Flu Shot Facts

Why do people get flu shots? Because they believe the advice of their doctors and health agencies who recommend the vaccines for most everyone, young and old. Yet, many people are not aware of the real facts behind flu shots -- and their potential ineffectiveness, side effects, and harmful additives.While it’s possible to find some positive data about flu shots, there is a significant amount of data from both mainstream medical journals and alternative media sources that question flu shots’ usefulness and efficacy.



For instance:


"We've got an exaggerated expectation of what vaccines can actually do," said one study author, Dr. Tom Jefferson... "I'm hoping American and European taxpayers will be alerted and will start asking questions."


A study in The Lancet found that even among people for whom the vaccine is most recommended (the elderly), protection can be as low as 30 percent.


Only 36,000 Americans die from the flu infection each year, yet an average of 195,000 Americans have died each year from 2000 to 2002 due to potentially preventable, in-hospital medical errors. This means that “over five times as many people will die because they happen to be in the hospital and are unlucky enough to experience a preventable error, than will die from getting the flu, if the vaccine itself doesn’t put them in the hospital.”The article’s author, research scientist Wilton Alston, sums things up by saying about flu shots, “At best it appears that one is opting to inject a foreign substance with likely only 25–45% effectiveness while hoping that no side-effects occur. (Anyone care to pay for the chance to play Russian roulette?).”

LewRockwell.com October 6, 2007

Almost ten years ago the American Academy of Pediatrics and the U.S. Public Health Service joined forces in requesting the removal of all mercury-containing preservative thimerosal from vaccines. Yet just last year a friend of mine after being insured by her doctor that there was no mercury within the vaccinations her son was to have, found out different. You can read her views under Mom Thoughts on the side of this blog.

My question is this: How is it possible that pharmaceutical companies are still today producing vaccinations, including the flu vax that contain this dangerous toxin? Why is it still being allowed after massive research has shown that mercury exposer causes:

Multiple Sclerosis
Central Nervous System Disorders
Autism
Alzheimer's Disease

Then add on the facts above and found in other studies showing that the flu vaccine does not even truly help the way it has been sold to us.

In 2004, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that this year’s flu vaccine had "no or low effectiveness" against influenza or influenza-like illness. Depending on how the data were analyzed, the vaccine protected from zero percent to 14 percent of study participants.
CDC January 16, 2004

In Spring of 2007:

"While tracking the health of nearly 500 children and adults, researchers discovered a rate of resistance to both flu drugs at less than 2 percent in patients with type A influenza, lower than previously reported highs (as much as 18 percent).
What really worried scientists, however, were signs of resistance to Tamiflu and Relenza among patients with type B influenza, a milder strain that causes smaller outbreaks than type A, and, unfortunately, more justification for funding the development of new flu drugs that do nothing for your health.
By the way, the report was financed by the U.S. and Japanese governments and some of the researchers received monies, in part, from a company with an anti-flu drug in development, probably explaining why both nations and drugmakers are interested in keeping the flu scare alive, despite all the negative reports." See full free research paper Journal of the American Medical Association, Vol. 297, No. 13, April 4, 2007: 1435-1442

I think that the most important thing to remember, when talking about "should you get the flu vaccine" is to know that those individuals who have died from influenza were already sick from other things and had a compromised immune system. The average person out there who is in relatively good health can avoid or recover quickly from the flu. As you will discover throughout this blog of information that I am sharing with you, I will 100% of the time come back to diet and exercise. Keeping a healthy blood system, your intestinal tract clean, proper omega fat balance, and a high amount of natural antioxidants in your body found in fresh (raw) foods and a healthy dose of sunshine is all you really need to maintain good health. There are things that you can do if you should come down with the flu and I will be discussing those in another blog, but I can honestly say that the flu vaccine is not one of the healthy choices.

Do you take an anti-inflammatory? It could cost you your life according to the FDA.

It has been discovered that nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDS, such as Cox-2 inhibitors Vioxx, Bextra and Celebrex, lead to an increased risk of cardiovascular problems. However, it turns out that these prescription drugs are not the only painkillers that should be avoided: The FDA has urged the public to limit the use of over-the-counter pain medications and to use them in strict accordance with the label directions.
Over-The-Counter Pain Relievers to be Wary Of
Aleve
Aspirin
Ibuprofen
Aleve (made by Bayer) is the first non-prescription NSAID to be added to the list of painkillers associated with heart attacks and strokes. In fact, Aleve is so detrimental to one's health that those who have been taking the drug for nearly three years have been advised to stop using it, while those who opt to continue taking it should take no more than two pills a day for no longer than 10 days (unless otherwise advised by a doctor).
People taking the prescription version of Aleve, Naprosyn, are also being directed to take the drug with extreme caution.
Further, a study administered to discover whether Aleve or Celebrex could prevent Alzheimer's disease showed that those taking Aleve had an estimated 50 percent higher risk of heart attacks and strokes than those taking a placebo.
USA Today December 23, 2004
USA Today December 20, 2004

"The NIH told us that the popular over-the-counter pain reliever, Aleve, has been linked to an increased risk of heart attack and stroke. The director of the FDA's drugs division, said consumers should take Aleve only as directed on its label: No more than two pills a day. Aleve is the first OTC drug to enter the NSAID mess, but it is still available as prescription strength.
So the warning is about the OTC drug that only has 200 mg of naproxen. But guess what? The prescription product has more than twice the dose of the OTC brand and has 500 mg. The recommended dose is up to 1500 mg. This is nearly FOUR TIMES the dose the FDA now advises consumers not to exceed.

Do you want to hear what deputy director of the FDA's Office of New Drugs said about Aleve?

Well, here you go:
"This is a very confusing situation...there is little data about the long-term effects of naproxen or any other related pain reliever."

The FDA has finally admitted that the entire class of drugs known as NSAIDs is expected to fall as a result of this new information. So that means that if you are taking Advil or any other NSAID, you will want to consider finding a healthier option ASAP, as the drug you are taking could actually take your life." ---Mercola

Many experts in the field are now saying that the best thing that you can do to avoid pain that is associated with arthritis and other degenerative disease is to avoid sugar and grains. Both of these cause your insulin rates to increase and are the reason you need anti-inflammatorydrugs. By simply not consuming foods that increase your insulin rates and by taking a hearty fish oil supplement to increase your Omega-3 fats you will discover tremendous pain control. Another wonderful natural anti-inflammatory is ginger. Auredic medicines lean toward ashwaganda to help reduce inflammation and pain. Today you can find hand creams made from these two natural anti-inflammatory agents and pain reducers in many health food stores and nutritional companies.

Sleep Medications for Children

More than three-quarters of surveyed U.S. pediatricians have recommended over-the-counter sleep aids to children, according to a survey of 671 U.S. pediatricians.
Further, more than 50 percent had prescribed a sleep aid to some of their young patients and about 15 percent had also recommended melatonin supplements or herbal remedies.
Most commonly, antihistamines were recommended for over-the-counter treatments while alpha-agonists such as clonidine, which is used to treat behavioral problems, were the most commonly recommended prescription medications.
While such medications are "most likely safe," little is actually known about their safety or effectiveness in treating childhood sleep problems.
Moreover, sleep problems like insomnia are symptoms of other problems that often can’t be treated with sleep medications. Researchers note that doctors could be missing underlying problems and instead turning to sleep medications as the solution.
According to previous research, a significant number of children have sleep disturbances and children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, depression, asthma and juvenile rheumatoid arthritis are more likely to have problems sleeping.
However, most children’s sleep problems can be solved without medications. Doctors can discuss good "sleep hygiene" with parents, which includes helpful habits like encouraging children to go to sleep and wake up at regular times, avoid caffeine and be active during the day, researchers noted.
The current study was funded in part by Sanofi-Synthelabo, makers of the sleep medication zolpidem (Ambien).
Pediatrics May, 2003;111:e628-e635

This study was funded by the drug company that makes one of the most popular drugs used to help sleep (Ambien).

There truly are pills for everything! But I believe that you don't have to be a medical expert of any sort to see the dangers of giving our children sleep medications. What future harm are we causing these children? Do these sleep med.s actually help or are they only masking the real issue of the insomnia?

Looking yet again to the diet of today's children we have to examine what they are consuming that could be a root cause to sleep issues. By simply removing sugars, fruit juices and many grains from a child's diet along with the chemical overload of toxic additives found in processed foods, you might be shocked to discover that the road to a better nights sleep was found at your kitchen table, not a medicine bottle!

As this above article states however that ADD children suffer from sleep issues even more so, this is true...however if you are reading this section of the blog then most likely you have already viewed other blog sections discussing the power of diet when it comes to treating ADD, ADHD and autism.

Many of us have joked about giving our children Benadryl (diphenhydramine) or Tylenol on a long road trip so that they will sleep. Many give these over the counter medications a bit to freely not understanding what they are doing within the cells of the child's body. These medications have a place in our cabinets and lives, however they should be far and few.

All I can do is share with you what I do for my own children, what I have learned from years of research and experience and then turn over that knowledge and wish you the best in your decision making. With that said the only time I break out the Tylenol or Benadryl is when one of my kids get an ear infection. I rarely give a dose when they have a fever, because fevers are beneficial, it is the body fighting the bug. It is a positive sign that the immune system is working. However if the fever reaches to high a temperature, I will first cool the child with a bath or shower, then a cool drink...if this is not breaking the fever then I will resort lastly to Tylenol. But then I only give a half dose. Benadryl has a wonderful place when it comes to ear infections. Helping with the pain and causing drowsiness. Sleep is vital so that the body can heal in these cases. But again I only give a half dose and I treat the ear infection with an olive oil/garlic treatment, first checking to see if there is any blockage in the canal from built up wax. In which case I candle the ear, then follow it up with the oil/garlic treatment and normally within 48 hours the infection is gone.

I will later post on these home remedies discussed above.