brought to you by
Nature Cure
Keith Spaulding ND LAc
|
Vaccinating a
Healthy Child |
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After the birth of our first baby, I began to read feverishly in preparation for informed decision making regarding vaccinations. For our son, a healthy, breast fed, to term baby boy with no siblings, no day care and two healthy, proactive, organic foods eating parents we selected the vaccines we thought to be necessary for his health, my piece of mind and for the public’s health. Here is how I did this. I began with the vaccination then looked at the disease and finally at our family.
Why not just follow the schedule Center for Disease Control and Prevention recommends? Vaccinations were created in response to infectious disease related deaths in children and infants. There is little question as to the success vaccinations have had at decreasing deaths related to infectious diseases in young children. However the modern concerns of the autistic spectrum disorders (ADD, ADHD, dyslexia, Asperger’s syndrome, pervasive developmental delay and autism), diabetes, asthma, cancer, intestinal disorders, and autoimmune disorders are approaching epidemic levels. 1 in 166 families have an autistic child, 1 in 10 children are classified as having an attention disorder, and 1 in 6 to have learning disorders! The CDC has yet to conduct long term studies on the effects of vaccinations in infants and children. I look forward to seeing long term studies to either verify the safety of vaccines or show the link between vaccinations and neurological and immune related disorders.
The CDC currently recommends 32 vaccinations against 12 different infectious agents prior to the age of two beginning at birth with the hepatitis B vaccine.
Why so many vaccines into such little bodies? The goal is to protect our most vulnerable as soon as possible and to protect the public from these diseases. My concern is with the babies. Their immune systems are just beginning to form, and their brains are rapidly developing and susceptible to damaging immune activations. When a vaccination is given the immune system in the brain is activated, multiple vaccinations spaced closely together can cause an over stimulation and release of toxic elements like cytokines, free radicals and proteases that can damage delicate brain cells and synapses. For a vaccination to provide long term immunity the immune system has to mount an appropriate response to the injected material. Multiple vaccines given at the same time is a lot for the immune system to handle and if an adverse reaction were to occur it can make it difficult to identify which vaccine may have caused the reaction.
What else is in the vaccine your child is receiving? In addition to the antigen (bacteria, virus or other immune stimulant) the following may be in the vaccine: aluminum, ethylene glycol, formaldehyde, gelatin, glutamate, neomycin, phenol, streptomycin, thimerisol. Vaccinations given prior to 2000 were preserved with thimerisol, an active form of mercury. After FDA review of mercury levels in vaccinations prior to 1999, they concluded vaccinated children were exposed to mercury levels in excess of federal guidelines up to 100 times the safe limit! Many children with autism spectrum disorders do test excessively high in mercury levels. We are now seeing more and more thimerisol free vaccination options for our children. Individual dose vials of many vaccine preparations are available and do not require this preservative, some vaccinations still contain trace amounts of thimerisol. But there are other ingredients in the vaccines parents should be aware of before choosing to have them administered in their infants. Look at each vaccine, what is in it, is it given with other vaccines, did it come from a multi dose or single dose vial? Know the vaccine and know your child this is the key to informed consent, even a small amount of one of the above substances may cause an adverse reaction in a susceptible child.
What else can you do to help ensure your child’s safety? Know your child, know the vaccine. Read to expand your awareness. Report any vaccine related symptoms or adverse reactions to your pediatrician and to the Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System. Breast feed your baby. Do not vaccinate your infant or child if they are sick with a fever, bacterial or viral infection, they may not mount an adequate immune response and they may be at greater risk for developing an adverse reaction. Feed your child a healthy whole foods diet avoiding sugar, processed foods and artificial ingredients and including many different vegetables, fruits, and whole grains. Vitamin C protects against adverse reactions and should be given in age and weight appropriate doses twice daily. Fish Oil rich in vitamin A can also be helpful to the immune system and neurological development but use caution not to exceed vitamin A recommended dosages. Give minimal vaccines at a time waiting a month before the next vaccination. For example, give Hib and polio vaccines at 4 months and wait until 5 months to give DtaP.
You have the right to informed decisions for your family. Vaccinations are a great part of helping give your child a healthy start to life, but they are not without risks so be sure you make an informed and empowered choice! Your pediatrician and your naturopathic doctor are an important part of your resource collection as are some of the following books:
- Dr Stephanie Caves’ What you Doctor may not Tell you about Children’s Vaccinations,
- Aviva Jill Romm’s Vaccinations a Thoughtful Parent’s Guide
The art of medicine
consists in amusing the patients while Nature affects the cure.
-- Voltaire