Friday, September 10, 2010

Flu Shots or Nots

"Which would you rather risk experience: a week in bed, drinking hot soup, or a lifetime falling asleep at the most inopportune times; in class, during dinner, at work, in your car…

Narcolepsy, a mysterious, incurable neurological condition that causes you to suddenly fall into a deep sleep, is not something you hear about very often.

Yet Sweden and Finland recently sounded the alarm because young patients suddenly developed this abnormal sleeping disorder after being vaccinated with the H1N1 swine flu vaccine.

France, Germany and Norway have also started counting cases, and the EU has launched an investigation." (from Dr. Mercola's website)


It surprises me that Walgreens and other locations advertise flu shots as if they are a completely common, acceptable part of American culture. I guess I'm just not totally on board with that thinking. To me, it is still a shot, a vaccine, an introduction of another substance (or virus) into one's body. And do we have anything more precious than these bodies we were given to use for a time? (Temporally speaking, I don't think so.) I'm not staunchly opposed to vaccines (see other blog posts), and yet they do give me pause.

Dr. Mercola's thoughts on vaccines are interesting to me. I have a friend with narcolepsy. It is a crazy thing and has definitely impacted her life in many ways. (She shouldn't drive with her four kids in the car because she could fall asleep and crash- which has happened. Her children have to know what to do if she suddenly falls down.) If narcolepsy is a "side-effect" of a vaccine, it stops me in my tracks. Really, is the flu all that bad? (It can be!)

Instead of rushing for the vaccine, we'll emphasize strengthening our immune systems. Eating wholesome, nutritious foods and bolstering our health with the whole food supplement JuicePlus+ are key in our home. I'll have my oils on hand, too, and also some natural remedies and homeopathic remedies if/when we do get ill.

1 comment:

Carol said...

What a great post! I was just thinking about this when I went for a walk with the twins and Brinley a few days ago. We went by Walgreen's and saw the advertisement... I had the same thoughts. So funny... people will just walk in, get it done and not think twice about what they are doing.