Last week’s article from the Orthomolecular Medicine News Service is too good not to share. If you feel stuck between a rock and a hard place in making a decision as to whether or not to have your child vaccinated, this article presents a sensible compromise: vaccinate – but with plenty of support nutritionally – especially with vitamin C, and this needs to be in a more concentrated form than that found in a healthy diet.
I need to also add that there can occasionally be long-term side effects as a result of vaccinations. The health of the digestive tract is paramount in reducing the likelihood of such devastating results. Never have a child vaccinated if they have an upset tummy or sickness – this is an indicator that beneficial bacteria may be low, making your child more vulnerable to negative reactions. Make sure the intestinal health is supported with beneficial bacteria supplementation before a vaccination. Indeed, it is a good idea to give a child a suitable probiotic through early development, to help positive microbes to get established in the gut, thus encouraging not only a good digestive process, but also immune health and hormonal function.
Back to the Orthomolecular Medicine News Service, for September 10, 2016
(PLEASE NOTE, THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE PROVIDES GENERAL INFORMATION, NOT MY TAILOR-MADE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR AN INDIVIDUAL)
Vitamin C Prevents Side Effects from the MMR Vaccine
BY HELEN SAUL CASE
(OMNS, September 10, 2016) This is not an article about whether vaccinations are “good” or “bad.” This is an article about how high-dose vitamin C can protect children from vaccination side effects. Until we have real choice as to whether or not we vaccinate our children, we must seek ways to make immunizations safer. High-dose vitamin C makes immunizations safer: http://orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/v08n07.shtml
Giving the MMR Shot to a Child with Known Vaccination Sensitivity
Our daughter recently received the MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccination. In fact, she received two. New York State recently changed the law requiring an additional MMR shot in order for children to attend kindergarten. We had to make sure that she received both injections this summer before school started. We were concerned about giving her two MMR shots (and so close together) because after a previous vaccination she had a serious reaction.
Years ago, before we learned to give huge doses of vitamin C before, during, and after immunizations, our daughter (then age 15 months) had a severe reaction to the DPT (diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus) vaccination: she lost her coordination, was screaming, falling over, and spiked a high fever. High-dose, saturation-level vitamin C cured her reaction to the DPT vaccine and taught us an important lesson: give more vitamin C. Much, much more. Now, in order to protect our children from any vaccination side effects, we give very high doses of vitamin C before, during (yes, even at the doctor’s office) and after immunizations. To read more see:http://www.orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/v11n09.shtml andhttp://www.orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/v12n07.shtml
No, the MMR shot is not the same as a DPT shot. Just because our child reacted to one vaccine, doesn’t necessarily mean she will react to another. However, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “Any vaccine can cause side effects” and “like any medicine, is capable of causing serious problems.” See:http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vac-gen/side-effects.htm When you consider just how much vitamin C our daughter held after the MMR vaccinations, we have to ask ourselves one question: where was it all going?
How Much C? A Lot. A Whole Lot.
Our five-year-old, 37-pound (about 17 kg) daughter received saturation-level doses of 8,000 to 11,000 milligrams (mg) of vitamin C every day the week before her first MMR vaccination. The day of her shot, she happily and comfortably held 24,000 mg. For the next couple of days after the shot, her dose was reduced to 20,000 mg/day. Then, for the next four days, her vitamin C dose went down to 15,000 mg/day. The next four: 14,000 mg, 13,000 mg, 12,000 mg and 11,000 mg per day respectively.
For the next several weeks leading all the way up to her second MMR shot, she was getting between 8,000 and 11,000 mg of vitamin C each day.
On the day of her second MMR shot, just a little over a month from the first one, she once again received and comfortably held 24,000 mg of vitamin C. The day after: 19,000 mg. Once again, using bowel tolerance as an indicator, we gradually decreased this dose over the two weeks following this second immunization to an average of 9,000 mg/day. Eventually, we went back to her regular dose of 5,000 mg/day or 1,000 mg/day per year of age, following the recommendation of Frederick Robert Klenner, MD:http://orthomolecular.org/library/jom/1998/articles/1998-v13n04-p198.shtml orhttp://www.doctoryourself.com/klennerpaper.html.
According to the CDC Vaccine Information Statement we received from our daughter’s pediatrician, the MMR vaccine can cause “mild problems” including fever, rash, and glandular swelling; “moderate problems” including fever-induced seizure and painful joints; and “severe problems” such as serious allergic reactions, deafness, coma, and permanent brain damage. See: http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vac-gen/side-effects.htm
Our daughter did not experience a single one of these side effects from the MMR shots. She had no vaccination reaction whatsoever. She had no fever, no swelling, no nothing. She was (and is) happy and healthy. How would things have gone if she had not been given high-dose vitamin C? We don’t know. And we aren’t about to take chances with potential side effects like coma or permanent brain damage.
Using Bowel Tolerance as an Indicator of “Enough” Vitamin C
Everyone wants to know, “How much vitamin C?” There is no set amount. This is why bowel tolerance is the ideal indicator. When warranted by such events as illness, potential illness, or immunizations, we give our children enough vitamin C to get just to the point of saturation, or loose stool. This is often indicated by a rumbling tummy or some gas. If stools become loose, we decrease how much vitamin C we give. If our children are happy and tooting away, that is just about right. After each MMR shot, our daughter’s body accepted up to 24,000 mg/day of vitamin C. On any other regular day, she would reach bowel tolerance at much lower doses.
To reiterate, we give vitamin C to bowel tolerance when our kids show signs of sickness (runny nose, coughing, sneezing), and before, during, and after immunizations. We get them to bowel tolerance of vitamin C before there is a full-blown illness, and to prevent side effects from vaccinations.
“The titration (bowel tolerance) method or large intravenous doses are absolutely necessary to obtain excellent results. The method produces spectacular effects in all patients capable of tolerating these doses. A placebo could not possibly work so reliably, even in infants and children, and have such a profound effect on critically ill patients.” – Robert F. Cathcart III, MD
This is how we apply Dr. Robert F. Cathcart’s bowel tolerance method: for our five year old daughter, we give vitamin C throughout the day in divided doses, beginning the day with a larger “loading dose” (about 3,000 mg) and then give frequent, smaller doses (about 2,000 mg every two hours) right up to about an hour before bedtime. When she was younger, we gave less, and she “held” less. Bowel tolerance is an excellent indicator of “enough” vitamin C no matter how old your child is.
When in Doubt, Give Vitamin C
Our daughter may be a special case. Maybe your child won’t need nearly this much vitamin C. However, knowing the incredible safety and effectiveness of high-dose vitamin C, we are very comfortable giving our daughter what I would like to call “take no chances” sized doses at immunization time.
No, we don’t take chances. We take vitamins. And we take a lot of them.
