Mother to Mother

Staying Healthy Through the Flu Season

Every year our society struggles with fear of contracting the most recent strain of influenza virus. Where does this fear come from? The federal health official’s public relations and media campaigns, play a large roll in creating this fear. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has told the public that influenza is the most frequent cause of death from vaccine-preventable disease in this country. Yet, there is still question about the vaccines efficiency in even warding off the appropriate strain of the virus.

For the past two years, news stations across the country have reported on the devastating crisis we are faced with due to vaccine shortages, as drug manufacturers and health officials watch their marketing plan in action while thousands line up daily to receive their flu shot.

The question is, how many people actually die from influenza? Researchers have recently discovered that the flu is not a direct cause of death, but rather a contributing factor. So the answer really depends on who is reporting on the issue: news broadcasts on television or radio, or different articles you read.

On November 3, 2004, the New York Times reported that the numbers of flu related deaths were misleading. One statistic read 36,000 die annually from influenza. The system for obtaining these fatal numbers is imprecise. According to the Times article, in 2002 city health officials estimated that there was roughly 2,500 deaths in New York caused by the flu virus. The actual number of deaths caused by the flu, was only two. (To read the article visit: www.nytimes.com)

For decades the mainstream has viewed routine flu vaccinations as part of an every day protocol in staying healthy, yet in the last few years, all that has changed. With current research and focus on the increase of autism in children, parents are now thinking twice before giving their children a vaccination.

David Kirby, a New York Times Contributor and author of a new book (due out winter 2005), Evidence of Harm, Mercury in Vaccines and the Autism Epidemic: A Medical Controversy, states, “By most accounts, autism is now epidemic in the United States. In the 1990’s reported autism cases among American children began spiking, from about 1 in 10,000 children in 1987 to a shocking 1 in 166 today.” His book will examine the link between a mercury-based vaccine preservative called thimerosal and autism.

Obviously there is a real concern over thimerosal, as California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger recently signed a law to completely ban its use in childhood vaccines. Mostly, it affects the flu shot, in which infants and children are exposed to 25 micrograms of mercury – or up to 18 times over the EPA limit. But for now, there are still flu vaccines in circulation that contain thimerosal, so many parents are faced with the decision of whether or not to vaccinate their child this flu season.

Randall Neustaedter OMD, author of The Vaccine Guide – Risks and Benefits for Children and Adults, shares his expertise on staying healthy during the flu season and natural treatment options from his forthcoming book due out mid December 2004.

Excerpt from FLU: Alternative Treatments and Prevention
by Randall Neustaedter OMD,
published by North Atlantic Books
copyright © 2004 Printed by permission of the publisher.

Homeopathy and the Flu — Finding the right homeopathic medicine for the flu is usually straightforward because the symptoms tend to be dramatic and easily characterized.

Most flu seasons and epidemics fit a common homeopathic picture, so that the majority of people with the flu will benefit from the epidemic medicine. Homeopaths in practice will easily discover this medicine in their community after seeing a few cases of the flu. For example, the epidemic medicine for the 1918 Spanish flu was Gelsemium (with Bryonia and Eupatorium as secondary prescriptions), which has also been the appropriate medicine for many other flu seasons. I have created a database for epidemic medicines in various parts of the United States reported by experienced homeopathic practitioners. These epidemic reports can be found at www.cure-guide.com in the flu section. Find your area of the country and you will see the most frequently prescribed homeopathic medicine for the flu where you live.

Homeopaths are singularly confident about treating viral illness, including flu. There is a long history of successful management of serious acute infections with homeopathy, particularly the flu. Homeopathic medicine proved extremely effective in the management of the 1918 flu epidemic, and it will prove itself in any future flu pandemic, just as it does every winter in the treatment of that year’s flu cases. The Spanish flu pandemic was a plague that exceeded the ravages of the Bubonic Plague of 1347 that killed a third of the European population. Worldwide the Spanish flu killed an estimated 40 million people. In some primitive cultures the death rate was 100 percent. Fortunately, many patients in the United States had access to homeopathic medical care.

A report to the American Institute of Homeopathy in 1921 documented the dramatic success of homeopathy in the worst flu pandemic in history. The death rate of 24,000 flu cases under conventional medical care in that study was 28.2 percent, while the death rate of 26,000 cases treated with homeopathy was a nearly miraculous 1.05 percent. Similarly, many homeopathic physicians each reported treating thousands of patients with very few deaths.

Homeopathic Flu Prevention — For at least the past 150 years homeopathic practitioners have used the medicine Influenzinum as a flu preventive. Influenzinum is a homeopathic medicine made from flu viruses. A proprietary preparation is produced by Dolisos pharmacy each year using the flu virus strains recommended by the World Health Organization for the year’s vaccine production (Dolivaxil –containing Influenzinum 9C). The typical dosage is once per week for four weeks beginning in October or later, followed by another dose three weeks later.

Between the years 1918 and 1957 the preparation of Influenzinum was derived from samples of blood or nasal secretions taken from patients who contracted the flu during the deadly 1918 flu pandemic. Subsequent to 1957 Influenzinum preparations come from a homeopathic preparation of the yearly flu viruses chosen for the flu vaccine.

In 1998 the French Society of Homeopathy conducted a survey of 23 homeopathic doctors concerning their use of Influenzinum as a flu preventive (Coulamy, 1998). The survey included use of Influenzinum over a 10 year period (1987-1998) in 453 patients. The protocol for the frequency of doses varied considerably among these doctors. Weekly doses were used by 26 percent of participants and monthly dosage by 23 percent. Another 16 percent used a weekly then monthly dosage plan, and 35 percent applied some other dosage protocol. 80 percent of respondents began treatment in the fall (September through November) and ended between February and April. In this French survey 70 percent of participants used a 9C strength of Influenzinum. (In the US one would assume a higher proportion of practitioners use a higher strength because of the different prescribing preferences between the two countries.)

Results of the survey were remarkable. In approximately 90 percent of the cases no instances of the flu occurred when Influenzinum was used preventively no matter what the dosage protocol. Among the physicians the effectiveness was deemed good to very good in 90 percent of the cases. In 5 percent there was no protective effect. Of the patients, 98 percent expressed a desire to take the same preventive treatment the following year. Certainly this confidence in homeopathic prevention among physicians with many years of experience and their patients speaks to the effectiveness of Influenzinum as a flu preventive. It should be noted that a clinical study that approaches statistical significance evaluating the preventive effects of any homeopathic preparation would probably be prohibitively expensive.

Oscillococcinum — One specific homeopathic medicine used to treat the flu has been subjected to clinical trials. The medicine is a homeopathic preparation of the liver and heart of a Barbary duck (trade name Oscillococcinum). This medicine was first formulated in 1925. Its name arose from a spurious notion that the blood of flu victims in the 1918 pandemic contained bacteria composed of balls (cocci) that vibrated, or oscillated. Joseph Roy, a French physician at the time identified this supposed pathogen and found it in many animal species. He chose as the source of his homeopathic preparation a duck, possibly an extremely fortuitous accident because of the association between human flu epidemics and bird viruses.

Oscillococcinum was first studied in France during the 1987 flu epidemic caused by an H1N1 virus. This multi-center study examined the effect of Oscillococcinum (200C) on the early symptoms of flu. Results were published in the peer-reviewed British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology. A group of 149 non-homeopathic physicians enlisted 487 patients in the study, each of whom had developed flu-like symptoms during the previous 24 hours. Symptoms met strict criteria for the level of fever and the presence of associated flu symptoms. This took place in the midst of a documented flu epidemic. A treatment group and control group were established and the medicine prescribed in 5 doses, once at the physician¹s office and then twice a day for two days following. More patients in the treatment group recovered completely in the first 48 hours than the control group (17 percent of patients with active treatment compared to 10 percent of controls). This was deemed a statistically significant difference. More patients in the treatment group also judged the treatment as favorable compared to the placebo, 61 percent vs 49 percent (Ferley, 1989).

In 1990 German physicians replicated the French study of Oscillococcinum. They used the same criteria as the previous study and enrolled 372 patients. After 48 hours of treatment with Oscillococcinum the treatment group had significantly milder symptoms than the control group, and the number of patients with no symptoms from day two onward was significantly greater in the treatment group (17.4 percent) compared to the control group (6.6 percent) (Papp, 1998).

Both of these studies show a significant curative effect of a homeopathic medicine in the treatment of flu in carefully conducted, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trials. The two studies were done in different countries, each with many participating physicians, and during two different flu epidemics, presumably caused by different viruses. Conventional antiviral drugs reduce the duration of flu by about one day if taken within the first 48 hours of illness (Cooper, 2003). Comparing the results of these studies with the meager effect of conventional treatment shows that homeopathy carries the potential to make a dramatic difference in any flu epidemic without the risk of drug side effects.

Homeopathic Flu Medicines — The two most frequently indicated homeopathic flu medicines over the past 100 years have been Gelsemium and Bryonia. There are significant differences in the symptom pictures of these two medicines that make it easy to decide which is the better fit. They are not the only medicines used to treat the flu, but between them they will probably fit the majority of cases. To read more go to www.cure-guide.com

Dr. Neustaedter is also co-founder/president of the Holistic Pediatric Association, a non-profit educational organization that honors the holistic science of oriental medicine, western medicine, homeopathy, herbal medicine, naturopathic medicine, chiropractic and a wide range of other complementary therapies for children. www.hpakids.org

Always consult your doctor for medical questions or advice. Call 911 for medical emergency.

For further research on vaccines visit:

www.909shot.com
www.mercola.com
www.safemind.org
www.mothering.com
www.shirleys-wellness-cafe.com

Backpack Safety and Your Child's Spinal Health
By Jane Shepard

Millions of elementary, middle, and high school students will be heading back to school this fall with overstuffed backpacks slung over their shoulders. While carrying a backpack to school every day may seem harmless enough, it can cause painful neck and back problems and injuries for students who don't pack or carry their backpacks properly. Heavy loads can cause repetitive stress injuries and spinal pain that will worsen with age and may last a lifetime. More and more doctors are seeing children for back pain and injuries caused by backpacks. Medical professionals advise that individuals carry no more than 10-15% of their body weight on their backs.

For example: A child weighing:
50 lbs. should carry no more than 7.5 lbs.
80 lbs. should carry no more than 12 lbs.
100 lbs. should carry no more than 15 lbs.
130 lbs. should carry no more than 19.5 lbs.
150 lbs. should carry no more than 22.5 lbs.

Many children are carrying up to 40 lbs. and are hurting themselves. If children are feeling headaches, neck aches, bad posture, achy and strained muscles, low back pain, muscle spasms, tingling hands, and increased scoliosis complications, they are carrying too much weight improperly. There are some important facts about carrying backpacks and back injury that every parent should know.

• A study by Simmons College (February, 2001) found that 55% of students carry more than the recommended guidelines of 10-15%
• In November 1999, the American Physical Therapy Association issued a statement concerning backpack injury.
• When 200 New England school nurses were surveyed, 66% reported seeing students with pain or injury that could be attributed to carrying backpacks that were too heavy.
• “It typically puts them off balance and gives them a posture that promotes low back pain,” said Dr. Wayne Yankus of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Committee on School Health. “A lot of kids don’t suffer it immediately, but over the long run they might.”
• In October 1999, the American Academy of Orthopedics stated, “Of the more than 100 physicians surveyed”:
– 71% felt that backpacks are a clinical problem for children – 58% have seen patients complaining of back or shoulder pain related to backpacks
– 65% have recommended that a patient modify the use of a backpack to improve or correct a back problem
– 52% feel that backpack injury is a significant problem
– Survey was conducted amongst physicians from Children's Memorial Hospital, Chicago, IL and Alfred I. DuPont Hospital for Children, Wilmington, DE
• In November 1998 the Consumer Product Safety Commission issued a warning concerning injuries related to backpacks. The commission estimated that “3,300 children aged 5 to 14 were treated in emergency rooms last year for injuries related to bookbags”.
• An Auburn University study reported that heavy backpacks might be a threat to spinal development. In their survey sample, the average pack was 17% of the child's weight. 67.2% of the children studied suffered muscle soreness, 50.8% back pain, 24.5% numbness and 14.7% shoulder pain.
• Studies at Johns Hopkins Children Center show overloaded backpacks as the cause of shoulder or lower-back pain and poor posture.
• University of Michigan researchers estimate that up to 60% of children will experience back pain by the time they reach 18.
• National Public Radio reported that 65% of adolescents’ visits to the doctor are for backpack related injuries (October 1998).
• Over the past four years, local television and print have extensively covered this topic. This has included coverage by the New York Times, NBC Today Show, Good Morning America, CBS Morning Show, National Public Radio, Time Magazine, Parents Magazine, Consumers Report and Good Housekeeping.
• The current student backpacks do not provide the ergonomic support necessary to prevent back injury for students carrying the average 30 lbs. of books.
• Older students (2-18 years) magnify this back injury problem by carrying their backpacks with one strap (on one shoulder) instead of two, directing the weight to one side of the body. There is evidence that this encourages scoliosis and other permanent physical problems.
• Currently the industry is fashion focused and has ignored the many consumer and professional concerns regarding the ergonomics of packs. The backpack manufacturers are sidestepping the issue and blaming this problem on schools and the increased academics that require students to lug around more than 10% (as much as 40%) of their body weight.

Innovative Air Technology Lightens the Load on Your Child's Spine

Fortunately, there is a company that has developed a unique, patented system designed to help children carry their loads more comfortably and safely. AirPacks System is an innovative "air technology" that uses a combination of air-filled straps and a lumbar cushion to redistribute weight to the stronger, load bearing muscles in the hips and lower back – exactly where medical experts say weight should be carried.

By shifting weight to the lower extremities, the AirPacks System creates a fulcrum that promotes an upright standing position. AirPacks encourage the body to stand posturally correct. The AirPacks System actually improves the overall biomechanics of the spine, reducing the stress on the body by 80% and lightening the effective load by 30%. So the wearer actually feels a difference.

In June of 2001, a study by Northeastern University reported that the average student has a VAS (visual analog scale) pain level of 4.3 with a high percent reporting pain in the range of 8-9. The students who wore an AirPacks backpack for six weeks had a VAS pain level of 1.8, a 50% reduction in pain.

Be cautious of other backpack companies that call their packs ergonomic and require the user to wear a waist belt. Waist belts may cause forced excessive distribution across a growing pelvis leading to possible pelvic abnormalities. But even if a waist belt were a good thing, how many kids would actually use it every time they put the backpack on?

This “air technology” was developed with the help of leading members of the orthopedic community and tested by a world-renowned neuromuscular research center. The technology has been evaluated in numerous in-use tests to guarantee that it delivers the most superior ergonomic support.

The AirPacks System carries an endorsement from the Congress of Chiropractic State Associations and the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association. If your child has been carrying weight in regular backpacks, it would be wise to have their spine checked by a chiropractor. Many chiropractors will offer free spinal screenings for children. For more information visit: www.healthychild.com/save_childs_spine.htm

Jane Shepard is the editor of the Healthy Child Newsletter www.healthychild.com and also a board member of the Holistic Pediatric Association www.hpakids.org, a non-profit educational organization that provides alternative approaches and treatments to the field of pediatrics.