[back]
The culprit behind asthma and allergies: vaccination
by Bronwyn Hancock, BSc., Cert. Nutr.
(Article written for New Vegetarian and Natural Health, Winter 2000)
I doubt that there would be any health issue in which there is a wider gap between what is much published in medical literature and the overall public level of awareness, than vaccination.
The area in which this is the most apparent is atopic disorders. Atopy is the tendency to allergies, manifesting as asthma, eczema, hay fever, etc, the most life-threatening being asthma.
It is really no coincidence that atopy is more prevalent in the highly vaccinated Western countries and that its increase has paralleled the increase in vaccination intensity over time. Up to about 800 people are now killed by asthma in this country every year.
Indeed genetic predisposition varies, stress or exposure to any allergen can trigger it, and an unhealthy lifestyle makes it harder to overcome, but we must distinguish between these factors and the actual underlying cause.
For the best evidence of the original cause, we need only look at the basic well documented effect of vaccines – sensitisation.
Sensitisation
Allergy is sensitisation, and it is very well documented in medical
journals,,,,, product inserts and even orthodox medical dictionaries, that
sensitisation is the effect of vaccines.
"Immunisation" is "PROphylaxis", which means prevention, but "sensitisation" is actually another word for the OPPOSITE, "ANAphylaxis", even though this term tends only to be used in the small proportion of cases when the effect is "exaggerated" and immediately life-threatening. So instead of immunising, vaccines non-specifically INCREASE susceptibility to what it encounters in the food and environment, including even the very viruses and bacteria being "targetted". This is born out by the fact that not only is the vaccination coverage as high, even higher, amongst the cases than the non-cases, but also only the vaccinated can contract the new more serious atypical disease forms, which cause more complications.
So why do vaccines sensitise? There are two main reasons for this effect. One is the nature of the ingredients in vaccines. The other is the deeply invasive, unnatural mechanism of injection.
The sensitising effect of the components
The National Research Council has produced an enormous list of
harmful effects of formaldehyde, a standard vaccine component, including that it
is an "immune system sensitiser". The mercury compound thiomersal, another
standard component, is also a well-known sensitiser. An article in New Scientist
called "Dirty Secrets" (Nov 1996) discussed the fact that, in the (simplistic)
belief that the production of IgG antibodies brings immunity, toxic sensitising
chemicals called "adjuvants", usually aluminium compounds, are added because
without them injections cannot induce the "desired" response to any significant
degree. Immunologists have even admitted discomfort about this, but the practice
continues, driven by much stronger forces.
Each toxic chemical in each dose can legally be at levels of up to .025%, and sometimes (often?) they might be even higher.
The sensitising effect of injections
The outer levels of defence, i.e. the skin, mucous membranes etc, are
integrally involved in the functioning of the immune system. Firstly, they are
the primary levels of defence for the protection of our vital organs, but also
they are crucially involved in the process of developing immunity, which
requires the activation, for example, of the secretory antibody IgA.
Consequently, the injection of any foreign unwanted material is counterproductive for both of these functions. Firstly it gives the material deep access to cause damage to ANY organ or system in the body. Secondly, immunity cannot develop. Rather, the immune system is stressed, derailed and confused, as it expects the outer levels of defence to encounter the invader, in fact 99% of the time deal with it, but at least give information to the inner levels, before they encounter it. Hence it violates and alters the inbuilt programming, often resulting in the tendency toa panic reaction to harmless food or airborne substances6. It produces specific IgE antibodies to try to deal with them.
This is an inappropriate and exaggerated response, and when it manifests as asthma it can be fatal.
Apart from the chemicals, such as formaldehyde, mercury, carbolic acid, anti-freeze, etc, vaccines also contain whole animal protein molecules – some even quite big, such as gelatin. Undigested, injected proteins are unusable, so they are just toxins and contribute to the sensitisation effect.
Similarly antibiotics may cause the development of atopy. This is particularly when injected, but even orally, the gut flora being part of the outer defence levels. Antibiotics also are in vaccines.
Vaccination also leads to the development of autoimmune diseases, such as diabetes mellitus, MS, arthritis, lupus, and cancer (leukaemia is also linked to "Vitamin K" injections, which also contain formaldehyde and mercury). It interferes with the ability to tell what to attack and what to leave alone.
Statistical evidence
As one would expect, statistical research shows up the culprit.
Michel Odent found the frequency of asthma in a
group of fully vaccinated children to be 11%, a 1997 NZ study found 23%. Both
found the frequency to be only 0 - 1% in the unvaccinated. Several studies have
found the rate higher after vaccines that use aluminum hydroxide as adjuvants in
the postnatal period.
Significantly, there was a decrease in asthma in the U.S. for some years until
the DPT vaccine was mandated there for school entry, in 1978. Since then, asthma
and other immune disorders (also whooping cough itself !) have been rising.
Several articles have noted a much lower rate of atopy in families follow an anthroposophic lifestyle, which is close to the natural health lifestyle, with antibiotics and vaccines restricted and beneficial bacteria and biodynamic vegetables consumed.
Vaccines not surprisingly tend to target the areas of the body that are involved with that associated natural illness. As a result asthma is most linked to vaccines for illnesses involving the lungs, such as the pertussis, and influenza vaccines. However other vaccines can still cause asthma.
Does newer = better?
Unfortunately the new whooping cough vaccine does not seem to be any
better in relation to the development of atopy. In fact the risk appears to be
greater. It may, as claimed, cause less short term reactions, but many of these
reactions are initiated by the body to prevent longer term damage.
The benefit of childhood diseases
Much research has observed the benefits, in unvaccinated children, of
childhood diseases, i.e. measles, mumps, rubella, whooping cough and chicken
pox, in relation to preventing and overcoming atopy,,,,. They also protect
against other more serious illnesses, like cancer, occurring later in life.
Just as we need to exercise in order to develop a strong healthy body, the immune system needs exercise by dealing with viruses, etc, so that it will be able to develop and function to its potential. This will not normally be overly difficult, provided the child is unvaccinated and sufficiently nourished and the illness is not mismanaged. In fact it usually even occurs unnoticed.
Other correlating factors
When we seek to blame other factors for atopy, we must consider that
it seems to have virtually not even EXISTED before mass vaccination. It is
evident that there may have been very rare cases more than a century ago, but
these may have been due to smallpox inoculation, which is actually a very old
practice. The word "allergy" was still not coined until 1906, not long after
mass vaccination first began.
Vaccines can also be behind factors correlating to atopy. They sensitise us to environmental toxins, and also, disturbingly, are documented to damage our genes (stay tuned for an article on this), which can be why, rarely, a totally unvaccinated child can be atopic. Such genetic damage will also of course increase the chance of atopy developing after vaccination.
Another example is the link to higher affluence, because we know that the more affluent vaccinate more. They also have less children, so they get less exposure to childhood diseases. Over-cleanliness is pointed to, and exposure to Hepatitis A has been shown to be of benefit, but with vaccines ignored this link may be overestimated. Even when we clean diligently, viruses, etc, are more common than we realise. Note that chemicals in cleaners weaken the immune system and could also be triggers.
Overcoming asthma
Orthodox medicine of course, rather than being a help, only weakens
the immune system, so if it gets the asthma to subside it only gives way to
something else such as chronic bronchitis.
Fortunately though, as the immune system develops, helped by a break in vaccines after infancy, it can often by itself overcome the derailment that vaccines have caused. Dealing with acute whooping cough has also been seen to enable it to do this.
Where this has not occurred, many have overcome asthma through a natural health lifestyle and alternative treatments, including homoeopathy. I recommend seeing a LISTEN system practitioner, who corrected my own allergies. Two relevant books available are Ian Sinclair’s "You Can Overcome Asthma" (on the natural hygiene approach), and Dr Paul Ameisen’s "Every Breath You Take" (on the Buteyko breathing method).
The body has remarkable powers of recovery, provided that it is given the opportunity, nourishment and support that it needs, in contrast to the interference and toxic load that it encounters from orthodox drugs. These only add to drug company profits.