well, it is viral, nothing we can do but ride it out". Not true.....Aromatherapy and essential oils are key in our house. Steam inhalation with tea tree and eucalyptus has resolved more than one of my developing sinus infections, no antibiotics necessary. Tea tree oil has been studied in hospital settings since it is a natural disinfectant. It actually is so strong it kills even HIV. That is a lot safer for use around kids than bleach which creates dioxin, a highly toxic chemical that hovers right around calf level. Vapors you cannot see but your little ones are breathing after "cleaning" your home to protect your kids from evil bugs. Dioxin has been referred to as the most toxic synthetic chemical known to man (http://www.moldacrossamerica.org/notobleach.htm).
See, we NEED bugs to some extent. And I am not saying all antibiotics are bad. I think they are good, when they are truly needed. Reaching for them at every chance just creates super bugs that are resistant to what we have and breaks down the body's ability to fight this stuff on its own. And that should be the goal. Every now and again we need a little help. I am not saying throw out all modern medicine, I too reach for an Advil and Nyquil to get me through a bad patch when I am just done with a bad cold/flu. But, lets look for more natural ways to increase our immunity through health preservation.
I am just a mom who has spent almost every "free" waking moment once the kids go to bed researching why my child has Autism and what I can do to undo the damage. And my child is my child, I know him. I do not profess to know everything about Autism. I know about my son's Autism. And for every 1 thing I know about his body, there are probably millions of things I don't know. The human body is too complex to figure it all out. If I can do just 1 thing with this blog I will teach other parents to read and know what we are told by our doctors. Read the inserts and find out what are in those vaccines. Here's a great link:
http://www.novaccine.com/vaccine-ingredients/
My kids have most of their vaccines. Do I wish I had read those inserts and more data about their safety prior? Yes. Would I have made a different decision? I don't know, I just wish I had the knowledge to make the decision that was best for my child with the right knowledge to refer to. And, remember, WE are in control of our childrens' health choices. No one can force medical care on you or your child to my knowledge. Although I have heard of forced vaccinations at gunpoint in Maryland and also the forced flu vaccines in NJ. To my knowledge though, you still have every right to refuse medical treatment for your child, until you are found to be neglectful and they are removed from your care. However, there are many, many people who have babies in mainstream hospitals who refuse vaccines. YOU have the final say. Our responsibility to our children are to hear both sides of the argument and to make the decision that fits with our family values and goals. For many families involved in the Autism community, we have looked into our kids bodies and seen the high levels of aluminum. My son is one. Now, could he have just as easily gotten the aluminum from his environment? Maybe if I was tested I would have levels just as high. Who knows, but here is a great article from Dr. Mercola:
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/01/27/mercury-in-vaccines-was-replaced-with-something-even-more-toxic.aspx
Here are some other great articles from his site:
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2002/12/30/dtp-vaccine.aspx
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/02/14/why-vaccines-aren-t-safe.aspx
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2004/02/21/vaccinations-part-three.aspx
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2002/11/16/vaccine-safety-part-three.aspx
There are so many more, just like me, trying to understand and balance modern medicine and a more holistic approach. I was 100% pro vaccine until just about a year ago. I have read, and read, and read more, talked with people in the more holistic health field. I mean I was so against not vaccinating kids, I really was. So for me to do a 180, it should tell you something. Just read, research and learn as much as you can. Each child is so different. With my daughter she breezed through her shots, including RSV since she was a preemie. My son was another story. He screamed for hours and hours and stopped sleeping after his 4 month shots. I speak to so many other parents with similar stories and yet my doctor at the time said "how odd...". I think vaccine reactions are so much more common, maybe not to the level of qualifying as "vaccine damage" at the time but what are the unseen consequences? Do we think its ok to shove aluminum and formaldehyde into our children's body, around the normal immune system, which remember, is mainly in the gut, vaccines go directly into the bloodstream and bypass the gut = bypassing most of the immune system? I knew nothing of this when my son was born. Even when my daughter was born 2 1/2 years later I knew none of this. And our decision is not right for everyone.
Sit in a room filled with parents of children with Autism. 1) you will have the biggest grouping of informed, researched parents who know more about neuro chemistry and biology than you would ever care to meet and 2) you will have a group of people who largely avoid further vaccines because of what they have learned. Contrary to what some would have you think, the people who refuse vaccinations for their children are usually very well read and very intelligent. Even though most are portrayed as back country idiots who don't know what they are doing to their kids. Talk to a chiropractor. Every chiropractor I have ever known is 100% against vaccines. Talk to a Naturopathic doctor, most advise you to refuse vaccines. And yes, there is the word doctor in the name naturopathic doctor. They are not quacks or charlatans. I know vaccine talk creates lots of controversy and I hope to avoid most of that quagmire. I don't think really debating the issue is productive-however I would LOVE to see Andrew Wakefield debate Paul Offit, I really would-but that is a different subject altogether.
What I hope is that people understand there is more to health of their children than just vaccines (if they so choose) and to read and understand the normal body processes that either preserve or compromise health. Everyone has to make their own decision. I just hope that sharing some of what I learn can help people make better informed decisions. And yes, a holistic lifestyle is now the norm for us. Will I run to the doctor when my child is ill? Absolutely, after I have used all the tricks in my bag. I think modern medicine and holistic medicine can coexist. My dream is for it to coexist as the norm, not just in our household. Thanks for reading and asking questions!!
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