H1N1

The big question that's been buzzing among moms lately has been "Are you giving your child the H1N1 vaccine?" It's an extremely important question that we all need to stop and take time to research so we can make an informative decision. With any vaccine research should be done before signing your child up but especially when one has been fast tracked to the public like H1N1 has. The biggest concern for a lot of moms is the use of squalene and the mercury containing preservative thimerosal. Studies suggest that exposure to squalene is associated with production of auto-antibodies and auto-immune diseases. There are also strong opinions among experts that the use of squalene in the anthrax vaccine given to veterans is linked to Gulf War Syndrome and the controversy surrounding thimerosal's harmful side effects were strong enough to get it banned in California in 1994. Because the H1N1 Vaccine has not used long enough for us to truly determine the safety of it I fear that history will be repeated. In 1976 the swine flu vaccine was given and hundreds were left paralyzed. In fact more people died from the vaccine then the actual swine flu.

Thankfully there are some natural ways to help protect ourselves. Jessie Hawkins of Vintage Remedies suggests avoiding sugar even natural sources of it because it can lower your immune system by 40% for up to 4 hours. For herbal remedies try Elderberry, Astragalus and Holy Basil to boost the immune system. Make sure you are getting enough Vitamin C and D by eating lots of organic produce and getting some sunshine. She also stresses the importance of germ awareness but not by using anti-bacterial products which are ineffective against viruses and can actually speed up the mutation process. Instead try adding antiviral essential oils like eucalyptus, lemon, lavender or tea tree into your hand soap. You can also make a great all natural disinfecting cleaner by combining any of these oils into vinegar.