As parents who are doing little vaccinating with our kids, no one in our family is likely to get the H1N1 vaccine. But it doesn’t mean we aren’t concerned about our children getting sick. The conversations around the poker table, with doctors and research scientists, at classes or gatherings with other families, all seem to come back to similar advice. Clean yourself… thoroughly. And don’t touch your face, let alone your mouth. I can be sure my two young children, who are orally obsessed, should remain healthy through this flu season. Here we go!

Our pro-vaccine GP, a really thoughtful and smart family acquaintance, suggested we not get the H1N1 vaccine for our two-year old who has chronic inner ear infections. We haven’t been doing flu shots for anyone in our family. But with my son’s persistent, super funky  ear infections, I wanted to be sure we were still making a good choice. He did suggest strongly that we get up-to-date on our standard vaccines. I continue to consider this issue. Friends who run a vacation retreat consulted with their virus expert, a relationship they developed because of a Norwalk outbreak at their lodge. After also consulting the same GP, they are vaccinating the adults in their family who will be at their lodge with visitors. They will not vaccinate their children, and keeping prescriptions for Tamiflu for them on file should it become necessary.

Our pharmacist friend is vaccinating herself, but not her husband or the children. I have yet to talk to anyone who is vaccinating their children, but the CBC is daily interviewing people in line for the vaccine who are. Today I was told about GPs in British Columbia getting paid $15 per prescription of Tamiflu. I’m trying to get confirmation of this claim and another one about this drug having neurological effects on the Japanese who are using it a lot. It feels to me as if we would be using our children as guinea pigs, to test a drug we know very little about. I’m sticking by some more productive and less political advice for our family.

Here’s an excerpt from a circulating email I’ve seen from different sources:

These are the words of Dr. Vinay Goyal who is an Intensivist and Thyroid specialist with clinical experience of over 20 years. He has worked in institutions like Hinduja Hospital, Bombay Hospital, Saifee Hospital, Tata Memorial, etc. Presently, he is heading the Nuclear Medicine Department and Thyroid clinic at Riddhivinayak Cardiac and Critical Centre.

“The only portals of entry are the nostrils and mouth/throat. In a global epidemic of this nature, it’s almost impossible not coming into contact with H1N1 in spite of all precautions. Contact with H1N1 is not so much of a problem as proliferation is. While you are still healthy and not showing any symptoms of H1N1 infection, in order to prevent proliferation, aggravation of symptoms and development of secondary infections, some very simple steps, not fully highlighted in most official communications, can be practiced (instead of focusing on how to stock N95 or Tamiflu):

1. Frequent hand-washing (well highlighted in all official communications).
2. “Hands-off-the-face” approach. Resist all temptations to touch any part of face (unless you want to eat, bathe..)
3. Gargle twice a day with warm salt water (use Listerine if you don’t trust salt). H1N1 takes 2-3 days after initial infection in the throat/nasal cavity to proliferate and show characteristic symptoms. Simple gargling prevents proliferation. In a way, gargling with salt water has the same effect on a healthy individual that Tamiflu has on an infected one. Don’t underestimate this simple, inexpensive and powerful preventative method.
4. Similar to 3 above, clean your nostrils at least once every day with warm salt water. Not everybody may be good at using a Neti pot, but blowing the nose hard once a day and swabbing both nostrils with cotton swabs dipped in warm salt water is very effective in bringing down viral population.
5. Boost your natural immunity with foods that are rich in Vitamin C. If you have to supplement with Vitamin C tablets, make sure that it also has Zinc to boost absorption.
6. Drink as much of warm liquids (tea, coffee, etc) as you can. Drinking warm liquids has the same effect as gargling, but in the reverse direction. They wash off proliferating viruses from the throat into the stomach where they cannot survive, proliferate or do any harm.”

So I’m off to rub my hands down with alcohol hand sanitizer. Forget about the swine flu… the toxic smell is enough to kill me.

Child Vaccination

To vaccinate or not is often a choice that is influenced greatly by where you live,  local health threats, personal values and your risk tolerance.  In Europe, some countries (UK and France) do not fund vaccinations through their government.  In Canada vaccinations are fully funded under the basic health care system. In the US, parents must sign a waiver saying that they do not want their children vaccinated (for religious or personal reasons) before they are sent to school. This is a highly personal choice, and one that must be done in the context of your own experience and values .

How Do Vaccines Work?

Vaccines originated in China where a person was infected deliberately with smallpox to help prevent future infection. Vaccines basically stimulate the body’s natural immune system to create antibodies to fight infection and disease.  By introducing a foreign virus into the body, such as influenza, the body’s organs will secrete natural enzymes to fight and kill the bacteria.

Link To Autism

Vaccinations have long been linked to autism, but this is a hotly debated connection. Many parents have said that they have seen behavioural symptoms that can be similar to autism after a vaccination has occurred.  In Canada, the schedule for beginning vaccinations starts as early at 2 months old, and continues until the child is at least 4.

Is Mercury Still in Vaccines?

Some vaccinations still do (yes, I called our pharmacist) contain trace amounts of mercury.  It is used as a preservative, and necessary during the process. Some vaccines have been recently developed which are preservative free, and are available in single dose applications  which don’t require preservatives (typically multiple doses of vaccines are pulled from a single vial), however they are expensive and not widely available.   Influenza and Hep B vaccines in Canada currently do contain Thimersol, which is 49% mercury by weight. It is important to note also that preservatives such as Thimersol cannot completely eliminate the risk of contamination of vaccines.

Many other vaccines contain MSG (monosodium glutamate) which is a known neurotoxic (harms the brain) and is also linked to autism, aluminum (correlated to Alzheimer’s Disease), and Amonium Sulphate (commonly used in fertilizer).

Which Vaccines Are Most Important?

Which vaccine to apply (if at all) depends on the age of your child, your local health threats, and the likelihood of travel to high risk areas. If your child steps on a rusty nail, for example, a tetanus shot vaccine is recommended as a precaution.  However, vaccines are rarely able to be isolated, and usually come bundled by the drug companies into 3 to 5 at a time.  As I learned locally in B.C., this is also a bit of a ploy by the healthcare system to ensure wider adoption of the other vaccines. Here, they aim to try to vaccinate at least 80% of the population to attain herd immunity.

Locally in Nelson, B.C., a town of 10,000, there were over 120 cases of whooping cough (pertussis) last year, so this would be a considered a high risk threat.  It is rarely life-threatening, but can cause scarring of the lungs in some cases. Quadracel is the recommended vaccine which innoculates against polio, diptheria and tetanus as well.  Unfortunately, they don’t isolate the whooping cough vaccination or provide a single vial dose (preservative free) in B.C.. as far as I’ve found out.

Influenza – The flu shot is recommended for children aged 6 months and older.  The viruses used in the vaccine change each year, having your medical system stay current on the latest virus is difficult.  No single virus causes the flu, and no one vaccine can protect you from all of them, especially since vaccines and viruses vary from year to year. As a result, as many as 50% of those innoculated may still get the flu.

Whooping Cough (Pertussis) – About half of babies with whooping cough get the illness from their parents, most risk for infants under 6 months. As a result, it’s generally recommended that expecting parents (mothers) take the vaccine.

MMR (Measles, Mumps, Rubella) - With recent outbreaks in Europe (Italy in particular) and the US (Illinois, midwest), travel to these areas can increase your risk of infection.

Hep A - This is a very common bacteria, has no long term liver damage, and generally results from unclean areas. This vaccine contains formaldehyde as a preservative, which is classified as a probable human carcinogen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The real need to vaccinate against Hep A is unproven, but often can prevent an unpleasant sickness while vacationing in tropical destinations.

Hep B - This results from exposure to infectious blood or body fluids containing blood. Unless inherited by a mother, this is highly unlikely for children to get, despite the fact that it is often recommended at birth, and 6 months for infants.

Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) - In Canada the only available vaccination is Gardasil, approved by Health Canada in the Summer of 2006 for females between the ages of 9 and 26.

So What Are My Best Options?

1. Do not vaccinate at all. There are many harmful preservatives in vaccines including mercury, aluminum, and MSG. There is extensive research that proves they these preservatives are not fully eliminated from your body, especially infants with undeveloped immune systems.  Correlations between vaccines and autism, behavioural issues, and chronic immune deficiencies have been made for many years. Your child may never encounter many of the diseases/viruses addressed by vaccines (e.g. Hep B), and if they do, your child’s immune system is the best natural defence.  Breastfeeding has been proven to boost the immune system and fight toxins in babies and children. The World Health Organization recommends breastfeeding until your child is at least 2 years old.
2. Delay vaccination until child is older. Research has shown that infants and babies under 2  years old simply do not have the immune systems developed enough to properly react to vaccines.  Breast feeding up to the age of 2 will provide huge benefits to ward off infection. Significantly lower rates of diarrhea, ear infections, lower respiratory illness, and childhood lymphomas occur among breastfed infants and children in the West. Breastfeeding has also been reported to protect against necrotizing enterocolitis, bacteremia, meningitis, botulism, sudden infant death syndrome, urinary tract infection, early childhood caries, juvenile diabetes, and inflammatory bowel disease.
3. Vaccinate selectively, focusing on local threats. If whooping cough is common in your region, then you may want to address that health issue with a specific vaccine.  Most children are at very low risk to Hep B unless a parent has the disease.  Polio is also highly uncommon, so unless you are travelling to 3rd world regions where this is a risk, it may not be necessary.
   

Written By: Chris Charlwood

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