vaccinations

[Guest guest]

Namaste, all -

I am curious about the Ayurvedic point of view about vaccinations.

I have a 5 1/2 month old daughter, and I've hesitated to get

vaccinations for her, based on much controversy here in the US

of their safety and efficacy. I have only allowed one so far (and at

this point, she should have had, according to the western doctors'

schedule, about 9!), and that was the DTaP (diptheria, tetanus, and

acellular pertussis).

 

I'm aware that in India there may be somewhat different views

about vaccines, as Polio, for example, is still a reality there, whereas

here in the US it is essentially non-existent except for when it's

been brought in by foreigners or caused by the vaccine itself.

 

What alternatives are there in Ayurveda to vaccinations? Are they

effective? I'm doing Swarna prashan and Suttukara with my daughter,

which I understand bolsters immunity and strengthens digestion.

Are there things that can be done to lessen the deleterious effects of

the vaccinations (for example, some of the metals and toxins they

add to them, like formaldehyde)? Do you recommend the vaccines

for diseases like HiB and the Pneumococcal? There are so many,

and it just doesn't feel right to have my daughter subjected to all of

them. Thanks for your insights and thoughtful responses.

Blessings,

Connie

 

Connie Habash, MA, MFT

Awakening Self - Counseling & Psychotherapy, Yoga, Spirituality

Menlo Park, CA

(650) 996-2649

http://www.awakeningself.com

[Guest guest]

> I am curious about the Ayurvedic point of view about vaccinations.

 

to vaccinate or not to vaccinate

its an important question, which should be based on the relative risk

factors

 

doctors want to vaccinate against everything, even for benign,

self-limiting diseases like chicken pox, whooping cough or measles

 

they point to statistics that show that some children die of these

conditions, but the statistics don't tell you that it is mostly

malnourished or immuno-compromised children that succumb to these

disease

a healthy child provided a healthy diet will easily overcome them, with

natural therapies

vaccination programs are based on a "one size fits all" paradigm which

is paternalistic and short-sighted

 

there isn't a lot of data, but enough to suggest that children that

experience childhood diseases receive a net benefit in that they

properly stimulate the growth and development of the immune system;

children that have higher rates of vaccination also have a higher rate

of later immune dysfunction, such as asthma

 

i personally wouldn't vaccinate unless an overwhelming risk presented

itself

i have only vaccinated the eldest of my three children, and that was

because we were going to India, so he got the oral polio vaccine - i

have since regretted it however, because within days after vaccination

he began to display very aggressive, almost autistic behaviours - he is

nine now, and much better, but its still an issue we have to deal with

on occasion - i don't know if it was the vaccine for sure, but the

coincidence was striking - another thing for me to feel guilty about (a

parent's heart is very delicate!)

 

the whole issue of polio is very interesting - the statistics show that

the incidence of polio actually _increased_ in the US after they

introduced the polio vaccine, particularly when they where using the

"live" vaccine - a health policy disaster that is still denied

 

the only other vaccine i would consider is tetanus, which has a low

risk of adverse effects, and can be given much later when the child

begins to walk

 

for all other diseases that can be vaccinated against I think keeping

the body health and strong is the better solution

some people use homeopathic nosodes, but there is no evidence to

suggest they are effective

 

the last issue to note is that vaccines can contain a number of toxic

preservatives that any parent would never knowingly give their child,

especially introduced to the blood

 

as a side note, i got chicken pox last year as an adult - its usually

very bad for adults, but apart from one 3 AM oat water bath (to relieve

the itching), the herbs I took effectively treated the condition; for

this i used high doses of echinacea, biscuit root and st. john's wort,

all of which reduces pitta and promote tissue healing (sandhaniya)

 

to avoid this a similar event, i suggest hosting "plague" parties,

bringing together infectious children with non-infected children to

ensure that they get all the major childhood diseases out the way, e.g.

chicken, measles, mumps, etc.; for boys, mumps is especially important

to get

 

best... todd caldecott

[Guest guest]

Namaste, Todd -

Your response corresponds with most of the research I have made

from various books on the subject. It doesn't, however, address

to me the particular position that Ayurveda has towards vaccinations,

although maybe that's because Ayurveda would approach it similarly

to the books I have read. I agree about how unnecessary many of

the recommended ones are (I know several people who got the

chicken pox vaccine for their baby and they got chicken pox anyway),

but concerned about a few that might be important for the young baby-

such as HiB and pneumoccocal. But she is healthy and well so far!

 

I myself had chicken pox at age 30... a very unpleasant experience to

be sure! This was before I followed an Ayurvedic lifestyle. I am

glad that I got it before having children, to be sure! I hope to expose

my daughter to it at the appropriate age (what age would be best?)

to confer natural immunity.

Blessings,

Connie

 

Connie Habash, MA, MFT

http://www.awakeningself.com

[Guest guest]

Hi Connie;

This isn't "Ayurveda" but is sounds like part of the info you are

looking for and haven't come accross. There is a surgeon in the state

of Washington Dr Donald Miller who has written a very good article on

"A User-Friendly Immunization Schecule". Extract below:

 

A user-friendly vaccination schedule prohibits any vaccines that

contain thimerosal, which is 50 percent mercury. Flu vaccines contain

thimerosal, which is reason enough to avoid them. (See my article

"Mercury on the Mind" for more on this subject.)

 

One should also avoid vaccines that contain live viruses. This

includes the combined measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine;

chickenpox (varicella) vaccine, and the live-virus polio (Sabin)

vaccine. This stricture would not apply to the smallpox vaccine (also

a live-virus one), if a terrorist-instigated outbreak of smallpox

should occur.

 

Finally, a user-friendly vaccination schedule requires that

vaccinations, after the age of two, be given no more than once every

six months, one at a time, in order to allow the immune system

sufficient time to recover and stabilize between shots.

 

Which vaccines should be put on this schedule (among those that do not

contain live viruses or thimerosal) is not entirely clear. The top

four would be the pertussis (acelluar – aP – not whole cell),

diphtheria (D), and tetanus (T) vaccines – given separately (not

together, as is usually the case); and the Salk polio vaccine, with an

inactivated (dead) virus, one that is cultured in human cells, not

monkey kidney cells. Perhaps it should only contain these four vaccines.

 

Full text at http://www.nmaseminars.com/, scroll down for articles,

one of the last articles on that list. I'm not saying I would exactly

follow his advice, but it is a refreshing medical viewpoint from which

to narrow the field and again look at the ayurvedic factors with these 4.

Namaste;

Martha

[Guest guest]

> It doesn't, however, address to me the particular position that Ayurveda has >

towards vaccinations,although maybe that's because Ayurveda would approach > it

similarly to the books I have read.

 

the issue of vaccination isn't described in traditional Ayurvedic

literature, so strictly speaking, Ayurveda has nothing to say about it;

i guess i could invent some ayurvedic rationale but it would

speculative and tenuous - otherwise, i doubt that anything i stated

would be contradicted by any ayurvedic physician that had a good grasp

of the issue - a good diet, fresh air/water, and appropriate natural

treatments at the appropriate times (hey wait, that IS ayurveda ;-)

 

 

> glad that I got it before having children, to be sure! I hope to expose

> my daughter to it at the appropriate age (what age would be best?)

> to confer natural immunity.

 

my daughter had chicken pox at 5 months

she got it worse than anybody and looked real a mess, but healed up

very quickly

because of widespread vaccination it can be difficult to find other

children with whatever infection, so beggars can't be choosers -

anytime before puberty...

[Guest guest]

Dear

We can't just confine that ayurveda doesn't have the concept of vaccination.

There are many concepts which are directly or indirectly explains about

vaccination. for ex: Kashyapa samhita which is the best book of the paeditrics,

decribes about a procedure called "KARNAVEDHANA"if you go through the details

you may know how this procedure works as vaccination and also go through the

details of "SWARNAPRASHANA".

And also one more concept, as per Ayurveda there are three types of Bala(the

immunity,resistance)1.SAHAJA 2.KAALAJA 3.YUKTIKRUTA.

So the Yuktikruta bala may be referred as vaccination through medicines(this is

what i feel).

If you are interested i can get back you with some more information.

 

Dr.Venu Gopal Rao.T

M.D(Ayu)

www.tvgayurveda.com