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	<title>Living in Harmony &#187; vaccines</title>
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		<title>Diagnosing VPDs</title>
		<link>http://attachedmama.net/2008/09/18/diagnosing-vpds/</link>
		<comments>http://attachedmama.net/2008/09/18/diagnosing-vpds/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 18 Sep 2008 19:33:31 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>AttachedMama</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Vaccinations]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[health]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[vaccines]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.attachedmama.net/?p=61</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<a href="http://attachedmama.net/2008/09/18/diagnosing-vpds/"><img align="left" hspace="5" width="150" height="150" src="http://attachedmama.net/wp-content/plugins/thumbnail-for-excerpts/tfe_no_thumb.png" class="alignleft wp-post-image tfe" alt="" title="" /></a><p>There is something I mentioned briefly in my <a href="http://attachedmama.net/2008/08/30/padding-the-pockets-of-big-pharma/" target="_self">previous vaccine post</a> that I think deserves a little more thought.  That is, the diagnosis of vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs) before and after vaccines are introduced.  It&#8217;s difficult to say exactly how many cases of VPDs go undiagnosed now, since they are undiagnosed!  Most of [...]


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<li><a href='http://attachedmama.net/2008/08/20/animal-vaccinations/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Animal Vaccinations'>Animal Vaccinations</a></li>
<li><a href='http://attachedmama.net/2008/08/18/throw-away-the-deet/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Throw away the Deet…'>Throw away the Deet…</a></li>
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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>There is something I mentioned briefly in my <a href="http://attachedmama.net/2008/08/30/padding-the-pockets-of-big-pharma/" target="_self">previous vaccine post</a> that I think deserves a little more thought.  That is, the diagnosis of vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs) before and after vaccines are introduced.  It&#8217;s difficult to say exactly how many cases of VPDs go undiagnosed now, since they are undiagnosed!  Most of what is out there is anecdotal, rather than scientific, but it is easy to see how this could be the case and how it could influence statistics the CDC uses when talking about the number of cases.</p>
<p>For example, take this statement from the <a href="http://www.aap.org/advocacy/rightcare.htm" target="_blank" target="_blank">AAP</a>:</p>
<blockquote><p>KEEP A CLEAR AND UP-TO-DATE RECORD OF IMMUNIZATIONS. This can help doctors do a better job of diagnosing a problem in an emergency. For example, if your child has a bad infection, and the doctor knows your child has been vaccinated against Hepatitis, the doctor can rule that out. This can save time.</p></blockquote>
<p>This is basically stating that if your child has been vaccinated for a particular disease, that disease can be ruled out right away to make everyone&#8217;s life easier.  The problem is that this assumes that vaccinations are 100% effective, which even the most glowing vaccine reports can&#8217;t say.  <a href="http://insidevaccines.com/wordpress/vaccine-efficacy-how-often-do-vaccines-work/" target="_blank" target="_blank">Inside Vaccines</a> has a list of VPDs with the information from the vaccine inserts stating their efficacy.  A quick look at the Hepatitis information (taken directly from the <a href="http://www.talecris-pi.info/inserts/BayHepB.pdf" target="_blank" target="_blank">manufacturer&#8217;s statements</a>) shows that the Hep B vaccine is only 50% effective after 1 dose, and 70-90% after multiple doses.</p>
<p>A look at the DTaP information shows it as being 59-89% effective.  But if you bring your child into a doctor with a persistent cough, wheezing, etc. and he or she has been vaccinated, your doctor is much more likely to diagnose bronchitis or atypical asthma than whooping cough, especially if the doctor hasn&#8217;t heard the cough (and therefore the characteristic whoop).  And of course, if diseases aren&#8217;t getting diagnosed properly, it makes the vaccines look more effective than they are, so the 59-89% efficacy rate might actually be quite high.  A <a href="http://eprints.maths.ox.ac.uk/375/01/157.pdf" target="_blank" target="_blank">New Zealand study</a> published in the Journal of Theoretical Biology found that the efficacy rate might be as low as 33%.</p>
<p>Another example is <a href="http://insidevaccines.com/wordpress/vaccine-efficacy-how-often-do-vaccines-work/varicella/" target="_blank" target="_blank">chicken pox</a> (varicella).  I know of more than one parent who brought their vaccinated child to the doctor&#8217;s with a suspicious rash and known exposure to chicken pox, only to be told it couldn&#8217;t be chicken pox because they&#8217;ve been vaccinated.  The official diagnosis in most of these cases ends up being: &#8220;a varicella-like viral infection&#8221;, and the treatment suggested is the same as would be suggested for chicken pox, but the vaccine is still considered to have worked.  This is anecdotal of course.  The official documentation states the vaccine is 83% effective after one dose and 98% effective after two doses, but both the <a href="http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/422041" target="_blank" target="_blank">Journal of Infectious Diseases</a> and <a href="https://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/abstract/347/24/1909" target="_blank" target="_blank">The New England Journal of Medicine</a> have published studies showing an effectiveness closer to 44%.</p>
<p>Besides a lower rate of diagnosis, another way that cases can be shown to be dropping is by changing the diagnostic criteria, as happened in the case of <a href="http://www.whale.to/vaccine/polio1.html" target="_blank" target="_blank">polio</a>.  If you&#8217;re interested, there are a lot of quotes on that website about how the definition for polio was changed and the effects that had on the diagnosis of the disease and how it made the vaccine look effective.  Here is one explanation.</p>
<blockquote><p>Dr. Bernard Greenberg, a biostatistics expert, was chairman of the Committee on Evaluation and Standards of the American Public Health Association during the 1950s. He testified at a panel discussion that was used as evidence for the congressional hearings on polio vaccine in 1962. During these hearings he elaborated on the problems associated with polio statistics and disputed claims for the vaccine&#8217;s effectiveness. He attributed the dramatic decline in polio cases to a change in reporting practices by physicians. Less cases were identified as polio after the vaccination for very specific reasons.</p>
<p>Prior to 1954 any physician who reported paralytic poliomyelitis was doing his patient a service by way of subsidizing the cost of hospitalization and was being community-minded in reporting a communicable disease. The criterion of diagnosis at that time in most health departments followed the World Health Organization definition: &#8220;Spinal paralytic poliomyelitis: signs and symptoms of nonparalytic poliomyelitis with the addition of partial or complete paralysis of one or more muscle groups, detected on two examinations at least 24 hours apart.&#8221; Note that &#8220;two examinations at least 24 hours apart&#8221; was all that was required. Laboratory confirmation and presence of residual paralysis was not required.</p>
<p>In 1955 the criteria were changed to conform more closely to the definition used in the 1954 field trials: residual paralysis was determined 10 to 20 days after onset of illness and again 50 to 70 days after onset&#8230;. This change in definition meant that in 1955 we started reporting a new disease, namely, paralytic poliomyelitis with a longer-lasting paralysis. Furthermore, diagnostic procedures have continued to be refined. Coxsackie virus infections and aseptic meningitis have been distinguished from paralytic poliomyelitis. Prior to 1954 large numbers of these cases undoubtedly were mislabeled as paralytic poliomyelitis. Thus, simply by changes in diagnostic criteria, the number of paralytic cases was predetermined to decrease in 1955-1957, whether or not any vaccine was used.</p></blockquote>
<p>One other thing to keep in mind when looking at disease statistics is that because of this misdiagnosis, many diseases look worse than they really are.  For example, a disease might only be diagnosed properly because a patient is presenting with the worst symptoms, or needs to be hospitalized, while children who are mostly asymptomatic or only minorly ill may not be brought to a doctor at all or are misdiagnosed.  This would of course skew the statistics to make it look like that disease hospitalizes a lot more children than the reality.  For a really good explanation of this along with lots of citations, have a look at the <a href="http://insidevaccines.com/wordpress/2008/02/02/measles-the-grim-reality/" target="_blank" target="_blank">measles</a> page on Inside Vaccines.</p>
<p>I am still planning on writing my thoughts on the various diseases we vaccinate against.  In the meantime, I highly recommend that anyone interested in vaccinations at all include the Inside Vaccines website in their research.  There is a lot of good information and studies linked, along with citations and references to lead you to more material to read.  They have an excellent article entitled <a href="http://insidevaccines.com/wordpress/2008/05/13/where-to-start/" target="_blank" target="_blank">&#8220;Where to Start?&#8221;</a> for parents who are just beginning to research the issue, which provides places to search for information on both sides of the issue.</p>
<p><a href="http://attachedmama.net/2008/08/30/padding-the-pockets-of-big-pharma/" target="_self">Part 1 &#8211; Padding the Pockets of Big Pharma&#8230;</a></p>


<p>Related posts:<ol><li><a href='http://attachedmama.net/2008/08/30/padding-the-pockets-of-big-pharma/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Padding the Pockets of Big Pharma&#8230;'>Padding the Pockets of Big Pharma&#8230;</a></li>
<li><a href='http://attachedmama.net/2008/08/20/animal-vaccinations/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Animal Vaccinations'>Animal Vaccinations</a></li>
<li><a href='http://attachedmama.net/2008/08/18/throw-away-the-deet/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Throw away the Deet…'>Throw away the Deet…</a></li>
</ol></p>]]></content:encoded>
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		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Padding the Pockets of Big Pharma&#8230;</title>
		<link>http://attachedmama.net/2008/08/30/padding-the-pockets-of-big-pharma/</link>
		<comments>http://attachedmama.net/2008/08/30/padding-the-pockets-of-big-pharma/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 30 Aug 2008 16:20:03 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>AttachedMama</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Vaccinations]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[climate change]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[vaccines]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.attachedmama.net/?p=48</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<a href="http://attachedmama.net/2008/08/30/padding-the-pockets-of-big-pharma/"><img align="left" hspace="5" width="150" src="http://www.attachedmama.net/wp-content/images/cdcmeaslesgraph.gif" class="alignleft wp-post-image tfe" alt="" title="" /></a><p>I think one of the things that bothers me the most about the whole vaccine debate (and most other issues out there for that matter) is all the fear mongering that goes on on both sides of the issue.  If you don&#8217;t vaccinate, your kids could get sick and die, but if you do, [...]


Related posts:<ol><li><a href='http://attachedmama.net/2008/09/18/diagnosing-vpds/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Diagnosing VPDs'>Diagnosing VPDs</a></li>
<li><a href='http://attachedmama.net/2008/08/20/animal-vaccinations/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Animal Vaccinations'>Animal Vaccinations</a></li>
</ol>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I think one of the things that bothers me the most about the whole vaccine debate (and most other issues out there for that matter) is all the fear mongering that goes on on both sides of the issue.  If you don&#8217;t vaccinate, your kids could get sick and die, but if you do, they could get heavy metal poisoning and autism (and possibly die).  There is rarely any middle ground.  One of my biggest complaints about most governments is that they use fear as a way to control the population.  I think the most important thing is for parents to be informed about both sides of the issue (not just the side the doctors and pharmaceuticals want us to know), and to make their own decision based on knowledge and facts, rather than fear.</p>
<p>When you get past the fear mongering about the diseases and the vaccines, you can look at the real root of the issue.  Do vaccines work?  Are they necessary?  Are they responsible for the abolishment of polio, small pox, etc?  Are the diseases they&#8217;re meant to prevent really as bad as Merck et al would have you believe?  Are the vaccines as bad as the anti-vaccine enthusiasts would have you believe?  I do have a bias, as I am one of those anti-vaccine enthusiasts, but we did a lot of reading, researching, and soul searching before we came to our decision.  It wasn&#8217;t made lightly, and we believe we are doing the best thing for our daughter to help her develop a healthy immune system.  We also have a naturopath, three chiropractors, and our GP (yes, an MD), who all not only support the decision, but most (if not all) of them would not or have not vaccinated their own children.</p>
<p>That being said, please don&#8217;t take this post as a recommendation from me.  It is a personal decision not to be made lightly, and parents need to make a decision they can live with.  That is to say, if something goes wrong, will you forever be blaming yourself and others, or will you know you did what you thought best.  Really, years could be spent studying vaccines, their effects, how they work, etc.  There is so much information already out there.  I&#8217;m just going to touch on some of the things that helped Kris and I come to our decision.  I could write pages on this one subject, so I&#8217;m just going to be doing posts that cover one aspect at a time.  I am not writing this to spur a vaccine debate, but to share some thoughts and links for those who may be doing their own research or anyone who is interested in another point of view.</p>
<p>First, some links.  A friend recently linked this article to me, <a href="http://www.nakedauthors.com/2008/03/shot-in-dark.html" target="_blank" target="_blank">A Shot in the Dark</a>, which makes for an interesting read and approaches the issue a little differently than other posts about vaccines I&#8217;ve read.  <a href="http://www.autismhelpforyou.com/Simpsonwood_And_Puerto%20%20Rico.htm" target="_blank" target="_blank">Here</a> is the transcript for the meeting she mentions in which one of the immunologists comments he didn&#8217;t want his grandson to get thimerosol-containing vaccines.  <a href="http://weblog.xanga.com/FORCEDANARCHY/655839960/cdc-lies-about-measles-outbreak.html" target="_blank" target="_blank">This</a> is another interesting article about tactics the CDC uses to try and scare a population into vaccinating.</p>
<p>For Kris and I, the key question was not, &#8220;Are vaccines effective?&#8221;.  I know people who don&#8217;t believe they are, but the reality is that scientific evidence supports the fact that vaccines are effective.  Here&#8217;s an interesting <a href="http://www.artsandopinion.com/2008_v7_n2/cassels-pharmaspeak.htm" target="_blank" target="_blank">article</a> with a great discussion on how pharmaceutical companies use semantics to make drugs sound more effective than they are.</p>
<blockquote><p>There are many other tricks to make that effectiveness of drugs sound impressive. If you take alendronate (Fosamax), the most frequently prescribed drug for osteoporosis, you can be excused for thinking it lowered your risk of a hip fracture by 50 percent. That’s what the ads targeted to doctors claimed. Fifty percent is a most impressive claim, which means that half the women taking it will benefit. One in two. Not bad, eh?</p>
<p>If you look closer at the actual study, you find that for women on placebo, two women out of a hundred had a hip fracture (two percent). In the women on Fosamax, one woman out a hundred (one percent) had a hip fracture. In other words, you can lower your risk of hip fracture from two percent to one percent, an impressive 50 percent reduction. But 50 percent sounds impressive even though it is really only a one percent difference; that is, only one woman out of a hundred taking the drug saw any benefit. The company can promote this drug legally as being “significant” and “effective,” when, in fact, 99 percent of the women who took that drug had no effect whatsoever. They wasted their money, exposed themselves to the adverse effects of the drug and saw no benefit.</p></blockquote>
<p>No, for us, the question was more like: &#8220;Are they necessary?&#8221; Questions that followed this one were: &#8220;Are vaccines responsible for wiping out disease?&#8221; &#8220;Even if so, is that necessarily a good thing?&#8221; &#8220;Are the diseases as bad as we&#8217;re told?&#8221; &#8220;Are vaccines safe?&#8221;</p>
<p>Reading through the <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines" target="_blank" target="_blank">CDC website</a> for information for this post has been interesting for me.  There are all sorts of broad, sweeping statements disguised as &#8220;facts&#8221;, lots of fear mongering&#8230; Statements like disease can cause death and vaccines are generally safe.  They don&#8217;t say that vaccines can cause death and diseases are generally safe too.  (But I&#8217;ll go more into that in the future.)  For now, let&#8217;s take this statement from their website:</p>
<blockquote><p>Perhaps the greatest success story in public health is the reduction of infectious diseases resulting from the use of vaccines. Routine immunization has eradicated smallpox from the globe and led to the near elimination of wild polio virus. Vaccines have reduced some preventable infectious diseases to an all-time low, and now few people experience the devastating effects of measles, pertussis, and other illnesses.</p></blockquote>
<p><img class="alignleft" style="float: left;" src="http://www.attachedmama.net/wp-content/images/cdcmeaslesgraph.gif" alt="" width="360" height="270" />Let&#8217;s take a look at their evidence for this. This graph shows a sharp decline in measles after the introduction of the vaccine in 1963, and we are now at an all-time low.  It looks very impressive.  Until we look at a graph over a longer time period.</p>
<p><img class="alignright" style="float: right;" src="http://www.attachedmama.net/wp-content/images/measlesgraph.gif" alt="" width="323" height="378" />This graph shows a completely different picture, that deaths from measles were already on the decline long before the vaccine was introduced.</p>
<p><img class="alignright" style="float: right;" src="http://www.attachedmama.net/wp-content/images/diseasegraph.gif" alt="" width="318" height="378" />The same could be shown for most of the vaccine-preventable diseases.  By not showing the complete picture, it&#8217;s easy to see why most people believe vaccines responsible for eradicating diseases. (Note: This is the same trick <a href="http://negative99.com/politics/inconvenient-truth-al-gore-is-a-hypocrite/" target="_blank" target="_blank">Al Gore</a> uses in his <a href="http://www.newparty.co.uk/articles/inaccuracies-gore.html" target="_blank" target="_blank">movie</a> when he shows graphs.) I do want to point out that the CDC one refers to cases of measles, while the others refer to deaths by the diseases. I tried to find a CDC one to show deaths or an over-time one to show cases, but came up short.  Honestly, I didn&#8217;t search that hard.  I was reading a direct comparison that showed a table with cases and deaths on it, but I can&#8217;t find it now.  When I have a moment I&#8217;ll search my history and put it here. The best I could find right now is an explanation, not a pretty graph, but it is on the <a href="http://www.vaccinationnews.com/Scandals/2007/Nov_15_07/Scandal80.htm" target="_blank" target="_blank">vaccination news</a> website.  There are more graphs and charts on the <a href="http://www.vaclib.org/links/graphs.htm" target="_blank" target="_blank">Vaccination Liberation</a> site as well. Regardless, the graph does show that death from measles had dropped to near zero before the vaccine was even introduced.  When this is pointed out to the CDC, they plot another graph, for one disease only, and for cases only 10 years previous to the vaccine.</p>
<p>Another thing the CDC points out is that small pox vaccination programs eradicated the disease.  This has been shown again and again to be untrue, due to the fact that pockets of the population where vaccines were limited or nonexistent experienced a decrease in small pox outbreaks at the same rate as everywhere else.</p>
<blockquote><p>Parenthetically, the average person today believes that mass smallpox vaccines were responsible for eradicating smallpox from the world. This is not so, for the simple reason that mass vaccination programs did not take place in many areas. In some third world countries 10% or less of the populations were immunized against smallpox due to financial and other limitations.</p></blockquote>
<p>A couple more quotes from the <a href="http://www.garynull.com/Documents/Vaccines/VaccineScene.htm" target="_blank" target="_blank">same site</a>.  Check out the site for references and lots more information.</p>
<blockquote><p>However, vaccine proponents would have us believe that vaccines have been largely responsible for controlling virtually all of the former epidemics of killer diseases in the U.S.A. With the exceptions cited above, the facts do not bear this out.</p>
<p>According to the records of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, from 1911 to 1935 the four leading causes of childhood deaths from infectious diseases in the U.S.A. were diphtheria, pertussis (whooping cough), scarlet fever, and measles. However, by 1945 the combined death rates from these causes had declined by 95% before the implementation of mass vaccine programs. Other statistical information provided much the same pattern. According to a report in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, July 30, 1999, improvements in sanitation, water quality, hygiene, and the introduction of antibiotics have been the most important factors in control of infectious diseases in the past century. Although vaccines were mentioned, they were not included among the major factors.</p></blockquote>
<blockquote><p>An example of this process is       provided in the text, Vaccination, l00 Years of Orthodox Research Shows       that Vaccines Represent a Medical Assault on the Immune System, by Vera       Scheibner, Ph.D., in which the author reviews the Swedish experience       with whooping cough (pertussis) and the pertussis vaccine. In 1979 Sweden       banned the pertussis vaccine because of a return of the disease in fully       vaccinated children and also because of side effects which they considered       unacceptable, including brain damage. In spite of this ban, which remains       in effect today, the infant mortality in Sweden from pertussis is no       greater than in fully vaccinated populations.</p></blockquote>
<p>Another interesting thing to note is that once a child is vaccinated, doctors stop looking for that disease as a cause of illness.  This results in diseases potentially being misdiagnosed as something that there is no vaccine for.  It&#8217;s impossible to know for sure how often this happens, but it is definitely something to take into account when considering the number of cases of the diseases before and after the introduction of a new vaccine.</p>
<p>Even despite all this, there is still the niggling worry.  While I was doing research, someone on a forum I was on (I don&#8217;t know who, but whoever they are I&#8217;m very grateful) gave me some very sound advice.  She told me to start with the diseases.  After all, we&#8217;re vaccinating our child to protect them, right?  So if it turns out that there&#8217;s no need to protect them, it should make the decision pretty easy.  I&#8217;ll elaborate on my findings and thoughts on this sometime in the future.</p>
<p><a href="http://attachedmama.net/2008/09/18/diagnosing-vpds/" target="_self">Part 2 &#8211; Diagnosing VPDs</a></p>


<p>Related posts:<ol><li><a href='http://attachedmama.net/2008/09/18/diagnosing-vpds/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Diagnosing VPDs'>Diagnosing VPDs</a></li>
<li><a href='http://attachedmama.net/2008/08/20/animal-vaccinations/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Animal Vaccinations'>Animal Vaccinations</a></li>
</ol></p>]]></content:encoded>
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		<slash:comments>4</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Animal Vaccinations</title>
		<link>http://attachedmama.net/2008/08/20/animal-vaccinations/</link>
		<comments>http://attachedmama.net/2008/08/20/animal-vaccinations/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 21 Aug 2008 01:09:48 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>AttachedMama</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Vaccinations]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pets]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[vaccines]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.attachedmama.net/?p=47</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<a href="http://attachedmama.net/2008/08/20/animal-vaccinations/"><img align="left" hspace="5" width="150" height="150" src="http://attachedmama.net/wp-content/plugins/thumbnail-for-excerpts/tfe_no_thumb.png" class="alignleft wp-post-image tfe" alt="" title="" /></a><p>I was tired and uninspired today, so I had decided to just copy from a post I made elsewhere about animal vaccinations.  Then I started writing an intro and before I knew it had typed out part of a post about vaccines that I&#8217;ve been thinking of writing anyway.  Then Meredith woke up and [...]


Related posts:<ol><li><a href='http://attachedmama.net/2008/03/13/how-my-dog-getting-sick/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: How my dog getting sick changed the way we all ate'>How my dog getting sick changed the way we all ate</a></li>
<li><a href='http://attachedmama.net/2008/09/18/diagnosing-vpds/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Diagnosing VPDs'>Diagnosing VPDs</a></li>
<li><a href='http://attachedmama.net/2008/08/30/padding-the-pockets-of-big-pharma/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Padding the Pockets of Big Pharma&#8230;'>Padding the Pockets of Big Pharma&#8230;</a></li>
</ol>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I was tired and uninspired today, so I had decided to just copy from a post I made elsewhere about animal vaccinations.  Then I started writing an intro and before I knew it had typed out part of a post about vaccines that I&#8217;ve been thinking of writing anyway.  Then Meredith woke up and it was only half done, so I&#8217;m going back to my original plan of just copying the post I had already written out elsewhere, but at some point this week I will be posting more on vaccines in general.  In fact, I think it may even become two more posts, to split it up somewhat.  One about the the vaccines themselves and their history, and one about the diseases vaccines are meant to prevent.</p>
<p>For today though, here are some links and articles about vaccines in animals.  Most people don&#8217;t realize that the reason we are supposed to vaccinate animals yearly is because that is the longest any official tests to determine whether they are still working have been done.  It doesn&#8217;t mean that after a year the vaccine has stopped working or is losing efficacy, it means we don&#8217;t know how much longer than a year they will continue to work.  Many studies have been done which show that vaccines last a lot longer than that, some say the animal&#8217;s whole life.</p>
<p><a href="http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/TruthAboutVaccines" target="_blank" target="_blank">Truth About Vaccines Yahoo group</a> -a group for pet owners but they discuss vaccines in children at times too</p>
<p>Some articles/studies:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.wpxi.com/family/2045487/detail.html" target="_blank" target="_blank">Annual Dog Vaccines May Be Unnecessary</a></p>
<blockquote><p>Once a year, Ronald Schultz checks the antibody levels in his dogs&#8217; blood. Why? He says for proof that most annual vaccines are unnecessary.</p>
<p>Schultz, professor of pathobiological sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine, has been studying the effectiveness of canine vaccines since the 1970s; he&#8217;s learned that immunity can last as long as a dog&#8217;s lifetime, which suggests that our &#8220;best friends&#8221; are being overvaccinated.</p>
<p>Based on his findings, a community of canine vaccine experts has developed new veterinary recommendations that could eliminate a dog&#8217;s need for annual shots.</p></blockquote>
<p><a href="http://www.shirleys-wellness-cafe.com/petvacc2.htm#hamilton" target="_blank" target="_blank">Vaccinations in Veterinary Medicine</a></p>
<blockquote><p>Summary: Yearly &#8220;boosters&#8221; are unnecessary, provide no benefit if given (will not increase immunity). Thus boosters are either a legal issue (Rabies) or a manipulation issue (inducing clients to come in for examination rather than directly suggesting an examination).</p></blockquote>
<p><a href="http://www.austinholistic.com/PetVaccinationsI" target="_blank" target="_blank">Vaccinations: A Word of Caution for our Animals &#8211; Part I</a> and <a href="http://www.austinholistic.com/PetVaccinationsII" target="_blank" target="_blank">Part II</a></p>
<blockquote><p>A practice that was started many years ago and that lacks scientific validity or verification is annual revaccination. Almost without exception there is no immunologic requirement for annual revaccination. Immunity to viruses persists for years or for the life of the animal&#8230;&#8230; Furthermore, revaccination with most viral vaccines fails to stimulate an anamnestic (secondary) response&#8230;. The practice of annual vaccination in our opinion should be considered of questionable efficacy&#8230;</p></blockquote>
<p><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20040605095457/bullovedbulldogs.com/heartworm.htm" target="_blank" target="_blank">Heartworm: A Realistic Look</a> &#8211; This is about heartworm, not vaccines, but is along the same lines.  I find this interesting because of all the different factors that have to be just right for an animal to even contract heartworm in the first place.</p>
<blockquote><p>Heartworm is of concern to all dog owners, and is a potentially serious, sometimes even fatal, disease. It is not, however, the unavoidable scourge that many vets and pharmaceutical companies would have us believe. If your dog is reasonably healthy, eating a SARF diet, is vaccine free, is not currently on any HW “preventives” or chemical flea and tick preventives, his immune system should be strong enough to fight off a heartworm infestation with none of the larvae reaching adulthood. In the event that some of the larvae should manage to get past your dog’s immune system defenses and survive to adulthood, it is still far from a death sentence. They will be much weakened, and the truly healthy dog will make a less hospitable host. Even at the adult stage, a healthy dog, possibly with some veterinary assistance, should be able to fight them off with no lasting ill effects to his health.  Nor are the currently available cures more dangerous than the “preventive,” as the veterinary and pharmaceutical industries would have us believe.</p></blockquote>


<p>Related posts:<ol><li><a href='http://attachedmama.net/2008/03/13/how-my-dog-getting-sick/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: How my dog getting sick changed the way we all ate'>How my dog getting sick changed the way we all ate</a></li>
<li><a href='http://attachedmama.net/2008/09/18/diagnosing-vpds/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Diagnosing VPDs'>Diagnosing VPDs</a></li>
<li><a href='http://attachedmama.net/2008/08/30/padding-the-pockets-of-big-pharma/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Padding the Pockets of Big Pharma&#8230;'>Padding the Pockets of Big Pharma&#8230;</a></li>
</ol></p>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>There&#8217;s something in the air</title>
		<link>http://attachedmama.net/2008/08/04/something-in-the-air/</link>
		<comments>http://attachedmama.net/2008/08/04/something-in-the-air/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 04 Aug 2008 19:57:30 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>AttachedMama</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Natural Family Living]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[chemicals]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[vaccines]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.attachedmama.net/?p=32</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<a href="http://attachedmama.net/2008/08/04/something-in-the-air/"><img align="left" hspace="5" width="150" height="150" src="http://attachedmama.net/wp-content/plugins/thumbnail-for-excerpts/tfe_no_thumb.png" class="alignleft wp-post-image tfe" alt="" title="" /></a><p>Annie&#8217;s post on <a href="http://annie.paxye.com/?p=65" target="_blank" target="_blank">stinky shampoo</a> and the comments afterwards got me thinking about all the smells and chemicals we subject ourselves to on a daily basis. Some of my friends/family think this is a weird new thing for me, but to be honest they&#8217;ve bothered me as long as I can [...]


Related posts:<ol><li><a href='http://attachedmama.net/2009/08/20/homemade-deodorant/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Homemade Deodorant'>Homemade Deodorant</a></li>
<li><a href='http://attachedmama.net/2008/03/12/how-it-all-began/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: How it all began'>How it all began</a></li>
<li><a href='http://attachedmama.net/2008/12/31/green-meme-2/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Green Meme #2'>Green Meme #2</a></li>
</ol>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Annie&#8217;s post on <a href="http://annie.paxye.com/?p=65" target="_blank" target="_blank">stinky shampoo</a> and the comments afterwards got me thinking about all the smells and chemicals we subject ourselves to on a daily basis.  Some of my friends/family think this is a weird new thing for me, but to be honest they&#8217;ve bothered me as long as I can remember.  It&#8217;s just that I&#8217;m at a point of my life where I live with someone who agrees with me and supports it, and we can afford to try alternative methods.</p>
<p>For me, the worst is chemical cleaners.  I hate them.  I can&#8217;t stand the smell and they make me feel claustrophobic, plus they give me headaches.  One of the very first things I did when I moved in with Kris was buy a book about natural cleaners and make some of my own.  I was amazed at how well they work, and they are way cheaper than the store-bought ones.  Plus if I run out I almost always have the ingredients on hand to quickly make more.  I&#8217;ve posted some of my recipes here: <a href="http://www.attachedmama.net/earth-friendly-cleaners/" target="_blank">Earth-Friendly Cleaners</a>.  These are cheaper to use, easy to make, and I don&#8217;t have to worry about venting my rooms or whether Meredith is crawling on the floor ten minutes after mopping it.</p>
<p>Cosmetics and perfumes are another big one for me.  A little bit of perfume is fine for people who like it, but I avoid those people who douse themselves with it the same as I avoid a smoker on the street.  It makes me cough and feel gross.  I don&#8217;t like the smell of make up on myself, and never used it even as a teen.</p>
<p>Sunscreen is a big culprit.  I recently read an entry on one of my favorite natural health blogs about sunscreen and whether it&#8217;s really as important as we&#8217;ve come to think: <a href="hxxp://thehealthyskeptic.org/throw-away-the-sunscreen/" target="_blank" target="_blank">Throw Away the Sunscreen</a>.  I&#8217;m not ready to throw away the sunscreen yet, but we use a physical sunscreen with no parabens or fragrance sparingly and otherwise try to limit exposure in the sun in the afternoons.  We cover up and stay in the shade when possible.</p>
<p>Shampoo, conditioner, and soaps seem like a huge part of every day life.  Part of the reason our life expectancy goes up and disease rates go down is attributed to cleaner living conditions.  This is true to an extent, but at times we replace one problem for another.  The <a href="http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com" target="_blank" target="_blank">Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database</a> gives sometimes frightening information about these products.  There is an &#8220;extra-gentle&#8221; shampoo for kids whose ingredients are linked to: cancer, developmental/reproductive toxicity, allergies/immunotoxicity, neurotoxicity, organ system toxicity, irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs), enhanced skin absorption, contamination concerns, and biochemical or cellular level changes.  (The Skin Deep site is a great read for choosing cosmetics and cleaners.  They link to studies and explain the reasoning behind all of their ratings.)  Since I stopped using shampoo and conditioner (see <a href="http://annie.paxye.com/?p=65" target="_blank" target="_blank">Annie&#8217;s post</a> for what I do now) I&#8217;ve actually noticed an improvement in my hair.  It&#8217;s less greasy, doesn&#8217;t tangle, and I don&#8217;t need to wash it as often.  I use handmade soaps or baking soda for my body.  We&#8217;ve only used soap on Meredith once, and it was a little bit of Dr. Bronner&#8217;s on her body.  Otherwise, water does the job just fine.  Deodorant is one place that I feel stuck at sometimes.  I know that deodorants with aluminum in them have been linked to Alzheimers, among other things, but I tend to sweat a lot.  However, this year I don&#8217;t seem to have nearly the problem I used to.  I wonder if it&#8217;s because we&#8217;re making such a big effort to eat better?  I use <a href="http://www.greenbeaver.com/" target="_blank" target="_blank">Green Beaver</a> deodorant now and it seems to work really well too. I&#8217;ve tried the crystals and they don&#8217;t work well for me.</p>
<p>While it has its place, antibacterial soap on a regular basis is unnecessary and, often, worse than useless.  I was a microbiology major in university (I don&#8217;t have a degree but that&#8217;s another story for another time).  We got to grow bacteria on petri plates and then try to kill it off.  The bacteria that antibacterial soaps worked on, worked well, but when it didn&#8217;t work it often didn&#8217;t work at all.  Regular soap did a better job.  And the more you use antibacterial soap, the more resistant the bacteria become to it, so when you really need it, it may not work.  (And along these same lines, vinegar was about equal with bleach when it came to destroying bacteria.  I don&#8217;t have bleach in my house, we use vinegar and sometimes the sun if we need a little extra.)</p>
<p>I&#8217;m not a germophobe in any shape or form.  I think one thing people don&#8217;t realize is that germs, even &#8220;bad&#8221; ones, are actually necessary and good for us.  Most people have heard that kids growing up on farms are often healthier than kids growing up in a sterile environment.  This is because the farm kids are exposed to small amounts of all sorts of different bacteria every day.  Their immune systems learn how to handle those germs, and my own theory is that, like anything else, the immune system needs practice to stay in shape.  A kid growing up in a sterile environment who gets exposed to even a small amount of bacteria may not be able to handle it, and so they become sick.  A farm kid who is exposed to a large amount of a bacteria they&#8217;ve never been exposed to before is probably far better equipped to fight it off, especially if the immune system is allowed to do its job without fever-reducing medications.  (These examples are obviously very simplistic, but hopefully the point is clear.)</p>
<p>I use Green Beaver toothpaste too.  <a href="http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/product.php?prod_id=24036&amp;refurl=%2Fbrowse.php%3Fcategory%3Dtoothpaste%26" target="_blank" target="_blank">Check out</a> the warnings for one of the toothpastes I have used in the past.  There is a lot of controversy about fluoride lately, and from the reading I&#8217;ve done my opinion is that it should not be added to our water and parents should have a choice about whether their kids should be exposed.  I would choose not to use it.  Green Beaver toothpastes have xylitol in them which has been shown to <a href="http://www.dentist.net/xylitol-teeth.asp" target="_blank" target="_blank">clean teeth</a> and doesn&#8217;t have the toxicity associated with it that fluoride does.</p>
<p>Until recently, laundry detergent has been an issue for me.  Our skin is the biggest organ in our bodies and absorbs everything, yet we use toxic laundry detergents every day.  I stopped using dryer sheets and started using <a href="http://www.lnt.com/sm-as-seen-on-tv-dryer-max-dryer-balls--pi-2272967.html" target="_blank" target="_blank">dryer balls</a> instead years ago (which saves me money too, since they last years so no more buying dryer sheets).  I also will often add a little vinegar to the final rinse to help rinse out any detergent and it doubles as a fabric softener.  I have tried all sorts of &#8220;natural&#8221; laundry detergents, but some had funny smells, or still had chemicals in them I&#8217;d rather avoid.  I recently discovered <a href="http://www.avellana.ca/index2.php?page=detail&amp;ID_sousCat=39&amp;ID_produit=123" target="_blank" target="_blank">soap nuts</a>, which are natural and scent free.  They leave my clothes soft and clean, and I can add essential oil to the wash if I want to.  (Though I don&#8217;t add oil to diaper loads as I&#8217;ve read it can coat the diapers.)  Soap nuts can also be used to make hand soap, dishwashing soap, and cleaners.</p>
<p>All right, there is lots more I could talk about along these lines, but this is long enough.  It is one of my own personal &#8220;causes&#8221; I guess you could say, since I think some people are more worried about bacteria than about chemicals in cleaners, which is backwards.  I learned a lot about both in university and doing my own research.  Our bodies have evolved to handle bacterias and germs, but chemicals are new and are doing a lot of damage to us and to our children.  (Which could get me started on vaccines too, but again, another post for another time.)</p>


<p>Related posts:<ol><li><a href='http://attachedmama.net/2009/08/20/homemade-deodorant/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Homemade Deodorant'>Homemade Deodorant</a></li>
<li><a href='http://attachedmama.net/2008/03/12/how-it-all-began/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: How it all began'>How it all began</a></li>
<li><a href='http://attachedmama.net/2008/12/31/green-meme-2/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Green Meme #2'>Green Meme #2</a></li>
</ol></p>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>How my dog getting sick changed the way we all ate</title>
		<link>http://attachedmama.net/2008/03/13/how-my-dog-getting-sick/</link>
		<comments>http://attachedmama.net/2008/03/13/how-my-dog-getting-sick/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 13 Mar 2008 20:55:28 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>AttachedMama</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Natural Family Living]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[books]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nutrition]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[vaccines]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.attachedmama.net/how-my-dog-getting-sick/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<a href="http://attachedmama.net/2008/03/13/how-my-dog-getting-sick/"><img align="left" hspace="5" width="150" height="150" src="http://attachedmama.net/wp-content/plugins/thumbnail-for-excerpts/tfe_no_thumb.png" class="alignleft wp-post-image tfe" alt="" title="" /></a><p>Years ago I bought a book on <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0875962432/002-0627793-7102467?ie=UTF8&#38;tag=attamama-20&#38;linkCode=xm2&#38;camp=1789&#38;creativeASIN=0875962432" target="_blank" target="_blank">homemade dog and cat food</a> but couldn&#8217;t convince my parents we should feed our dogs natural food. I was very interested in it though. The recipes in that book are cooked, but I also became interested in raw food diets for animals. After all, [...]


Related posts:<ol><li><a href='http://attachedmama.net/2008/11/22/today/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Today'>Today</a></li>
<li><a href='http://attachedmama.net/2010/06/25/fight-back-friday/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Fight Back Friday'>Fight Back Friday</a></li>
<li><a href='http://attachedmama.net/2008/08/20/animal-vaccinations/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Animal Vaccinations'>Animal Vaccinations</a></li>
</ol>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Years ago I bought a book on <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0875962432/002-0627793-7102467?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=attamama-20&amp;linkCode=xm2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creativeASIN=0875962432" target="_blank" target="_blank">homemade dog and cat food</a> but couldn&#8217;t convince my parents we should feed our dogs natural food.  I was very interested in it though.  The recipes in that book are cooked, but I also became interested in raw food diets for animals.  After all, who cooks their food in the wild?</p>
<p>Before I moved out with my friend, I had worked in a vet clinic for four years and also in a pet store for a couple of years.  At the pet store, I had the opportunity to work directly with pet food suppliers and reps.  I found this extremely interesting.  I loved learning about animal digestive systems and how they use the food they eat.  I started doing more research on dog food and raw diets.  When my then-boyfriend (now-husband/D2) moved out to where I was finally and I moved in with him, we got a dog.  She came from a breeder but was actually a rescue.  I mentioned to the breeder that we were considering a raw diet, but otherwise would choose a good kibble.  The breeder steered us away from the raw diet, and it seemed like it would be too much work anyway.</p>
<p>Our dog was skin and bones when we got her.  She threw up a lot.  We switched her to a good kibble and she filled out a little.  Then she stopped eating.  We tried a different food and she would eat that for a few days or even a week and then stop again.  We started having to switch her food every few days or she would starve herself, literally.  She could go over a week having only a tiny bite of food a day, and she was losing weight.  Considering she was only about eight or nine months at this point, we were pretty concerned about that. I brought her to the vet, who did blood tests and found out that she had a damaged liver.  It was causing her to starve herself, which was making it worse, and was also causing all the puking.  She suggested a veterinary diet, telling me it wouldn&#8217;t reverse the problem (it was irreversible), but might slow it down or even stop it.  My experience with dog food came into play here.  I looked at the ingredients and knew there was no way that food could be better for her than what we were feeding her.  I also knew my dog wouldn&#8217;t eat it anyway.</p>
<p>I started doing some research again.  I read that feeding dogs liver can help their livers regenerate.  It sounded a bit too easy to me, but I felt like I had nothing to lose. I found <a href="http://rawfed.com/myths/" target="_blank" target="_blank">this site</a> which had some great info on raw diets, and made me realize that they don&#8217;t involve cutting up vegetables or adding tons of supplements.  I was shocked by some of the information I learned, like about the AAFCO feeding trials.  Here&#8217;s a summary from that site:</p>
<blockquote><p>AAFCO feeding trials consist of at least eight dogs being fed the same diet for a mere 26 weeks (approximately six months). During this time, 25% of the dogs (so, two animals) can be removed from the test and the dogs eating the food can lose up to 15% of their weight and condition; the food will still pass the test and be labeled &#8220;complete and balanced.&#8221; But extrapolate these figures to the number of animals eating this food for much longer than 26 weeks and you will have much more of a problem! If a food caused dogs to start losing condition over the 26 week period yet still passed, imagine how many animals would fail to thrive in real life while being fed this food for years?</p></blockquote>
<p>When they say 2 dogs can be &#8220;removed,&#8221; it means two dogs can die, or lose half their body weight, or pretty much anything, and the food could still pass as long as the other 6 &#8220;only&#8221; lose 15% or less of their weight. Scary stuff.  I used to wonder how some foods even got on the market.  I don&#8217;t wonder any more; they don&#8217;t actually have to be nutritional.</p>
<p>So anyway, we switched her to a raw diet, and suddenly she was eating again.  Every day!  And she was gaining weight.  Her coat was filling out.  She has a balance problem, and even her balance was improving.  Anyone who saw her would comment first thing on how much better she looked.  Three months later we brought her to the vet and her irreversible liver problem was gone.  The vet thought it must be coincidence, or a mistake in the original tests. But I had learned even the really good kibbles are still processed and hard to digest.</p>
<p>I mentioned to a chef where I worked how much better she was doing, and he pointed out that raw diets and unprocessed foods are good for people too.  I thought, &#8220;Of course they are!&#8221;.  We ate pretty well already, but Hamburger Helper used to be a staple.  I don&#8217;t think we&#8217;ve had any since that time.  We started really watching our own diet, buying organic when we could afford it, and trying to make food from scratch as much as possible.  It&#8217;s been a slow process, but every little step helps and makes us both feel better.  The IBS that used to be a daily battle for me has all but disappeared.</p>
<p>Doing research into a raw diet is what led me to discover the vaccine debate.  I&#8217;m a pretty open-minded person, so though I was a bit shocked that a vaccine debate even existed, I was interested and started looking into that too.  We had both noticed after she got her shots on her first birthday that her balance got a lot worse again for a while, but hadn&#8217;t thought it had to do with the vaccines.  After doing some reading though, I started to wonder.  Our dog hasn&#8217;t been vaccinated since her first birthday and our cat was vaccinated as a kitten once before we got him.  One day I&#8217;d love to write in more detail about vaccinations and vaccine information, but that&#8217;ll have to wait.</p>


<p>Related posts:<ol><li><a href='http://attachedmama.net/2008/11/22/today/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Today'>Today</a></li>
<li><a href='http://attachedmama.net/2010/06/25/fight-back-friday/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Fight Back Friday'>Fight Back Friday</a></li>
<li><a href='http://attachedmama.net/2008/08/20/animal-vaccinations/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Animal Vaccinations'>Animal Vaccinations</a></li>
</ol></p>]]></content:encoded>
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