An Alternate Response to Flu - FYI

[helwen]

Dale C. Moss, a "classical homeopath who lives and practices in Buckland (MA). She saw her first case of swine flu several months ago." -- wrote an article that appeared in The Recorder, a local newspaper. It may have also appeared in the sister newspaper, The Daily Hampshire Gazette (I haven't seen that paper, so I don't know). Publish date August 12, 2009

She wrote in response to the current popular response to H1Ni flu (also called Swine Flu) "the pandemic that never really was but may yet be".

Here's some info from the article:

Samuel Hahnemann, the brilliant Austrian physician and chemist who developed the foundation of homeopathy over 200 years ago, earned widespread respect by successfully treating epidemics of cholera and scarlet fever which swept over Europe in the early 19th century. Roughly 100 years later, when the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918-19 was spreading death and devastation, the mortality rate in the United States among those treated with conventional medicine was nearly 30 percent. But for those treated by homeopathy it was less than 1 percent -- and patients who died were usually those who had received conventional treatment before seeking homeopathic help!

More recently, Cuba switched from annual vaccinations against leptospirosis ("swamp fever") to a homeopathic remedy, which is not only more effective, but the gov't's costs went from $2-3 million U.S./year to $200,000....

Pick up any mass-market book that's been written on the Spanish flu pandemic and you'll find there's no mention of homeopathy's triumph in treating that deadly disease. Nor is there any mention of the role of conventional treatment in making it so deadly. The favored drug against influenza in 1918-19 was aspirin, a relatively new "wonder drug" at the time. Ignorant of its sphere of action, doctors handed it out liberally, not only to treat those already sick but as a preventative. Aspirin failed miserably on both counts.

More recent explanations of the virulence of that particular pandemic blame it on "cytokine storms" -- in other words, on an excessively aggressive immune response that ends up destroying the body. That is also supposed to explain why healthy people in the prime of life succumbed more readily to the Spanish Flu than children or the elderly: their immune systems fought back harder!

Aspirin wasn't given then to children or the elderly because it wasn't considered safe for them. What doctors didn't know was that aspirin suppresses the immune system.

Nowadays of course we have more modern vaccines, but they require extensive testing. As many folks may know, the newest vaccine hasn't gone through that, but governments are looking to have healthy people use it anyway -- so essentially asking people to be guinea pigs. Also, I've personally noticed that in recent years flu vaccines seem to be less and less useful as a response to each year's flu(s). Although I fall into one of the higher risk groups, I don't get vaccines as I consider them a waste of time, and also I feel that they put me at higher risk of getting the flu, since that's one of the possible outcomes of getting a flu shot. My best chance of not getting the flu is to be as healthy as possible. I also try to avoid unhealthy environments as much as possible, without going into total isolation of course!

Dale goes on to talk about:

...the deaths and cases of Guillain-Barre syndrome that resulted from the last mass swine flu vaccination during the Ford administration. To protect myself and my family, I'll be using safe and effective homeopathic Influenzinum as a prophylactic rather than an unproven (and largely untested) vaccine.

I'll be checking the local apothecary to see if they have Influenzinum in stock, but if not, then there are online sources, like this one: Remedy Source that I found doing a quick search.

NOTE: This is not an exhaustively researched post. Readers may wish to explore this further.

[EDIT} Forgot to add that hugh_mannity read that Vitamin D3 deficiency might also be a factor in susceptibility. For typical flus, people in the Northern hemisphere tend to get them more in the winter, when they are indoors more, so this lends some credence to that thought. Swine flu has become a year-round concern, but I'm wondering if that is in part because people spend more time indoors year-round too than they used to, combined perhaps with some sort of adaptation by the virus... pure speculation of course.

Comments

[the1butterfly.livejournal.com]

I am wondering about swine flu- both because I work in schools and because I get sick easily (my ear-nose-throat system is messed up). I got a nasty cold at Pennsic despite my obsessive handwashing- although that started with a nasty ear infection and then went on to sneezing, a nasty sore throat, and stomach upset. I'm wondering if I should take some kind of preventative, but I'm with you on not liking the idea of testing a new vaccine. I remember when my doctor advised against taking the lyme disease vaccine right away and then people who took it had problems. I'm not finding enough information on Influenzinum to satisfy me though. If you hear anything else, post it.

[helwen.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately handwashing isn't really enough when dealing with colds, flu, etc. Some things are airborne for instance. Also, you have to be aware of what you do with your hands -- if you touch something that has germs on it (which is pretty much everything, right?), and then touch your face, you are potentially bringing illnesses directly to yourself. It's a thing I picked up from OSHA training and also being at massage therapy school, although it's probably a pretty obvious thing... but anyway I put it out there just in case.

On Influenzinum, I'd recommend finding a homeopath and talking to him or her about it, since likely those folks have more information than us regular folks do.

[the1butterfly.livejournal.com]

I'm guessing that I got the cold touching my face (although if it migrated from my ears, I could have gotten it just by existing- my ears are always bad). I know I'm bad with touching my face, especially because I often have to blow my nose. Colds also probably seem to hit me a bit harder since I avoid cold remedies. Luckily I've got health insurance now- yeah! I'll have to keep an eye out on what people are saying, especially at school. If I got sick, I'd probably be fine if I got to the doctor right away, but I don't want to pass swine flu to the kids I work with.

[bunnyjadwiga.livejournal.com]

Because Beekman is required by law to get the flu vaccine (since he's in daycare in NJ), we're all going to get the vaccine. I don't really approve of flu shots but under the circumstances I think we'd all better have the same.

Apparently, close association seems to be the main trigger for flu outbreaks (as opposed to small isolated cases); sealed buildings, which are more typical year-round now, are perfect situations for the passing of the flu virus.

[helwen.livejournal.com]

True, sealed buildings are a serious bane. My MT school was one of those -- I was only out sick one day in the entire time though, for which in part I give credit to the water I brought with me. I put a good dollop of lemon juice in it every day to keep me from getting congested (really dry air), but maybe there were other virtues to it as well.

A lot of people are slightly dehydrated all the time though, so I wonder if that's another factor... the majority of folks these days seem to not get enough rest, fluids, sunshine, or some other daily requirements, so they're walking around with compromised immune systems.