Are We Under A Moral Obligation To Vaccinate Our Children?

I don’t know about you, but it is really easy for me to get addicted to Law & Order:  SVU. There was one episode, however, that disturbed me.  A family was accused of causing the death of a child of another family because their child wasn’t vaccinated.  They were treated like common criminals for exercising a choice.  The cops were as angry at them as if they were pedophiles.

Minnesota law provides for a conscientious objector status for parents who do not wish to vaccinate their children.  If a parent feels that they are not confident that it is a safe thing for their child, they can abstain from “shots”.  There may be other reasons for not doing so, but Minnesota recognizes a parent’s right to make an informed choice on the matter.

Some people would say that there is too great a risk to not vaccinate.  Those childhood diseases are potentially deadly (never mind that they never used to be considered dangerous).  Plus, there are children who have compromised immune systems and they cannot be vaccinated, so they need to be protected.  It is referred to as doing it “for the greater good.”

Others say that there is too great a risk to vaccinate their child.  There are toxic ingredients in vaccines as well as human fetal tissue and parents simply aren’t willing to take that risk.

So therein lies the moral dilemma:  Who do we protect?  The immune compromised child who may or may not catch the disease?  Or do we protect the seemingly healthy child to prevent them from potential harm from the vaccine.

Many folks claim that vaccines are perfectly safe and cause no damage, although this simply isn’t true as billions have been paid out of the Federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Fund, over $3 Billion so far.  This denial of harm has always been a mystery to me.  That is, until I read an article on Risk Management which was posted in CFO magazine.

In the article, entitled “The Value of Life, Statistically Speaking”, the author, Rick Jones states:  “Inoculating children to prevent infectious disease transmission is good for society from both health and financial perspectives, but some initially healthy children may suffer adverse reactions, injury, or even death. For vaccines, the enormous societal benefits trump the tragedies of the few.”  And “The lives saved and dollar benefits from vaccines are hard to calculate, but it’s safe to say that these and other immunizations have greatly improved the quantity and quality of life for millions of people — at the tragic, yet accepted cost of a few.”  http://www3.cfo.com/article/2012/1/risk-management_value-of-life-calculation?currpage=1#

Wow.  When I read that article, I was stunned.  I always thought that there was a belief amongst those in power that some collateral damage with the vaccine program was acceptable, but I had never seen it in writing.  This article moves that viewpoint past being just a conspiracy theory to being a fact.  It’s kind of a relief, actually, to hear someone say that they really don’t care about other people’s children.  They no longer need to pretend that they aren’t morally bankrupt.  They have just admitted it.

As a homeopath, I have helped children and adults who have been vaccine damaged.  I have sat with parents who have wept and said that they would have rather had their child die from a childhood illness than have them live the life they have now.  And they feel horribly guilty for feeling that way. They do not feel their contribution to the “greater good” was worth it.

Back to the moral obligation to vaccinate children.  Perhaps the obligation isn’t as strong as it once was, given the admission in this article.  They actually admitted that there is collateral damage, and it’s okay.

We do have to remember that some people just don’t care what happens to other people.  On a personal level they do, but on a societal level they do not.

I do care that someone might die from an acute disease, but there are many ways to prevent complications from diseases such as measles. Vitamin A and Vitamin C, for example, are known to reduce the risk of complications. There are also natural methods of protecting your children from infectious contagious disease.  As a homeopath, I offer a safe alternative–homeoprophylaxis.  Check out my web site for more information. 

Kathryn
651-748-1556
http://www.lotushomeopathy.com

Why Are So Many People Getting Shingles?

Terry Bradshaw hawking the Shingles vaccine.

With the NFL Season coming to a close, it could be a few months before you get to see Terry Bradshaw hawking the Shingles Vaccine.  But no worries, someone else will replace him, someone appropriate to whatever is on TV.

The Shingles Vaccine, also called ZostaVax, is manufactured by Merck.  It was not very successful early on.  There were production problems and they were also using their resources, pushing their Chicken Pox vaccine.  It is supposedly 51% effective in people 60 – 69 years of age and 70% effective in 50 – 59 years.  But only for 1.3 years.   No wonder that they aren’t recommending it for the 50 – 59 year age group.

To review, Shingles is caused by the same virus as Chicken Pox, the Herpes Zoster virus.  Once you get Chicken Pox, the virus stays in your body and remains dormant, that is, until some stressor comes along and causes the virus to reactivate. For example, many people will develop shingles if a spouse becomes sick, they themselves develop a difficult illness, or perhaps one of their children or grandchildren is having difficulties.

But why are so many people getting Shingles?  Does anyone in the 40 – 60 age group remember anyone, such as your parents or grandparents, getting shingles when you were young?  Probably not.  Since the Chicken Pox vaccine has reduced the number of wild chicken pox cases, adults are not getting exposed to the Herpes Zoster virus when their children and grandchildren.  It is believed that by being exposed to Chicken Pox, the immune system gets reactivated, thus the specific response to the potentially active virus in the body is stronger. But without the wild chicken pox virus, the strengthening of the immune system simply cannot happen.

Notice I am referring to the wild chicken pox virus.  Most people recognize that the Chicken Pox vaccine is not particularly effective.  Many children get chicken pox anyway, but it is a weakened case of it and they perhaps only get a few small pox.  Or what comes around does not last long enough to get much exposure.

I personally know many people who tried to give their children the chicken pox by exposing them to vaccinated cases of Chicken Pox and it just didn’t work.  So it makes sense that exposing an adult to a similar case would not have the same protective result either.

So, What To Do?  What To Do?

I remember sharing this explanation with a friend of my mother’s who had a bad case of shingles.  She felt like younger people were better able to handle chicken pox than elderly people were able to handle shingles.  She’s right.  But how can we get adults better exposure to the Zoster Virus?

Homeopathy has the answer, as usual.  

I have posted many times about using homeopathy to educate the immune system about a variety of potential illnesses, including childhood illnesses, influenza, etc.  Adults can gain exposure to the chicken pox virus through a homeopathic remedy called Zoster.  It is made from the chicken pox virus.  It is a much safer way to get exposure to the virus than the Shingles vaccine.  It is an energetic exposure, but the advantages are still available to the individual who takes the Zoster remedy series.

Here is what a past participant in a Shingles Clinic had to say:

I have had Shingles more than once.  Four out of five years I got them around Christmas time.  I was not looking forward to yet another outbreak, so in 2012, I contacted Kathryn at Lotus Homeopathy about Shingles prevention.  My son had not had chicken pox and I was hoping to get exposed to the virus.  I received two vials of the zoster remedy.  Over the course of four months, I took the indicated doses to get re-exposed to the virus.  In the last three years, I have not gotten Shingles.  I would also add that my husband, who did not take the HP remedies, did get Shingles in 2014. I love being Shingles Free!  –Deanna M, Prior Lake, MN

If you would like to participate in the Shingles Clinic, please click here to learn more.  Scroll to the bottom of the page.  .

For more viewpoints on the Shingles vaccine, please view this post by Patti Bartsch, PhD, traditional naturopath.

If you do get shingles, homeopathy can help.

Kathryn

651-748-1556

www.lotushomeopathy.com

Homeopathic Flu Clinic

I made a stop at Costco today.  I saw this sign as soon as I came into the store.  It was hard to miss.  It probably had the desired effect on those who are likely to get a flu shot.

Although I can’t do a “road show”, it got me thinking that I can establish my own Flu Clinic.

Homeopathy has been used to prevent disease for 200 years.  Since the time of Samuel Hahnemann, MD, the developer of the principals of homeopathy, homeopathic remedies have been found to be very effective at protecting against disease.  This is called Homeoprophylaxis.

There are three ways of doing this.

First is using classical, constitutional homeopathy.  Making the whole organism stronger helps one fight off the acute bugs that may be circulating through the population.

Second, when there is an acute illness that has established itself among the population, such as influenza or Typhoid in Hahnemann’s time or Ebola in modern times, generally it is revealed that one remedy and one to two minor remedies help most people.  We call this the Genus Epidemicus.  Those who have not gotten sick can take that Genus Epidemicus to prevent getting the illness.  Of course, we do not know what that is for this year’s flu season.  But I will post it if we figure it out.

Finally, homeopaths use Nosodes to help protect against acute illnesses.  I use a nosode called Influenzinum to strengthen the body’s resistance to the flu.  This is what will be in the Flu Clinic.

The process is simple.  You schedule a Influenza Clinic appointment on my website, http://www.lotushomeopathy.com/homeoprophylaxis.html. Scroll down to the section Homeoprophylaxis For Whatever Is Going Around. Click on BookNow at the bottom of the screen.  Choose Individual or Family Influenza Clinic on the drop down list of appointments.  Please indicate whether you are doing this via phone or in person.  You will receive six doses of the remedy per person, one for each month during the flu season.  We will discuss how to use it.  You will sign waivers.  If you get the flu during the 2014-2015 flu season, I will treat your influenza for free.  Remedies will be extra, of course.  The doctor doesn’t even give you that warranty.  If you have any questions, please call me at 651-748-1556.  More directions on the website above.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Remedies Not Shots

See you at the Flu Clinic.

Kathryn
651-748-1556

Back to School with Homeopathy

Homeopathy can help make school better.

It is hard to believe it is August already.  That means that school starts in less than a month, at least in Minnesota, where, by state law, most schools aren’t allowed to start before Labor Day.

Summer seems like a good time to relax and not have to deal with the hustle and bustle of the school year if you have children.  But with the start of school, many of the old problems crop up again.  Maybe your child is anxious about school, maybe there is some ADD/ADHD you are dealing with, or asthma during Gym class.  (Just thinking about Middle School Gym class takes my breath away—and not from the exertion.)

Maybe it is time to not have to deal with those problems anymore.  Homeopathy can help.  Here are just a few ways:

Shots:  Those back to school shots are “required” at certain grades.  The reason “required” is in quotation marks is because that is what the Minnesota Department of Health would like you to believe.  Fortunately, in Minnesota, we have Conscientious Objector status available to parents and their children.  If you don’t wish to vaccinate your child, you can complete a form, have it notarized and turn it in.  The form is readily available on line or in the school district office.  There are really only a couple of states where there are no exemptions possible.

But what if you are concerned about the childhood diseases?  It is true that as children get older, some of the diseases are less of a concern, but others can show up worse in a teenager.  That is actually the rationale behind the order of the vaccine schedule.  If you are concerned about this, Homeopathy has an answer in Homeoprophylaxis (HP).  Homeopathy has been helping to prevent disease since the early 1800’s when Samuel Hahnemann used homeopathic remedies to ward off scarlet fever, typhoid, and other diseases that were going around in epidemic proportions at the time.

Instead of going through the diseases, you can have the energetic disease without the symptoms of the disease, and still receive protection from those diseases.  It takes about 3 years to complete the basic HP program.

Anxiety:  Some students just simply don’t function well in school.  Perhaps there is a subject which they don’t understand, maybe some performance anxiety or the dreaded social issues, which often seem impossible to tackle.

There are homeopathic remedies for the kid who gets picked on, or sweaty hands and shaky knees during public speaking class.  Even Learning Difficulties can be helped with homeopathy.  Remember, homeopathy isn’t just about physical symptoms, but mental and emotional ones as well.

ADD/ADHD:  I’m very excited to put into practice the new training I received in May.  I wrote a blog about CEASE therapy for Autistic kids.  It turns out that it can also help some ADD/ADHD symptoms as well.  Not every child would need the CEASE protocol, but many can be helped with it, and if not, then good old fashioned Classical Homeopathy can also help.

There is still time to make the school year better with Homeopathy.  Call if you need help.
Kathryn

651-748-1556

www.lotushomeopathy.com