Swine Flu Vaccine Linked to Narcolepsy

Health authorities in Finland are sure H1N1 vaccines are the cause of a marked increase in the number of cases of narcolepsy among their youth. The assertion is problematic for a number of reasons, not the least of which are: 1) a similar increase in narcolepsy among unvaccinated youth in other parts of Scandinavia; 2) no observed narcolepsy increase anywhere else the vaccine was administered.

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Autism and Down Syndrome in the News

Two special needs populations have been in the news over the last few weeks, each for a different reason. The never ending question of the link between autism and vaccines has still not been resolved despite the inability of scientists to duplicate results of the initial study published in the Lancet. More than six months after Andrew Wakefield's name was struck from the register of accredited physicians in the UK, there are still large numbers of people who stand behind his claim that MMR vaccines cause autism.

Extensive investigations undertaken by journalist Brian Deer reveal the whole truth behind the autism vaccine controversy, and the British Medical Journal is now publishing a series of articles written by Deer. This is much recommended reading, no matter what your stance on the role of vaccines in autism. This brief timeline of the autism vaccine controversy will help put things into perspective.

A blood test to screen for Down syndrome in the first trimester of pregnancy has been announced with much fanfare. Study authors claim the screening test could eliminate up to 98% of amniocentesis. The test has not yet been approved for clinical use, and is significantly more expensive than existing screening methods. It is also limited to detecting Down syndrome at the moment, though it seems logical the same technology could potentially be used to screen for other conditions in the future.

The test could mean earlier and safer screening for all pregnant women, not just those at higher risk. Universal screening, however, is not without its drawbacks. Some people fear doctors will take less care when it comes to informing women about their options, because a non-invasive screening is seen as routine compared to a procedure that could potentially cause miscarriage. Advocates for special needs populations also worry that earlier, safer testing could result in more women being pressured to abort fetuses found to have conditions such as Down syndrome.

There is no cure for either Down syndrome or autism, but people affected with these conditions can live long, happy, productive lives if given adequate support and education.

Flu Season - Who's Trying to Profit?

I am a Featured Contributor in the Diseases & Conditions category at Associated Content, and in the process of researching some upcoming articles I came upon a blog post that made a huge deal of the connection between Gaillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) and the H1N1 flu shot many of us received last year.

The post began with an incredibly oversized headline, screaming that the vaccine manufacturer admitted its product caused GBS. It then continued to tell us how:

The package insert for the Influenza A (H1N1) 2009 Monovalent Vaccine manufactured by Novartis has been leaked on the Internet.

Um, no. The package insert wasn't leaked. Drug manufacturers routinely make product monographs and package inserts available online. You just have to go to their web sites to find the information. failing that, you can do a search for the drug or vaccine in question, including expressions like "monograph" or "package insert."

The post went on to give a bunch of advice on how to survive a forced H1N1 vaccination. The recommendations were originally supplied by a former neurosurgeon, who now apparently makes his living providing nutritional services and "vaccine detox" advice.

The first advice on the list was to apply a cold pack to the vaccine site to, "block the immune response" - presumably meaning the vaccine would not work, and the recipient would not become immune to the flu. If that were truly the case, I wonder why it is routine advice to put a cold compress on the vaccine site to relieve discomfort? Wouldn't doctors and community nursing staff want to warn against applying cold to the site if it interfered with the efficacy of the vaccine?

The advice that followed included a huge laundry list of supplements people should take to prevent adverse reaction from the vaccine - products that I'm sure the good doctor (or former doctor?) would be happy to sell the reader for the right price. Some of the advice seemed to me contradictory - like the warning against taking zinc in combination with copper, followed by the direction to take daily multivitamin. The thing is, it was stressed the vitamin should not contain iron, but it seems copper in this supplement was OK. Why? I can't say for sure...

What concerned me more was the recommendations that people take mega-doses of fat soluble vitamin D for a prolonged period of time. Any large dose of vitamins should be discussed with your health provider before you pop it, especially fat soluble vitamins that will build up in your liver and fatty tissues. Taking too much of these vitamins is potentially toxic, so why would I take a dose 50 times greater than the recommended daily allowance if I wanted to detoxify my body?

The post ends with a brief discussion of what the reader should have learned from its contents. I think the more pertinent question ought to be why any reasonable person should take questionable medical advice from a web site that, in its flu kit supply category, is happy to sell me everything from outdated issues of Scientific American, to anti-parasite treatments containing wormwood, to motorcycle decals?

I have similarly seen a web site that went on at length about "vaccine-related" deaths documented in a published study. Problem is, if you read the actual study, the statistics are reviewed in detail and a large number of the deaths were completed unrelated. Off the top of my head, I remember one was due to a car accident within six months of vaccination and another was an accidental drowning. But on the anti-vax web site, these and other unrelated deaths were reported as though the vaccine had caused them.

Look folks, I know not everyone believes in vaccinations. I know often vaccines are given by health caregivers who fail to discuss potential risks and side effects. That's not right. It's also not right that some states forced citizens to be vaccinated against their will.

If you're going to make the decision that vaccines are not for you & your family, I respect that choice. But I also hope that you're doing your own research instead of accepting at face value all the things you read on just any "alternative" medicine or anti-vax web site.

Remember that, just as Big Pharma makes a profit from selling you pharmaceutical products and getting you to vaccinate your family, the people who oppose Big Pharma often stand to gain financially too. Maybe they are alternative health practitioners, looking to sell you services. Maybe they want to sell you supplements or even books. If you opting out of conventional medical services puts money in their pockets, can you trust them any more than you can trust the medical and pharmaceutical establishment?

Think for yourself. Parroting someone else's advice - and I guarantee you, dozens of web sites and blogs are quoting word for word the entire protocol pushed by that neurosurgeon turned vitamin salesman - is not thinking for yourself.

Be prepared to roll up your sleeves and get dirty if you want to think for yourself and make your own decisions. You're likely going to have to read a lot, and follow up most of what you read by tracing down the original sources. You may even have to learn how to read a study published in a peer reviewed journal.

It's not easy but as the old saying goes, sometimes if you want something done right you have to do it yourself.