Getting the Flu Shot May Mean a Worse H1N1

When it comes to immunizations, especially new ones, I’m skeptical. Now Canada is reporting that getting a seasonal flu shot may make us more susceptible to the H1N1 flu. Anyone heard about this here in the USA? I was considering the flu shot for Eva and Charlie (not the H1N1, too new for me), but now I think I’ll just take my chances and bulk them up on vitamin D. Let’s all pray the for-profit driven pharmaceutical industry hasn’t sold us out yet again.

Thank You Merck, But Can’t You Speed It Up?

I just found out that for those of us (me included) who want to separate the MMR Vaccine, it will again be available as separate vaccines in 2011. Thank goodness my children got their separate vaccines, but what about those children who need the vaccine now? As the parent, you’ll have to weigh the risks of waiting two years. I’m sorry you have to make that decision. Too bad Merck (the pharmaceutical company that produces the MMR) can’t speed it up a little! Feel free to contact them, http://www.merck.com 1800-672-6372

Bad News for Children: MMR Split No Longer an Option

Once again, the pharmaceutical companies are dictating how doctors care for us. According to one of my favorite doctors on vaccines, Dr. Bob Sears, author of The Vaccine Book, doctors can no longer get the MMR vaccine in individual doses for measles, mumps and rubella (note: if the link does not take you to the article, look for his January 22, 2009 article). He fears that Merek, the company that makes it, may NEVER make this available again. For more in dept coverage, and advice, go here to his article dated January 22, 2009. My review of his book is here. There are more reviews from the “Moms Blog” sites where I post (in this case, it is D.C. Metro Moms Blog).

What can we, as parents do about this? I’m not sure. Do we lobby our doctors, Merek, the Surgeon General? Why not all three!

Mercury in High Fructose Corn Syrup?

Recently, the medical community has been so quick to say, “Oh, we’ve eliminated mercury in most of the vaccines, yet autism is still going strong, so it couldn’t have been the mercury.” Oh yeah? Well it has just been discovered that there is mercury in High Fructose Corn Syrup. This stuff is in everything and has been blamed (though some deny it) for America’s obesity problem. Perhaps mercury is still to blame for America’s high rate of autism, but not only was it in our vaccines, it has been in our food all along! (David Sloane does a good job of explaining why many, many more foods have HFCS in them here in the U.S. than in any other nation).

In our household, we try to avoid it altogether. It is so difficult! Take salad dressing, for instance. HFCS is in almost all of the dressings. If you stick to buying organic, you will never have to put that stuff in your mouth. However, if you like soda pop or salad dressing (not organic) good luck! Thank G-d I can always count on Paul Newman’s dressings. They NEVER have HFCS. Parents, if we unite against this stuff, maybe it will go away! Insist that your food be free of HFCS and soon it won’t be manufactured here anymore. This IS a political matter people! The Corn Refiners Association is very powerful in the U.S.A. No one will help us but ourselves.

The Flu Vaccine: Shot or Not?

Personally, I don’t get the flu shot anymore. EVERY time I got the flu shot, I got very sick (the flu) within days of it. My doctors always touted the party line, “The flu shot can’t give you the flu . . . blah, blah, blah.” However, what do I do about the kids? My mom has been calling me almost daily pestering me to take the kids in. Our pediatrician, on the other hand, has remained silent. Our Government has issued new guidelines this year, stating that all children from six months to age eighteen should get one. Last year, no one got flu shots in our family. That was fine, because the flu shot missed the mark and did not cover any of the flus going around last year. The good news is, there are a few non-mercury options for kids this year. The Dr. Sears family has outlined the options. As soon as Charlie is over his cold, I think I’ll bring the kids in. Maybe we’ll be able to get the mist and avoid the shot. I have to talk to the doc a bit more about it.

Book Review: The Vaccine Book by Dr. Robert W. Sears

I blog for ChicagoMomsBlog, and we were offered an opportunity to write a review of Dr. Robert W. Sears’ The Vaccine Book. The following can also be found at http://www.dcmomsblog.com in the comments section along with a dozen or so other reviews of this book:

Dr. Robert W. Sears has produced an important book for all parents and pediatricians. I have been vaccine wary (or, as Dr. Sears would say, “a cautious parent”) ever since we took our puppy in for his first shots. Back then, my instinct was that such a little thing should not be getting so much injected into his tiny system. Yes, we had our vet split up our puppy’s vaccinations. So, of course, when it came time to vaccinate our children, we have insisted on the same treatment. Although there has been a lot of information out there, most of it was so biased, I didn’t know what to do except to follow my instincts.

Finally, Dr. Sears has put it all together for us. He separates each disease and its correlating vaccine by chapter. Within the chapter, he explains the disease, whether the disease is serious, the individual ingredients in the vaccine, how it is made, and the side effects of the vaccine. The doctor even sets forth the differences between the brands of individual vaccines. He raises important questions for the medical community to answer, such as whether the amount of aluminum in vaccines is too much. Because he has not been satisfied by the current research in this area, he provides an alternate schedule designed to enable children to get the needed vaccines while limiting their exposure to aluminum as much as possible. Dr. Sears also points out that, ultimately, we don’t know the risks we are subjecting our children to when we have them vaccinated, and such a study (or studies) are needed.

Finally, he tells parents how to approach the doctor if s/he refuses to be flexible regarding the current American Academy of Pediatrics vaccine schedule. The bottom line is, if you are at all curious about the substances that are injected into your child (and you should be) this book is worth your time. Oh how I wish I had this book before my children were born. Indeed, this book would make a great gift for that pregnant person in your life.