Natural food better than vaccinations?

On a different tack, I work as a medical transcriptionist and the health care system I work for is requiring ALL employees to get the flu shot this year or lose our jobs as of January 1. We have to "protect the patients." However, as I type the visit notes of these same patients, I see that about half of them choose to not get a flu shot themselves. I have not heard that any of our facilities are going to refuse to see patients who have not been vaccinated to "protect the other patients." I guess I lose my right to make the decision about what goes in MY body because I happen to have a healthcare related job, even tho I work from home and will never set foot in a clinic or hospital in a professional sense.

Want to bet on who loses the right to decide about this next? How about anyone employed in a school setting--teachers, janitors, school lunch ladies, bus drivers? How about grocery store workers--they handle your food? How about anyone working in a restaurant? How about all police and firefighters? Hell, why not just require it of EVERYONE--that way we are ALL "safe."

I agree w/the posters who said polio shots and the like are a good idea; flu shots, however, are a crap shoot as far as whether they will even cover whatever viruses happen to be around that year. AND you have to have one every year; it's not "one and done." Had this rule been in place when I started, I would never have taken this job. Is it fair for me to have to give up 7 years at this job and look for another one b/c some genius decided it would look good to say "oh, look, ALL our employees are vaccinated!" Do I sound angry and somewhat bitter? That's b/c I am. The patients can decide whether or not to take a med, have a procedure, get a vaccine. I lost that right somehow.

Agreed.

Measles is on the rise again because of parents that read incorrect information linking Autism to vaccinations. There is no correlation between the two. Yes, eating healthy will help keep you from getting sick, but it is not as effective as a vaccination.

I think a lot of Doctors beg to differ on this and personally so do I. My aunt was told that my cousins Autism was directly caused by his vaccinations received as a baby and a toddler.

She has stopped vaccinating and he has improved some what. She is working on his eating now and he seems to be more attentive.

I do want to put this out there I personally know alot of parents that do not vaccinate (well over 20) and in all of our discussions about vaccination they have never stated the possibility of it causing autism as the reason they choose not to vaccinate. I am sure there are lots of parents that say that but I am even more certain that there are even more parents that do not vaccinate their child for personal reasons and ultimately it is our decision as parents to choose what we allow to be done to our child and I have said this before but I do not feel that any parent that is responsibly choosing to not vaccinate there child is being irresponsible it is a very personal decision it is defintly not one size fits all personally I am not going to ever vaccinate a child (I will vaccinate them when they are teenagers when I feel they are ready and only if I feel its necessary which I do not think will happen). I do not think I am a irresponsible parent I love my children more than anything in this world I stay home with them and they are literally my life I can not bear the thought of injecting a vaccination into them that could cause serious side-effects and while it may not be widely talked about in public or on TV I think alot more children and adults have had reactions to vaccinations that what seems to be represented in the numbers I see published everywhere.

My dad pushes me hard to vaccinate and he was born in 1956 and I know he has never gone in for any vaccinations(since the age of 16 and I dont know what he got before then) and he is healthy but he seems to think I am doing some horrible crime by not vaccinating my children and here is how I explain it to him .. I chose to conceive my child and I carried and nourished my child within my body I love my child and there is no way I will take them to the doctor and inject them with something that could potentially kill them or change who they are I can live with the chance that they could catch a serious disease more than I could live with them being permanently harmed by something I choose to have injected into their bodies. I dont call that irresponsible I call that love .. I am sure every parent loves their child just as much as I do but my love prevents me from being able to do something potentially dangerous to my child.

And the school/vaccination arguement is insane in my opinion I am not at all impressed with the public school system it is just a standardized daycare system IMO and my children will NOT be attending public school

I'm very glad your children will not be attending public school. I wouldn't want unvaccinated kids in the same school with my children (if I had any). Based on your own writing skills I do believe some formal tutoring would be beneficial for your kids, or are you planning to teach them grammar/spelling/writing yourself? I'm not trying to be mean here, but seriously..

I do want to put this out there I personally know alot of parents that do not vaccinate (well over 20) and in all of our discussions about vaccination they have never stated the possibility of it causing autism as the reason they choose not to vaccinate. I am sure there are lots of parents that say that but I am even more certain that there are even more parents that do not vaccinate their child for personal reasons and ultimately it is our decision as parents to choose what we allow to be done to our child and I have said this before but I do not feel that any parent that is responsibly choosing to not vaccinate there child is being irresponsible it is a very personal decision it is defintly not one size fits all personally I am not going to ever vaccinate a child (I will vaccinate them when they are teenagers when I feel they are ready and only if I feel its necessary which I do not think will happen). I do not think I am a irresponsible parent I love my children more than anything in this world I stay home with them and they are literally my life I can not bear the thought of injecting a vaccination into them that could cause serious side-effects and while it may not be widely talked about in public or on TV I think alot more children and adults have had reactions to vaccinations that what seems to be represented in the numbers I see published everywhere.

My dad pushes me hard to vaccinate and he was born in 1956 and I know he has never gone in for any vaccinations(since the age of 16 and I dont know what he got before then) and he is healthy but he seems to think I am doing some horrible crime by not vaccinating my children and here is how I explain it to him .. I chose to conceive my child and I carried and nourished my child within my body I love my child and there is no way I will take them to the doctor and inject them with something that could potentially kill them or change who they are I can live with the chance that they could catch a serious disease more than I could live with them being permanently harmed by something I choose to have injected into their bodies. I dont call that irresponsible I call that love .. I am sure every parent loves their child just as much as I do but my love prevents me from being able to do something potentially dangerous to my child.

And the school/vaccination arguement is insane in my opinion I am not at all impressed with the public school system it is just a standardized daycare system IMO and my children will NOT be attending public school

I'm very glad your children will not be attending public school. I wouldn't want unvaccinated kids in the same school with my children (if I had any). Based on your own writing skills I do believe some formal tutoring would be beneficial for your kids, or are you planning to teach them grammar/spelling/writing yourself? I'm not trying to be mean here, but seriously..

I have mentioned my grammar/spelling/writing skills are lacking on the forums I apologize for not taking the time to punctuate and spell every single work absolutely correct for your benefit. I will be teaching my children and I actually have a college degree and I have passed each of my english classes with "A" so I feel that I am more than capable of teaching my children !

My own experience: My child was exposed to another child who had the chicken pox and <<ewww> ring worm. I didn't know until it was too late and the parent admitted that the child was not vax'd. I thought, no sweat, my kid is fully vaccinated - right? Not 5 days later did she have, at first what I thought was mosquito bites... lo and behold - it was CP. Vaccinations will not "prevent", but will make the symptoms a lot less severe. A few days after that her big sister got them too but less severe than her sister. The younger one who was exposed to the chicken pox first was also exposed to right worm, and she got that on her forearms.
Now I get why you simply cannot vax your child due to his allergies. I have a friend who experienced the same. What I have a problem with is negligent parents with otherwise healthy children who don't.

I do not believe that a parent that has done research and chooses to not vaccinate is being negligent we are all allowed to do what we feel is best for our children and I do not think any parent should criticize or automatically assume a parent that doesn't do what they do is negligent. I would be willing to bet that parents that dont vaccinate have spents hours and hours researching vaccinations and most parents that do vaccinate have no clue what they are vaccinating their child with ... I am sorry but I have to believe that a parent that stays up long hours reading and researching about vaccinations has to be a loving parent and while their views are different from yours they are just as good a parent as your are !!
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So you're saying that there is no such thing as a negligent parent because it makes you uncomfortable?

Not getting your children vaccinated is irresponsible. Vaccines save lives, there really isn't any sane disputing of that. Eating well is invaluable and hopefully will help protect people from illness, but food is not medicine. It is fuel. Even the healthiest eaters can come down with a cold, or measles, or cancer.

I don't vaccinate for flu or even chickenpox, as some illnesses are needed to build up your immune system, but some, like smallpox....kind of needed eradicating!

THIS!!!!!!

My son receives the flu vaccine because he has asthma, he was required by the CA school system to receive varicella (chicken pox) or he could not attend school. I wasn't happy about it, but he had to have it so he could attend school.

Smallpox, measles, mumps, POLIO - all those diseases are not to be toyed with.

Not quoting all of that because it's starting to get too long.

Honestly when you don't use proper puncutuation and use run on sentences (we won't talk about your 10 sentence paragraphs) I flat won't read it.

I'm sure there are other people who are the same way.

It's too hard on the eyes to read something so bunched together.

I respectfully have to agree with the above. Claiming to have gotten As in English, but forgoing the use of paragraphs, commas and periods, makes it difficult to assign any credulity to the statements being made by the poster. I get a few sentences in, give it up as a bad job, and go on to the next post.

Not quoting all of that because it's starting to get too long.

Honestly when you don't use proper puncutuation and use run on sentences (we won't talk about your 10 sentence paragraphs) I flat won't read it.

I'm sure there are other people who are the same way.

It's too hard on the eyes to read something so bunched together.

I respectfully have to agree with the above. Claiming to have gotten As in English, but forgoing the use of paragraphs, commas and periods, makes it difficult to assign any credulity to the statements being made by the poster. I get a few sentences in, give it up as a bad job, and go on to the next post.

Glad I am not the only one.

I do believe there are natural dietary cures to many sicknesses, as well as them being largely preventable via diet and lifestyle- not all, but some. I don't believe we can compare our current times to anything "before"- we have many more environmental stresses (pollution, dietary, and otherwise) but we also have advanced as far as environmental protections (housing, food availabilty, sanitary conditions). Are we comparing to the grassland days? Early 1900s? I don't think there is a way to. I research vaccines all the time, I research medical articles all the time. I try to read on both sides. From what I've read I personally don't trust Pharmaceutical companies ingredients- I believe these may cause the seizures my friends baby has. I also don't trust mainstream media to go against a major corporate sponsor to report what may actually be happening- can't blame them, $$$ talks right? I most likely will not vaccinate, i will definitely not vaccinate with the current 20 shots before 2 plan- that's more than anyone could handle! I am perfectly aware that should I ever have kids, I will probably have to homeschool or do another type program. I don't want my kids going to school as I believe there may be a chance that some strains of viruses will become the dreaded "super bug" for lack of a better term and in general I believe enclosing people in too small of a space with a sedentary lifestyle and circulated air is neither a good teaching environment nor healthy. Also as a former school teacher, I don't believe that anyone at a school has the right to force a vaccination for admission, nor is this the best use of BILLIONS of dollars. Our country has long since stood behind our rights to education, our rights to control our bodies, our right to raise our children as we feel fit. Are we going to let vaccination become the new "segregation?" Listen to how some of you are speaking- kinda sounds like it right? Overall I believe that the power that made our body, heals our body. Call it science/nature, call it God... I don't care. We heal from within when our bodies and minds are right. You all take care of yourselves and love those babies (vaccinated or not!)!

So this morning while driving my wife to the airport, I was listening to a topic on vaccinations and how some people who are adamant that vaccinations have cause more issues with illness (like Autism) and that natural foods can cure such diseases as whooping cough. One female stated that vaccinations are nothing more than a way for the Pharmacy companies to make big money. And her stance was that if vaccinations would be banned that we would have cured diseases by eating natural foods.
Now while I will agree that GREAT nutrition can help with boosting the immune system, I will emphatically disagree that the approach that eating natural foods will protect any child from diseases like measles, mumps, whooping cough, etc.

Thoughts?

I agree with you. The anti-vaccine conspiracy theorists are loonies and I pray to god that none of their kids will be in the same class with mine once I have any. Sorry for the strong words but I feel strongly about public health. Now, I don't believe in silly flu vaccines for normally healthy young people. But the basics, like mumps, measles, typhoid, etc - necessary, especially with the high rate of international travel these days.

Several children in California have died from pertussis (whooping cough) who where to young to get vaccinated this year. They should have been protected by heard immunity. In the county with the second highest rate in the state, Marin. It is trendy to skip vaccinations. If my child where to get ill and die because of others stupidity, I would have more than strong words.

I did not read all the posts but here is my take on vaccinations -

I have not got them since I was 17 (2 and a half years)....I had to get about 5 because my parents were adopting and I lived at home. (it was required)...About 30 minutes after getting them I passed out. Badly. I had passed out before, but not this bad. I stopped breathing, threw up (while out) and basically had a seizure like reaction. For the next three months I was extremely dizzy. I could barely walk without holding onto something. I pretty much sat on the couch or laid in bed for that time....I still get dizzy from time to time, where I had never/rarely had before. I never had depression or anxiety before I got them. Now I suffer every. single. day. I get sick more easily and my colds last longer.

I will never get another vaccination if I can help it. My children will only get the ones that I think are most important and ONLY after I do a ton of research about them.

Also - My best friend when I was a kid was perfectly fine/normal until she was about 5. She went in to get shots and the doctor said she was behind and that it would be safe for her to get them all at the same time. Her mom trusted the doctor and got them. Shortly after she started noticing changes. Eventually she was diagnosed as autistic....Everyone believes it was either the shots or the amount of shots that caused it...

ETA - Before you freak out - I plan on homeschooling my children so YOURS will be "safe". Also, if my (mature only) children ever decide the want them they can go ahead and get them.

I do believe there are natural dietary cures to many sicknesses, as well as them being largely preventable via diet and lifestyle- not all, but some. I don't believe we can compare our current times to anything "before"- we have many more environmental stresses (pollution, dietary, and otherwise) but we also have advanced as far as environmental protections (housing, food availabilty, sanitary conditions). Are we comparing to the grassland days? Early 1900s? I don't think there is a way to. I research vaccines all the time, I research medical articles all the time. I try to read on both sides. From what I've read I personally don't trust Pharmaceutical companies ingredients- I believe these may cause the seizures my friends baby has. I also don't trust mainstream media to go against a major corporate sponsor to report what may actually be happening- can't blame them, $$$ talks right? I most likely will not vaccinate, i will definitely not vaccinate with the current 20 shots before 2 plan- that's more than anyone could handle! I am perfectly aware that should I ever have kids, I will probably have to homeschool or do another type program. I don't want my kids going to school as I believe there may be a chance that some strains of viruses will become the dreaded "super bug" for lack of a better term and in general I believe enclosing people in too small of a space with a sedentary lifestyle and circulated air is neither a good teaching environment nor healthy. Also as a former school teacher, I don't believe that anyone at a school has the right to force a vaccination for admission, nor is this the best use of BILLIONS of dollars. Our country has long since stood behind our rights to education, our rights to control our bodies, our right to raise our children as we feel fit. Are we going to let vaccination become the new "segregation?" Listen to how some of you are speaking- kinda sounds like it right? Overall I believe that the power that made our body, heals our body. Call it science/nature, call it God... I don't care. We heal from within when our bodies and minds are right. You all take care of yourselves and love those babies (vaccinated or not!)!

you realise vaccines don't create superbugs. With bacteria like MRSA it was created through over and improper use of antibiotics.

I was brought up in an era when there essentially were no vaccines. Little was known about "childhood diseases", which adults got, as well as children. Both of my older siblings got mumps while my mom was pregnant with twins; my mom blamed their being stillborn on her having an active case of mumps near delivery. An emergency Caesarian was necessary to keep my mom alive because one twin was transverse (crosswise, instead of head first). [Mumps doesn't cross the protective placenta, therefore it didn't cause my older twin brother & sister to die.] It was rH incompatability that caused their deaths, and several other pregnancies that followed: all 5 of us born alive out of my mom's 13 pregnancies are rH negative. Now, there's a shot that an rH neg. mother can receive after having an rH positive child as a protection from losing following PGs. They didn't know those things until 1966.

Smallpox immunization was the only one available to us when I was school age (was available since late 1800s and used cowpox scratches on an upper arm). In 3rd grade, I was participant in a double blind study for the first Salk Polio vaccine (injectible only); one of my friends was in the group that got the placebo injection, and he got Polio the following summer break & came back to school wearing a brace and walking with Canadian crutches; I had been in the group that got the real stuff. Back then, all we had was good handwashing & covering your cough so as not to spread cold, or any other germs. I got my 1st real series of immunizations in 1967, when I was 20 and in Nursing School; these immunizations (measles, mumps, & rubella) are still available, but that was the 1st year they were given to anyone (another double blind study? - don't know). When I was in nursing school, there was no vaccine for pertussis (whooping cough), so each hospitalized sick child with pertussis had to be in isolation, & bedside staff & visitors had to wear protective gear.

My children & I all got chickenpox at the same time - nursing school days had taught it like it was the same level of threat as any other ''childhood diseases'', but this one is one of the few airborne germs for others to inhale (requires an airborne isolation room), such as TB. Airborne means that the organism stays suspended in the air: not like a sneeze, where droplets go into the air & drop immediately to any surface, but actually hang out in the air for hours or days!!

I've had to continue with my immunizations & TB tests as an RN all these years because of my work. But now, all of our children & grandchildren show the product of poor eating habits with over-consumption of sweets & processed foods that have chemical addatives to give them a longer shelf life, as our soil becomes depleted of minerals, generations of being exposed to multiple immunizations, etc.

No one really knows what caused the autism... it could be that it just wasn't diagnosed in previous generations; many of those weren't diagnosed and they died because of ignorance - there were no treatments or diagnoses in those days; many people of aberrant psyche of any kind were put into institutions as late as the early 1960s, where they were mistreated & died; many of these could have been autistic instead of a known psychiatric diagnosis of the time. Now, everyone really has the right to live life as he/she wishes, so autistics live a life that allows them to marry & reproduce; the traits of autism might be a recessive gene (or combinationof genes?), so skips generations or is different in presenting symptoms from Grandma's or Grandpa's symptoms. THINK ABOUT IT!!