Why do chiropractors talk against vaccinations? How could something that has done so much good in the area of public health be viewed as bad? The answer is two fold.
First, chiropractic views health from a different perspective. Chiropractic does not look at illness as caused by a germ, bug or virus. Chiropractic looks at the person (host) as having a compromised immune system (the compromised host theory) therefore more susceptible to becoming ill from these bugs, germs and viruses that are always present in our environment.
Second, most vaccines contain toxins, very bad toxins that can cause serious side effects. These side effects may be as destructive than the disease they are supposed to protect against.
From a pure chiropractic perspective vaccinations are unnecessary, invasive and a potentially harmful event in a child’s life. Keeping the child subluxation free is a non-invasive, low risk method of preventative care.
The first series of inoculations is given before the child has the immune system development required to adequately respond. Under the allopathic philosophy this makes no sense. In Europe children under age two are not vaccinated.
Let’s look at the safety issues surrounding vaccination. Autism, asthma, and allergies are all being mentioned in the scientific journals as linked to vaccination.
The composition of the vaccinations is the most objectionable from the perspective of concerned parents. The “inert” ingredients include thimerosal (a very toxic form of mercury), ethylene glycol, formaldehyde and other equally objectionable substances.
First we will look at mercury. The effects of mercury on the nervous system are well known. Mercury poisoning damages the brain/nerve cells, eyes, immune system, gastrointestinal system, muscle control, and the speech center.
Mercury toxicity has been studied for decades. EPA safety levels have been set. A child's greatest exposure to mercury (thimerosal in vaccines) was never even included in the toxicity studies. The EPA studies have only looked at methylmercury toxicity from seafood and the environment. There have been no studies that have included the two most toxic sources of mercury for children: vaccines and dental amalgams. (More on dental amalgams in another article.)
Toxic levels of mercury is found in the following vaccinations:
· Hepatitis B (Given at birth.) contains 12 micro grams of mercury, 30 times the safe level.
· DTaP and HiB vaccinations (given on same day at 4 months), 50 micro grams of mercury, 60 times the safe level.
· Hep B, Polio (given at 6 months) contains 62.5 micro grams of mercury, 78 times the safe level.
The mercury in vaccines is in the form of thimerosal, which is 50 times more toxic than plain mercury (methylmercury).
Reasons for this include:
· Injected mercury is far more toxic than ingested mercury.
· There's no blood-brain barrier in infants.
· Mercury accumulates in brain cells and nerves.
· Infants don't produce bile, which is necessary to excrete mercury.
· Thimerosal is organic mercury. Once it is in nerve tissue, converted irreversibly to its inorganic form.
Source: Sallie Bernard. Autism: A Unique Type of Mercury Poisoning. An exhaustive, landmark study of vaccines and mercury toxicity.
“At the San Diego conference, Drs. Stejskal of Sweden and Shattock of Great Britain noted that researchers across Europe are generally appalled at the massive amounts of vaccines given to American children under two years old. Although Europeans are not as obsessed with vaccines as we are, they do vaccinate. But most of Europe gives very few vaccinations to children under two years old, primarily because of the unformed gut, immune system, and blood-brain barrier. This intellectual isolation of ours regarding vaccines is a testimony to the suffocating "brain control" exerted on us by the popular press and all media. Like sheep to the slaughter, we don't know enough to be appalled by our own ignorance.”
Source: Autism and Mercury: The San Diego Conference by Tim O'Shea, DC , published in Dynamic Chiropractic,
The title of a recent article confirmed my worst fears regarding vaccination: “DPT and Tetanus Vaccinations Double the Prevalence of Asthma and Allergy Symptoms”. This confirms our fears that vaccinations do have their price. The authors found that infants who were given these vaccinations are twice as likely to suffer from asthma and other allergy symptoms. They suggest that: "50% of diagnosed asthma cases (2.93 million) in U.S. children and adolescents would be prevented if the DTP or tetanus vaccination was not administered." Our reliance on drugs to solve certain problems usually has the capacity to create greater problems.
Hurwitz EL, Morgenstern H. Effects of diphteria-tetanus-pertussis or tetanus vaccination on allergies and allergy-related respiratory symptoms among children and adolescents in the United States. J Manipulative Physiol Ther 2000;23.
New Study Shows Vaccinated Children Twice as Likely to Get Asthma and Other Allergy-Related Symptoms
A new study in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics1 supports the findings of three previous studies that children who receive diphteria-tetanus-pertussis (DTP) or tetanus vaccines are more likely to have a "history of asthma" or other "allergy-related respiratory symptoms." The study reviewed data from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, which was conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics from 1988 to 1994. The survey data included interviews (by proxy with parents) of 13,944 infants, children and adolescents (2 months through 16 years old).
The JMPT study addresses an issue that has much supporting evidence:
• The prevalence of allergic disorders has doubled over the last 20 years.2-5
• In the U.S., there are currently 30-50 million asthma and allergy sufferers,6,7 with an estimated cost of $6.21 billion in 1990.8
• The Institute of Medicine, which convened two committees (the Committee to Review the Adverse Consequences of Pertussis and Rubella Vaccines and the Vaccine Safety Committee) concluded that there is a causal relation between the DTP vaccine and anaphylaxis,9 and tetanus toxoid and anaphylaxis.10
The results of the JMPT study demonstrated that those children who had been given DTP and tetanus vaccination had significantly greater odds of asthma and allergy-related symptoms than those who had remained unvaccinated. The specific odds ratios (for vaccinated children vs. unvaccinated) are as follows:
|
Condition |
Odds Ratio |
|
Asthma |
2.00 |
|
Severe allergic reaction |
1.50 |
|
Any allergy or allergic reaction |
1.66 |
|
Sinusitis or sinus problems |
1.81 |
|
Wheezing or whistling |
1.23 |
|
Nose and eye symptoms |
2.22 |
|
Any allergy-related respiratory symptom (past 12 months) |
1.68 |
|
Any lifetime allergy history or 12-month symptoms |
1.69 |
According to these odds ratios, a child who had the DTP and tetanus vaccination is 50% more likely to experience severe allergic reactions, over 80% more likely to experience sinusitis, and twice as likely (100% more likely) to experience asthma.
In addition to these findings, the authors commented:
"Evidence was also presented showing that vaccination may be associated with different types of allergies at different ages. The vaccination may be associated with severe allergic reactions and sinusitis or sinus problems among younger children, and with asthma, wheezing and whistling, and nose and eye symptoms among adolescents.
"Six studies have recently addressed the association between pertussis or DTP immunizations and allergy-related disease. Our results are similar to findings reported from three retrospective cohort studies.
"Asthma and other allergic hypersensitivity reactions and related symptoms may be caused, in part, by the delayed effects of DTP or tetanus vaccination. One or more vaccine components may be responsible for a portion of the increased prevalence of asthma and allergies in U.S. children.
"Because the proportion of U.S. children who have received at least 1 dose of DTP vaccine approaches 100%, the number of allergies and allergy-related conditions attributable to DTP or tetanus vaccination in the United States may be very high. For example, assuming that the estimated vaccination effect is unbiased, 50% of diagnosed asthma cases (2.93 million) in U.S. children and adolescents would be prevented if the DTP or tetanus vaccination was not administered. Similarly, 45% of sinusitis cases (4.94 million) and 54% of allergy-related episodes of nose and eye symptoms (10.54 million) in a 12-month period would be prevented after discontinuation of the vaccine. The well-documented public health benefits of the DTP and tetanus vaccines must be considered in light of these potential long-term risks, which should be addressed in future studies."
References for
1. Hurwitz EL, Morgenstern H. Effects of diphteria-tetanus-pertussis or tetanus vaccination on allergies and allergy-related respiratory symptoms among children and adolescents in the United States. J Manipulative Physiol Ther 2000;23: 1-10.
2. Weiss KB, Gergen PJ, Wagener DK. Breathing better or wheezing worse? The changing epidemiology of asthma morbidity and mortality. Annu Rev Publ Health 1993;14:491-513.
3. Seaton A, Godden DJ, Brown K. Increase in asthma; a more toxic environment or a more susceptible population? Thorax 1994;49:171-4.
4. Jarvis D, Burney P. ABC of allergies: the epidemiology of allergic disease. BMJ 1998;316:607-10.
5. Peat JK, Li J. Reversing the trend: reducing the prevalence of asthma. J Allergy Clin Immunol 1999;103:1-10.
6. Weiss KB, Gergen PJ, Hodgson TA. An economic evaluation of asthma in the United States. N Engl J Med 1992;326:862-2.
7. Naclerio R, Solomon W. Rhinitis and inhalant allergens. JAMA 1997;278:1842-8
8. Blaiss MS. Outcomes analysis in asthma. JAMA 1997;1874-80.
9. Weiss KB, Gergen PJ, Hodgson TA. An economic evaluation of asthma in the United States. N Engl J Med 1992;326:862-6.
10. Howson CP, Howe CJ, Fineberg HV. Adverse Effects of Pertussis and Rubella Vaccines: A report of the Committee to Review the Adverse Consequences of Pertussis and Rubella Vaccines. Washington DC: National Academy Press; 1991.
11. Stratton KR, Howe CJ, Johnston RB. Adverse Events Associated with Childhood Vaccines: Evidence Bearing on Causality. Washington DC: National Academy Press; 1994.
References for Dr. Tim O’Shea’s article.
1. Halsey N. Limiting infant exposure to thimerosal in vaccines. JAMA 1999;282:1763.
2. Cave S. Lecture, DAN 2000 Conference 15 Sept. 2000 San Diego.
3. Shattock P. Lecture DAN 2000 Conference 15 Sept. 2000 San Diego.
4. Crawford. MMR in Air Force personnel. Journal of Infectious Disease 1981;144:403.
5. Bristol M., et al. State of the science in autism: report to the National Institutes of Health Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders 1996;26 (2):121-157.
6. McGinnis W. Lecture, DAN 2000 Conference, San Diego, 16 Sep 00.
7. AAP/USPHS joint statement about the safety of thimerosal in vaccines Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 1999;48:563.
8. Bernard S., et al. Autism: a unique type of mercury poisoning - ARC Research, April 3, 2000 (http://www.autism.com/ari/mercurylong.html).
9. Pilgrim W., et al. Proceedings of the Conference on Mercury in Eastern Canada and the Northeast States, University of Quebec 1998. (http://www.cciw.ca/eman-temp/reports/publications/ 98_mercury2/).
10. Dr. Nathan's baby growth chart. (http://www.babyzone.com/drnathan/medref/growthchart.htm).
11. Buynak E. Combined live measles, mumps, and rubella virus vaccines JAMA March 1969;207(12):2259.
12. Cauchon D. FDA advisers tied to industry. USA Today, September 2000, page one.
13. Spitzer W. Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics , McGill University.
14. c-span.org - Government Reform Committee Hearing on Vaccines and Autism, 6 Apr 2000, Chairman: Representative Dan Burton.
15. The Merck Manual, 17th edition, Merck Research Labs, 1999.
16. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 9 July 1999, April 2000.
17. Howell, Edward. Enzyme Nutrition. 1985 Avery.
18. Price W. Nutrition and Physical Degeneration. 1939 Keats.
19. Tilden JH. Toxemia Explained. 1926 Kessinger.
20. Lee R. Conversations in Nutrition Standard Process. 1955.
21. Wiley H. The Foods and Their Adulterations. 1930. www.thedoctorwithin.com.