Wednesday, September 18, 2013

A Look Inside Your Child's Vaccine

   
Vaccinations are a controversial topic these days. It seems you're either strongly on one side or the other. I hope that whatever "side" you're on, that you have done you're own thorough research on the topic.
   I have spent years talking to different doctors, reading books and doing online research of vaccines. After all of this research, the biggest piece of advice that I would have for people is to do your own research. Make an informed choice. Although doctors can help us, ultimately we are in charge of our own health and the information we obtain.
   The purpose of this article is to start beginners on their search for information on what chemicals are going into their bodies and the bodies of their children. I was seriously misinformed because most of what I hear is media based or one sided. We are generally not given ALL of the information. This is some of the information that I did not know but wish that I would've known by researching sooner to make a more educated decision.
   Most of what I share here will have links with the source in which I found it. Most links are from government websites such as CDC (Centers for Disease Control), etc. so that people who feel most comfortable with only "non-opinion" based studies have a more factual based research. These links are just a small resource so that you can start your research. They are definitely not the whole of it.
 
INGREDIENTS:
  
   There are 69 doses of 16 vaccines that children are recommended to receive by the age of 18. I am only going to go over 2 vaccines here but please research the rest on your own.

Click here for the CDC Vaccine Excipient Summary

Influenza (Flulaval) vaccine ingredients -




thimerosal, α-tocopheryl hydrogen succinate, polysorbate 80, formaldehyde, sodium deoxycholate, ovalbumin

What is thimerosal?

   I'll give you a short answer - mercury. But wait! You thought they took it out of all the vaccines, right? They have not taken it out of ALL vaccines. If you get your yearly flu shot, you are being exposed to mercury.
Here are the potential side effects of mercury : kidney damage, affect behavior/central nervous system, liver damage, affect bone marrow, can cause depression, irritability, fatigue, tremors, respiratory affected, metabolism changes (weight loss). (MSDS Thimerosal)

What is polysorbate 80?

    Polyoxyethylene-sorbitan-20-monooleate, Tween 80 or polysorbate 80, is a viscous liquid used as an emulsifier or surfactant in foods, medicines, skincare products, and vaccines.

Here are the potential side effects: "May cause adverse reproductive effects based on animal test data. No human data found. May cause cancer based on animal test data. No human data found. May affect genetic material (mutagenic)". (MSDS Polysorbate 80)
   In this PubMed article that did a study on polysorbate 80, the results found that it was the causative agent of a pregnant woman going into anaphylactic shock. It can be especially harmful to those who have Crohn's disease according to this study.
   This PubMed article said this “Treatment with Tween 80 accelerated maturation, prolonged the oestrus cycle, and induced persistent vaginal oestrus. The relative weight of the uterus and ovaries was decreased relative to the untreated controls. Squamous cell metaplasia of the epithelial lining of the uterus and cytological changes in the uterus were indicative of chronic oestrogenic stimulation. Ovaries were without corpora lutea, and had degenerative follicles.” 
   So, in more simple terms this means that Polysorbate 80 accelerated the maturation of the female rats, damaged the vagina and womb lining, caused significant hormonal changes, severe ovary deformities and ultimately rendered the young female rats infertile.
 

What is formaldehyde?
   

   "Formaldehyde is a colorless, flammable, strong-smelling chemical that is used in building materials and to produce many household products. Formaldehyde sources in the home include pressed-wood products, cigarette smoke, and fuel-burning appliances." 

Here are the potential side effects: Formaldehyde is a known cause of cancer stated by the EPA. "CARCINOGENIC EFFECTS: Classified A2 (Suspected for human.) by ACGIH, 2A (Probable for human.) by IARC [Formaldehyde]. MUTAGENIC EFFECTS: Mutagenic for mammalian somatic cells. [Formaldehyde]. Mutagenic for bacteria and/or yeast. [Formaldehyde]. Mutagenic for mammalian somatic cells. [Methyl p. 2 alcohol]. Mutagenic for bacteria and/or yeast. [Methyl alcohol]. TERATOGENIC EFFECTS: Classified POSSIBLE for human [Methyl alcohol]. DEVELOPMENTAL TOXICITY: Not available The substance may be toxic to kidneys, liver, skin, central nervous system (CNS). Repeated or prolonged exposure to the substance can produce target organs damage. Repeated exposure to a highly toxic material may produce general deterioration of health by an accumulation in one or many human organs.” And “Very hazardous in case of ingestion, . Hazardous in case of skin contact (irritant, sensitizer, permeator), of eye contact (corrosive), of inhalation (lung corrosive). Slightly hazardous in case of skin contact (corrosive).” EPA has listed Formaldehyde as a carcinogen" (MSDS Formaldehyde)

   They are now recommending that all pregnant women receive the flu shot.


DTap (Pediarix) vaccine ingredients:


formaldehyde, gluteraldehyde, aluminum hydroxide, aluminum phosphate, lactalbumin hydrolysate, polysorbate 80, neomycin sulfate, polymyxin B, yeast protein, calf serum, Fenton medium (containing bovine extract), modified Latham medium (derived from bovine casein), modified Stainer-Scholte liquid medium, Vero (monkey kidney) cells


What is aluminum?

   A silver-white metallic element, light in
weight, ductile, malleable, and not readily corroded or tarnished, occurring combined in nature in igneous rock, shale, clay, and most soil: used in alloys and for lightweight utensils, castings, airplane parts, etc.
Here are the potential side effects: "Experimental research, however, clearly shows that aluminum adjuvants have a potential to induce serious immunological disorders in humans. In particular, aluminum in adjuvant form carries a risk for autoimmunity, long-term brain inflammation and associated neurological complications and may thus have profound and widespread adverse health consequences." (source)
“Acute Potential Health Effects: May cause mild skin, eye and upper respiratory tract irritation. Ingestion: May cause gastrointestinal tract irritation: May affect bones (osteomalacia), metabolism, blood, behavior (muscle contraction, spasticity, change in motor activity), liver.” (MSDS Aluminum)

   I probably don't need to go into what calf serum and monkey kidney cells are. Animal DNA being injected into humans? Gross?

  "If you look on the inserts of some vaccines, you will see 'human diploid cells' and PER- C6 cells listed on the ingredients. What they don't mention to you on the insert is that these cells have been modified with an adenovirus so that they never stop reproducing- in other words become neoplastic, aka cancerous. The vaccines are cultured on these cells which are then purportedly filtered out, but evidently not all of them are removed or they wouldn't be listed on the ingredients. To see whether these 'cell substrates' are cancerous, they are injected into mice. If they cause tumors in adult, immune competent mice, the batch is rejected. But if it only causes tumors in immune-deficient nude mice, this is deemed acceptable to inject into your baby." (source of quote)  (FDA link to study)

   If you see the word "adjuvants", this basically is just a certain type of chemical compound in most vaccines that is used to throw the immune system into hyper-drive in order to fight off the strain of virus that is being injected. Sometimes the immune system can be thrown into overdrive for very long periods of time, up to a year or more. "Chemically, the adjuvants are a highly heterogenous group of compounds with only one thing in common: their ability to enhance the immune response—their adjuvanticity. They are highly variable in terms of how they affect the immune system and how serious their adverse effects are due to the resultant hyperactivation of the immune system." (source)

   As I said these are only a few ingredients from a couple of the vaccines on the schedule. I would strongly encourage researching the other ingredients and all of the other vaccines.


 BENEFITS and RISKS:

  
   Have you ever heard this phrase regarding a vaccine "The benefits outweigh the risks"?
Most of us have heard this and most of us have probably said it at one time or another. Do you believe this phrase only because someone said it or do you believe it because you have done your own research? Most people know what the risks of a disease are but do we know what the risks of a vaccine are in order to truly say the benefits outweigh the risks?

  
Click here to research package inserts of vaccines

Let's take a look at the Chicken Pox Vaccine adverse effects (risks) and the adverse effects of the virus itself:

Chicken Pox (varicella) vaccine package insert stated risks:

"5.4 Risk of Vaccine Virus Transmission
Post-marketing experience suggests that transmission of vaccine virus may occur rarely between healthy vaccinees who develop a varicella-like rash and healthy susceptible contacts. Transmission of vaccine virus from a mother who did not develop a varicella-like rash to her newborn infant has been reported.
Due to the concern for transmission of vaccine virus, vaccine recipients should attempt to avoid whenever possible close association with susceptible high-risk individuals for up to six weeks following vaccination with VARIVAX."

This means that if you are around someone who has been vaccinated against chicken pox, YOU can get a strain of it.


 6.2 Post-Marketing Experience
Broad use of VARIVAX could reveal adverse events not observed in clinical trials.
The following additional adverse events, regardless of causality, have been reported during post-marketing use of VARIVAX:


Body as a Whole  
    Anaphylaxis (including anaphylactic shock) and related phenomena such as angioneurotic edema, facial edema, and peripheral edema.

Hemic and Lymphatic System
   Aplastic anemia; thrombocytopenia (including idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP)).

Infections and Infestations
   Varicella (vaccine strain)

Nervous/Psychiatric
    Encephalitis; cerebrovascular accident; transverse myelitis; Guillain-Barre syndrome; Bell's palsy; ataxia; non-febrile seizures; aseptic meningitis; dizziness; paresthesia.

Respiratory
    Pharyngitis; pnewumonia/pneumonitis

Skin
    Steven-Johnson syndrome; erythema multiforme; Henoch-Schonlein purpura; secondary bacterial infections of skin and soft tissue, including impetigo and cellulitis; herpes zoster.

   I want to point something out in the above reactions. Notice that under Infections and Infestations it says (vaccine strain). This means that due to the vaccine, people were getting the virus but it was not the same virus you would catch if you were to contract it naturally. When you contract the illness naturally, you have lifelong immunity. This vaccine can last (if it works at all; everyone is different) anywhere from 2 - 10 years.

Risks of the Chicken Pox virus:

   The chances of death  or complications from the chicken pox virus are extremely rare. When complications do develop, it is generally in those who are immune-compromised such as HIV patients and the like. In fact, the vaccine was specifically developed for those individuals in the beginning. Symptoms include fever, itchy rash, runny nose, headache. This lasts anywhere from 5 - 10 days after which, they are immune for life.
   This is just one case but to me it is fairly obvious that having a risk of seizures and encephalitis (brain swelling) is a much more dangerous risk than having itchy spots for a week. Do the risks outweigh the benefits? You decide.


Did Vaccines Save Us?

Here is a graph that the CDC lists on their website in the incidence of measles.



(Click picture to go to source)


  With this graph being used it would appear as though there is no question the vaccine reduced the illness significantly. However, if they would've gone back further on their graph, you would be able to see a drastic declination of the illness over the 60 years prior. Below is a graph starting in 1900 showing the major decline of measles before the vaccination was ever introduced.




 

 

    Even though the graphs are laid out differently, it is still interesting to note that the CDC chose to leave out the years prior. It is difficult to make an informed decision when we are only given half of the information. This decline in illness prior to vaccination was also seen in Diptheria, Whooping Cough (Pertussis) and others. The Vital Statics of the United States gives this information if you're interested in researching further.
 
 

MISCELLANEOUS LINKS AND INFORMATION:
Here is some information that I didn't know existed prior to 2 years ago.

VAERS-  This stands for Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System. There were so many vaccine reactions and injuries that there is now an actual reporting system. You can go onto this site and review all of the reactions and reports of cases where someone had complications. Keep in mind that less than 10% of reactions are actually reported.

This is a chart of recognized vaccine injuries - Because vaccine manufacturers have been given legal immunity, a vaccine court has been set up to compensate for injuries known to be caused by vaccines, however it is extremely difficult to win a case.
Supreme Court Case Re: Vaccine Injury -

“no vaccine manufacturer shall be liable in a civil action for damages arising from a vaccine-related injury or death associated with the administration of a vaccine after October 1, 1988, if the injury or death resulted from side-effects that were unavoidable even though the vaccine was properly prepared and was accompanied by proper directions and warnings.” So, pretty much if your baby has brain swelling, seizures, death, etc. you're out of luck!

State Laws Regarding Vaccines - I was always led to believe that my child had to have his vaccinations before he could go to school. Every doctor told me this. They were either taught this and believed it or just plain out lied to me to get me to vaccinate, I don't know. Your child needing vaccinations to attend school is NOT true. It varies by state but in the state of Ohio you can provide a written note saying that you are not vaccinating due to philosophical, religious or medical reasons. There are other states that require exemptions forms. Some only allow medical exemptions, it just depends.

Information and graphs on Autism - It's hard to talk about vaccines without mentioning the controversy of autism. You will definitely never hear anyone involved with the vaccine industry admit that autism and vaccines are related. It is a study you would have to conduct on your own and come to your own conclusion. I decided not to base my conclusion solely on fact that the CDC said it. You've already seen in the above graph that they don't always give the full spectrum of information.
 

CONCLUSION:

Dr. Russell Blaylock MD, a retired neurosurgeon, says this:

“When I was in medical school, we were taught that all of the childhood vaccines lasted a lifetime. This thinking existed for over 70 years. It was not until relatively recently that it was discovered that most of these vaccines lost their effectiveness 2 to 10 years after being given. What this means is that at least half the population, that is the baby boomers, have had no vaccine-induced immunity against any of these diseases for which they had been vaccinated very early in life. In essence, at least 50% or more of the population was unprotected for decades.
If we listen to present-day wisdom, we are all at risk of resurgent massive epidemics should the vaccination rate fall below 95%. Yet, we have all lived for at least 30 to 40 years with 50% or less of the population having vaccine protection."


   Making an informed choice is about hearing all sides, looking up facts then deciding on your own. At the moment, we  have a choice (though there are some states that are making vaccinations mandatory). When we have the freedom to choose, it is our responsibility to make a decision based on our own efforts. In any situation, not just in the case of vaccines, we can choose to just take someone's word for it. However, when those situations have to do with one's health and life it should not be taken lightly and done only because "the doctor told me to".
   If you ask your doctor (believe me, I've talked to tons) they all give the same answers verbatim. You will be told that the benefits of the vaccine outweigh the risks, that you need to vaccinate in order to provide safety for everyone involved and that adverse effects are very rare. This all sounds very convincing. Every child's brain and immune system is affected in one way or another with each vaccine. Brain swelling is not rare with vaccines. When children scream uncontrollably for hours and days after a vaccine, it is not because they are in pain at the injection site. It is because their brain can swell and cause intense reactions.  I have spoken with hundreds of mothers whose children had this happen. It is NOT rare. Some have even considered the possibility that SIDS could be related to vaccines. However, I have no factual information on that as of now. You can research that on your own.
   If you think a little deeper, you will realize that what doctors are actually saying by responding with "adverse effects are very rare" is that they DO happen. And guess what? They are happening to someone else's child.  They can not guarantee that your child will not be harmed. That's why they have you sign that handy dandy form before they administer a vaccine. It leaves you responsible and them....not.
   Although vaccine injuries are not as rare as you think, even if they were the vaccine industries and government are okay with subjecting "rare" cases for the good of the whole. Just imagine if you and your child were that "rare" case. Your government is okay with subjecting you to that so that 1,000 other kids could have immunity for 2 years from an illness that would generally not cause harm.
    When my son got the mumps regardless of being fully vaccinated, I realized truly how ineffective they can be. I realize that not everyone will have this situation occur. I know that most parents have good intentions for their children and want to trust their doctor's care. But there is nothing ever wrong with going above and beyond and educating yourself. I will never regret the time I've taken to learn how to better take care of my family.









This article is for informational purposes only. It is not intended as medical advice. Please see your healthcare professional if you have any questions regarding your health.













  

 
 
 

 
 
 
 


  
  


 
 



 

 


 
 

 


 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 









  

Thursday, September 12, 2013

What Can Homeopathy Do For You?



   For this blog entry I've compiled information from different sources to help those who don't know much about homeopathy to understand more fully how it can cure illness. If you don’t want to read through this information but you’re still interested in hearing how homeopathy has helped people, scroll down to the bottom of this blog entry and go to “success stories and links”.
 
 
 
 
   Homeopathy is a very old medicine that has a lot of history. I have a brief explanation here but if you truly study the full history you will find much more information about why it is not used as a main form of medicine today, how the AMA was formed partially in retaliation of homeopathy moving from overseas to the states, and how it had more success in curing cholera and other diseases than conventional medicine did back then.
 


Brief history:

    Samuel Hahnemann was a German physician 200 years ago. He ended up leaving his practice because he felt that he was doing more harm than good with practices that they did back in the day like bloodletting, poisonous doses of mercury and arsenic, etc. So, he went on to translating medical and literary texts.
   While he was translating one of the texts by a physiologist named William Cullen, he was taken aback by this author's claim that the bitter and astringent properties of Peruvian bark, which contains quinine, was the reason it was so effective in treating malaria.
    He decided to test the physiological effects of the Peruvian bark by taking small doses himself. Eventually his body did react. He ended up developing symptoms very similar to malaria. He wondered whether the curative power of Peruvian bark resulted from its ability to create symptoms similar to those of the disease.
   He started studying the records of accidental poisonings from other common medicines from back then like mercury, arsenic, belladonna, etc. He would test these poisons on himself and other healthy people (in homeopathy this is called "proving"). In the process of doing this, he realized that these "medicines" caused symptoms similar to those of the illnesses that they were used to treat. Mercury was used to treat syphilis. The Mercury itself would cause syphilis-like ulcers in a healthy person. Arsenic and Belladonna were known to create certain types of fever and were given as medicines for fevers. So, this is where "homeopathy" was discovered.

 
Similia similibus currentur:

    This means 'let likes be cured with likes'. Hahnemann made this Latin phrase popular within the homeopathic community. This helped to describe his discovery that substances in small doses stimulate the organisms to heal that which they cause in overdose. This really was not something that was new to the world. In the fourth century B.C., Hippocrates wrote "Through the like, disease is produced, and through the application of the like, it is cured."
   Part of the similia concept has similarities in conventional medicine as well. Radiation is a cancer treatment, though it can cause cancer. Ritalin, a stimulant, is prescribed to children who are hyperactive or have ADD. Gold is used to treat arthritis even though it can cause joint pain. Even though these medical treatments suggest a homeopathic principle, none of them obey the other laws of homeopathy. (Discussed later in this entry)

 
The Body’s Healing Responses:

    After this discovery of ‘like cures like’, Hahnemann realized that the body does so much more than we think. Instead of assuming that symptoms represent illogical, improper, or unhealthy responses of the body and that they should be treated, controlled, and suppressed, Hahnemann learned that symptoms are positive responses to all of the stresses that the body can experience. Symptoms represent the body’s best effort to heal itself. Therefore, instead of suppressing symptoms, therapy should stimulate the body’s defenses to complete the healing process.
"In this context, symptoms are not the disease. Symptoms accompany disease. Symptoms are the evidence of disease. But treating symptoms is like killing the messenger for bringing bad news. In fact, treating symptoms can suppress the body’s natural responses and inhibit the healing process."
   Hahnemann recognized that although the body is great at healing itself, there are times when it is not always strong enough to complete the healing process. It often needs a catalyst to stimulate its defenses, especially in serious acute infectious diseases, chronic illnesses, etc. Hahnemann then developed a systematic method to help find the right catalyst for an individual by prescribing a substance that would imitate the body’s defenses. This would stimulate the body to heal itself.

 
Hering’s Law of Cure:

    Constantine Hering, a German homeopath contributed this law to homeopathy. Simply put, it is looking at the whole person, not just the physical ailment. A homeopath is not only satisfied to hear that the symptom the patient originally came in for has improved. A homeopathic practitioner needs to know all that has changed; mental, emotional or physical. They need to know which things have improved or gotten worse. If for instance, a skin rash has improved but the emotional health has not improved then they would conclude that something needs to be changed within the therapy.
   When the right remedy is chosen, the body generally heals from the “inside out”. For example, if someone has arthritis and is given the correct remedy, they may see their mental health and energy levels increase first while their arthritis may be aggravated temporarily as the disease is shifting. The final thing to change would be the arthritis. If however, the opposite happens such as the arthritis gets better but the mental health has not improved then the person’s state of health is thought to be deteriorating. This is a huge difference between conventional medicine and the homeopathic approach. Western medicine looks at the symptoms and treats them, if the symptoms are kept at bay, the person is thought to be in good shape. The whole person is not considered.
When matching a remedy to the person, all angles need to be considered. That’s why there is not one blanket medicine for a specific disease. This is what makes homeopathy so unique and so powerful.

 
The Laws of Homeopathic Medicine:

 -The Law of Similars

·         (already discussed above)

-The Law of Minimum Dose

·         This law states that extreme dilution will make the healing powers of a substance more powerful and at the same time it eliminates any possible side effects. When you start at the conventional dose and increase dilution, the medicine will start to become less powerful. But as the dilution keeps increasing, and below a threshold the medicine starts to become potent again. (This was a bit difficult for me to understand at first since we are so used to conventional medicine’s rule that less of something won’t work and more of something can cause an overdose). Getting used to medicines that work with energy is no small task.

-The Single Medicine

·         This law states that no more than one medicine will be given at a time. The homeopathic remedies you see in the store that are a “combination” do not follow the basic laws and principles of homeopathy. In the book “Everybody’s Guide to Homeopathic Medicines” the author says this “A homeopath does not prescribe one medicine for a person’s headache, another for her stomachache, and another for her depression. The use of a single medicine is a basic principle of classical homeopathy. As we’ve said, the homeopath assumes that, although a person may have numerous physical and psychological symptoms, he or she has only one disease, an underlying susceptibility. Using the one medicine right for that time in the person’s life, whether the condition is acute or chronic, effectively stimulates the person’s natural defense system, helps heal the current illness, and raises the general level of health.”

-The Law of Potentized Dose

·         (Discussed below) Basically this law has to do with how the remedies are made. Hahnemann found that just diluting the substances was not good enough. They were not effective unless they were shaken a specific way in between diluting.

 
How is a homeopathic remedy made?

    Please go here and read the short summary. It explains how a remedy is made starting with the plant or substance it comes from. Then it also explains potentization. This is a good explanation and I don’t know that I could explain it much better myself.

 
Extra information:

    “Hahnemann went further. Although side effects were reduced, these medicines were still active chemical substances, and large doses could be toxic. He experimented with smaller and smaller doses and found them still effective, in this way further minimizing toxic effects.

Through a stroke of genius, he discovered what we call today serial dilution.  He diluted smaller and smaller amounts of the substance with water and alcohol. Unlike normal serial dilutions he added what he called succussions at each dilution, striking the bottle firmly on a book one hundred times before the next dilution.

Provided the succussions were done, the medicine would still be active – even more so – and completely without side effects. This became known as the
Law of the Minimum Dose.

The absence of side effects is not surprising.  After dilution and succussion, chemically there are few or no molecules of the original substance remaining. This means the homeopathic remedy, at this stage of dilution, no longer has a chemical or pharmacological action. So what remains, if anything? 

It is believed that the turbulence of the succussions imparts a memory of the original substance on the water molecules between each dilution and that what is left is information that is stored in the molecular arrangement of the water molecules. As an analogy, if you analyze
a CD that you use in your computer, chemically you will find it is just plastic; but your computer is designed to read the physical information contained, in the same way we believe the body uptakes the information message contained in the homeopathic medicine. This is why homeopathy has been called physical medicine.

Because the body responds only to physical information in homeopathic medicine, if it is the wrong information, nothing happens; no harm is done; but drugs have effects through chemical action regardless. If it is the right information, the body learns how to remove the blocks that stop it from rebalancing. In homeopathy, it is the body's innate healing wisdom that cures, not the medicine, which is only a catalyst.”

 
   This may seem like a lot of information but these are actually just the basics. As you can see homeopathy requires skill and insight. If you’re not sure what you’re doing, your experience may not be the best it could be. As I’m learning, I have had some successes and some failures. I would like to leave a few success stories of my own and also that of others.

 
Success stories and links :
 
   My toddler’s food allergies were cured with the use of homeopathy. All but one of his food allergies remain which, according to his allergist, is now very mild. His allergist told me to continue whatever it is that I’m doing because he has not seen allergies go away so quickly. His soy allergy was fairly moderate and it is so nice to not have to freak out now every time someone offers him a treat while we’re out. We are going to continue to work with his digestive issues.

    My 9 year old son was getting out of the van and accidentally closed the sliding van door onto his first three fingers. He had dark bruising and swelling along with a few cuts. We weren’t home at the time but when we returned home I gave him the homeopathic remedy Arnica. I didn’t seem to see much of a change in him with the first dose so 30 minutes later I gave him another one. Within 30 minutes of the 2nd dose, his bruising, swelling and pain were gone. In fact, he was feeling so good the next day that he was using that hand to carry heavy items from the car and ended up re-injuring it.  I gave him another dose and again his swelling went down within 30 minutes.

 
   Some surgeons use Arnica on their patients prior to surgery to reduce or even prevent swelling and bruising. While homeopathy does not normally have remedies that you give as a staple for certain ailments, Arnica does seem to be a good one when bruising is involved. It is certainly not the only remedy for bruising and swelling.

 
   Homeopathy has been used to treat colic, measles, ear infections, and even animals with chronic illnesses!

 
Links:


 
 
 
 
Books used for this blog:
Everybody's Guide to Homeopathic Medicines by Stephen Cummings, MD and Dana Ullman, MPH
The Complete Homeopathic Handbook by Miranda Castro
Also used a couple of quotes by Sheri Nakken
 
Image at top by:

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

6 Ways To Help Your Child Become A Natural Healer

   All of us can be healers in our own homes. We don't need to be doctors or have a degree. There are many ways to heal the body that don't require synthetic drugs. The most important way to find out what natural things can heal what ailments (or whether they even need to be healed at all) is to educate yourself. There are plenty of people, books and online resources to help you get started. At the end of this blog entry I will list a few books that may help you start your journey. 
   I have a strong belief that if we are raising the children of today to know that there are other options, we may not have a future generation full of autoimmune ridden, allergy burdened, overweight,  and very sick people. If nothing changes, nothing changes. It seems America keeps going down this long road of "pop a synthetic pill and everything will be alright" just to find that everything is NOT alright. In fact, most of the time one thing gets better and another gets worse.
   If we can try to remember and put to use the wonderful things that our Earth has to offer us that no man can truly duplicate, we may find that we are a healthier people.
   Below is a list of suggested ways that we can help our kids learn to be natural healers. They can grow to become confident in the ability of their own bodies and eventually help others to do the same.


1. Decide to make a change: When I decided to make a change within our home from a family that totally depended on synthetic substances to a family that is more natural minded, it seemed overwhelming. I would think to myself, "well, what about shampoos and laundry detergents and medicines and...." The list went on and on. It is important to realize that it may have to be a slow process starting with small changes. It is not as difficult as it seems when you work on one thing at a time. Sometimes there is no change until there is a motivation to change. Making changes before something negative happens is probably the wiser choice. Each of us continue to learn everyday but my whole family has had positive experiences that encourage us not to just reach for that bottle of cough syrup every time we have a little cough. I have found that we get sick a lot less often and we are more happy and healthy in general.

2. Teach them how to verbalize their needs: Our children depend on us for pretty much everything. We can teach them independence but they will still need to depend on us for certain things until they reach a certain age. Helping a child to recognize what they need and learn how to put that into words can help them learn to become a healer for themselves and in turn they will be able to recognize others needs. I would like to share a story of how this can work. My 2 year old son fell, hit his knee, and was sobbing on the kitchen floor. I walked up to him, put my hand on his back and asked "Are you hurt?" He replied with a sobbing "Ye-esss-ss-ss" Then I asked "Do you need a hug?" He stood up and came over to hug me. Then my third question to him was "Do you need a tissue?" He told me "yes" and I went and got him a tissue for his tears and runny nose. The following day I had a very overwhelming day and I ended up sitting down on my living room floor to cry. He came up to me, put his hand on my shoulder and said "Why are you crying?" I told him I was sad. He said "Do you need a tissue?" I said "Yes". He went into the bathroom to get one. He then gave me the tissue along with a hug. I thanked him for seeing my needs and helping me. The moral of this story is that if we can ask questions to allow our children the opportunity to think about what they need in that moment, then they will learn how to help others in their time of need and also to ask for what they need when the time comes.

3. Teach them how to take care of a plant: There are hundreds of thousands of plants that can benefit our bodies. It is just a matter of educating ourselves on what they are. If you have room for a small garden, let your children help you plant vegetables. If you don't have space or time for a garden, buy a pot, seeds and soil and plant something (anything!) indoors to teach them how to grow something of their own. This encourages confidence and can help them in the future with their own families. It is beneficial to have things such as herbs, aloe vera, and flowers that have health benefits. If you're not sure, pick one plant, learn about it, then teach how it works to improve health. You could even have a goal of learning about one plant per year.  It can be something that you can learn and experience together. Make it fun!


4. Teach them how to choose healthy food: In order to teach about food, we have to know about food. I have been studying nutrition for over 5 years. I have read many books, gone to conferences, spoken with personal trainers, learned from online research, experimented with my own diets and recipes, etc. I have learned so much. You can too! Teaching children to read labels and to know what they mean can help them in their food choices. Both of my older children read labels regularly and know what goes into their bodies. They used to asked me all the time what each thing meant and what was a healthier choice. Now, they don't have to ask because they already know. I allow them to make their own choices a lot because I know that they know the difference. If they choose a less healthy option (which sometimes they do!) then at least they know what they've gotten themselves into when that tummy ache comes later on in the day. They have learned well from those experiences. When they are well educated, children can feel confident in knowing how to take care of, nourish and heal their own bodies.

 5. Teach them how to cope with discomfort: We are all human. We will all experience discomfort. I spoke a little bit about fevers in a previous post and how it is not always necessary to give an over-the-counter medicine for that. Finding different ways of coping with the pain and discomfort of being human will help children learn that it is okay to let our body ride it out and let it heal on it's own or that there are substances that are not harmful to us that can aid the body in healing. My kids (including my 2 year old) ask for specific essential oils for things that they need help with. Sometimes they know when to turn to our aloe vera plant for soothing comfort. For sore throats, my older son will request lemon tea with honey. For every OTC drug, there is a natural solution. There is no secret. It is just a matter of finding them and knowing what they are. Every time we choose not to put something that can be harmful into our body, we are one step closer to having a healthier body. Children have vulnerable bodies. Starting young can make it so they don't have to undo damage later in life that has already been done. When riding out the discomfort is not an option, teaching our children to know where to turn can help them immensely in their own lives and eventually the lives of others they will touch.

6. Teach by example: Most parents know that kids are like sponges. They soak up everything around them. If they see mom and dad doing it, they will repeat it. They pay attention to the food we buy, the pills we take, what we use on our skin, etc. Making choices that will be healthier for our bodies will motivate our children to do the same. I have even found that they motivate me at times! It is something that probably everyone knows but it never hurts to hear it again. If we are doing something that we wouldn't want our kids repeating, then we need to stop doing it.


  Becoming a healer in your home is all about taking matters into your own hands. It's about not having to run to the doctor for every runny nose, cough, and earache. There are situations when we do need a doctor but those situations are more than likely the minority. When we, as parents learn the alternatives then we can  teach our children.
  These 6 things that I have listed are not the only ways to help children to become natural healers. Once you start, you begin to see that there are so many things to learn that you could spend a lifetime learning them. Deciding to change things within your own home can be the first step in changing a whole future of people.




Suggested Books:

Natural Baby and Childcare: Practical Medical Advice and Holistic Wisdom for Raising Healthy Children

The Holistic Baby Guide: Alternative Care for Common Health Problems (The New Harbinger Whole-Body Healing Series)