"As a homoeopath I would say that if you do succumb to one of these
diseases and use homoeopathic remedies to treat each stage of the illness
as it progresses, your immune system is stronger afterwards. I recommend to
parents that their children have a good diet and live in as stress-free an
environment as possible, so that their immune system is not compromised. It
is also possible to improve their health and vitality through the use of
what we call constitutional remedies. Then, if there is an outbreak of
measles, I would give them one dose of morbillinum and repeat it a week
later. I advise my patients to keep a homoeopathic first-aid kit so that if
their children contract any of these diseases, they can deal with them. "

Exactly -

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0,,270-211641,00.html
                            
                        February 19, 2002

                        A less painful choice?
                        by Val Sampson
                        Parents worried about the MMR triple vaccination are turning to homoeopathy to treat their children

                        During the past few weeks at least half a dozen
anxious parents have been telephoning Rita McGovern's homoeopathic clinic
in Surrey, each day. They have been scouring the complementary medicine
listings in the telephone directory attempting to find an alternative to
the controversial MMR triple vaccine.


                        "There are a lot of worried mothers and fathers out
there," McGovern says.

                        The national debate about the safety of MMR is
reflected in the world of homoeopathy. The British Homeopathic Association,
which represents homoeopathically qualified doctors, dentists and vets,
maintains that there is no effective homoeopathic alternative to the MMR
jab. "Our long-standing policy is that we advise vaccination, in the
absence of any medical contra-indications such as a cold, flu or skin
problems," says Dr Peter Fisher, vice-president of the Faculty of
Homeopathy and clinical director of the Royal London Homeopathic Hospital.
"People who claim homoeopathy is against immunisation are not in the
homoeopathic tradition."  {THIS IDIOT DOES NOT SPEAK FOR HOMEOPATHY and
doesn't have a clue - its a political organization..........Sheri}}}}}

                        But McGovern, a registered homoeopath and
nutritionist, holds a different view. She supports any decision that
parents make, but advocates the use of nosodes, or homoeopathic
prophylactics.

                        "Homoeopathic remedies are made by a series of
dilutions and succussion (vigorous shaking)," she explains. "They are
diluted and diluted so that in the end you are left with merely a message
from the original substance. This has no side-effects.

                        "When you give a vaccination, the vaccine contains
proteins, bacteria, viral particles, preservatives, neutralisers and
carrying agents. Anyone who receives a vaccine can have an immediate
allergic reaction to any of these substances. They may also experience
insidious long-term effects such as autism, arthritis and Crohn's disease;
these are the things that people worry may come out much later. When you
give a vaccine, you are just making the body produce antibodies. When you
catch a disease naturally you get a normal inflammatory response to that
illness and the immune system is profoundly stimulated to kill off that
virus.

                        "As a homoeopath I would say that if you do succumb
to one of these diseases and use homoeopathic remedies to treat each stage
of the illness as it progresses, your immune system is stronger afterwards.
I recommend to parents that their children have a good diet and live in as
stress-free an environment as possible, so that their immune system is not
compromised. It is also possible to improve their health and vitality
through the use of what we call constitutional remedies. Then, if there is
an outbreak of measles, I would give them one dose of morbillinum and
repeat it a week later. I advise my patients to keep a homoeopathic
first-aid kit so that if their children contract any of these diseases,
they can deal with them.

                        "I am 59 and I had measles, as did all my
contemporaries, and none of us died from it. If you look at the literature
you find that the children who die from measles are often the ones who have
other problems too, such as asthma or a weak chest.

                        "There is an admittedly controversial school of
thought that says the reason we have so many auto-immune diseases on the
increase, such as multiple sclerosis and Aids, is because of the mass use
of vaccinations and antibiotics. Our immune systems are not having the
natural stimulation they would have had if we had caught the standard
childhood illnesses."

                        For Sarah Tait, a full-time mother from Surrey, the
decision to treat her children homoeopathically, rather than opting for an
MMR jab for her three-year-old son, Joseph, and booster for her
six-year-old daughter, Chloe, has not been easy. "My little boy had his
baby jabs (diphtheria, whooping cough and tetanus) and I am not against
vaccination per se, but I am worried about giving three at the same time. I
believe in using the best of orthodox medicine in conjunction with
homoeopathy.

                        When my children had chickenpox, I used homoeopathy
and they were fine. I like homoeopathy because it works with the body. My
main concern with MMR is that I don't think enough research has been done
yet.

                        "My husband has seen how effective the homoeopathic
remedies have been with the children and now he is against them having the
MMR jab. The problem is that if you opt not to have it, you feel
persecuted, to be honest. One friend has called me 'an irresponsible
citizen'. Before the outbreak of measles in South London, it was acceptable
to talk about your views at coffee mornings. Now everyone has become so
emotional about it, I have started to keep quiet.

                        "I would still be frightened if my children got
measles, mumps or rubella if I was relying on homoeopathy alone, but I am
even more worried by the prospect of MMR. I think I am like a lot of
mothers who just don't know what to do."

                        The Society of Homeopaths, the largest registering
body in the UK, with 1,600 members, is unconvinced that research either
proves or disproves the safety of the MMR jab. According to Melanie Oxley,
the director of politics and NHS affairs for the society: "We have a
different model from the conventional one. We are not interested in herd
immunity; we are interested in the individual susceptibility of our patients.

                        "We are involved in two surveys; one is of all
complementary medical practitioners in Europe which requires them to report
likely vaccine-damaged patients of any age, and another in the UK which is
of our own members, asking specifically for parent-reported side-effects of
the MMR jab. The findings of the European survey will be reported to the
European Parliament in 2004. But even then it may be hard to draw firm
conclusions. We work with parents and support them in whatever decision
they make.

                        "We can treat what we consider to be
vaccine-damaged children, building their immunity so that they are less
likely to suffer if they get ill. Some children have to be vaccinated to
protect themselves because they might suffer badly from the illnesses. My
query is whether children who are susceptible to measles and get very ill
are also the ones who are susceptible to side-effects from the vaccine.
Nothing is without risk and it is a difficult decision for parents."


                        What is homoeopathy

                        HOMOEOPATHY is a system of medicine created by the
German physician, chemist and linguist Samuel Hahnemann in 1796. In some
respects, homoeopathy is the opposite of conventional medicine. Instead of
treating illnesses with drugs to suppress their symptoms, homoeopathy works
on the principle of like treating like, which means that a substance that
can produce symptoms of disease in a healthy person can cure the same
symptoms in a sick person. It achieves this by stimulating the body's own
powers of repair and recovery.

                        The remedies that homoeopaths use are mostly
derived from plants, but minerals, metals and some poisons, which have been
used medicinally for generations, are used, too. They are made by serial
dilution and succussion (vigorous shaking) in a solution of alcohol and
water. This may be done a few times or many thousands of times. The liquid
dilution is then used itself as a remedy or soaked into tablets or granules
for convenience. The medicines used are selected by the homoeopath on the
basis of all of the symptoms of the patient. So each treatment - like each
patient - is unique.

                        HOMOEOPATHY/MMR LINKS

                        www.homeopathy-soh.org
                        The Society of Homeopaths 4a Artizan Road,
Northampton NN1 4HU, 01604 621400
                        e-mail: info@homeopathy-soh.org
                        www.trusthomeopathy.org
                        British Homeopathic Association, 15 Clerkenwell
Close, London EC1R 0AA 020-7566 7800
                        e-mail: info@trusthomeopathy.org

                        Rita McGovern, c/o Lifestyle Natural Health Centre,
Hersham, Surrey
                        01932 254624

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