Homeopathic Vaccinations

[shadylane]

I really want to find out more about this; I live in London, what is a good source for information on this stuff?

So shadylane, you don't want to hear about the children that died because of their parents' blind faith in homeopathy? Or those who have been permanently damaged?

Have a read of this thread - it contains all the information you need to (hopefully) make you realise why it's snake oil for the 21st Century.

nb - am not discussing vaccines one way or the other - that's an entirely different debate.

Firstly - homeopathy and vaccination - I know a family who do not vaccinate, in fact they do not use much conventional medicine and they have done this for more than one generation. They do use homeopathy but the DCs see a homeopath every 6 weeks, regardless of whether they are ill or not. I've never head them mention specific homeopathic vaccinations. Their decision not to vaccinate conventionally is still one that they find difficult and question continuously.

Malaria - The best protection is not to be bitten, which means repellent, loose, light coloured clothing and nets (without holes!) at night. Talking to the local people and avoiding areas which are particularly malarial is also a good idea. I never took the tablets myself, grim things. But then I'm not planning to travel to Africa any time soon either.

Yes I would like to read about that- I read some scary stories online already of a similar nature. Like I said- if my child becomes seriously ill I won't take risks. In fact he was born ill, and although I wouldn't use anti biotics myself, I was not so foolish as to disallow giving them to my tiny little ill newborn.

Oh good :) Many of the stories are from individual posters rather than stuff in the press - it's a sobering read

thanks ashtangini. Interesting- I think it is very very healthy to always question your decisions- it means you are not ust a sheep and you are informed

I think they'd be pretty bloody angry or perhaps they would just shake their heads in disbelief. It would be like watching someone putting their child in the front seat of a car and not bothering with the seat belt, despite the fact that plenty of people had warned them of the dangers. Lots of people used to travel in cars with no seat belts, fortunately we are now better educated and cars are better equipped.

I appreciate that you want to know about the alternatives. I do hope that you are able to make an informed decision.

And do check out the Mitchell and Webb sketch which is linked on there. It's funny cos it's true....

sorry, that was in response to women in the developing world not giving a crap.

I love that mitchell and webb sketch. my mother doesn't find it funny at all...she has tried to treat my asthma as a child with homoepathy and just can't see anything wrong with it even though I have lung damage due to that 'treatment'.

Look, I think homeopathy is bollocks (did you see my post about that Nelson's cream btw?). Others don't.

There are homeopathic remedies which are claimed to mitigate some of the side effects of vaccination (I don't mean vaccine damage, I mean milder effects - imagined or otherwise). Have a look at those - they can't hurt.

Well not all of India is malarious so you can travel to some areas without malarial prophylaxis. But many infectious diseases are prevalent, hence why India has a comprehensive childhood vaccination schedule for those that can access it.

And mefloquine (Lariam) is not used so much nowadays as there is a better alternative with fewer side effects called Malarone. The prophylaxis required for Africa varies between countries, many areas have chloroquine resistance and an alternative schedule may be recommended.

Personally, having nursed 2 people that died of multi-organ failure here in the UK after contracting malaria overseas, I wouldn't piss about with risktaking where malaria is concerned.

Thanks- yes I know they are not homepathic they are herbal

Verlaine - yes, my Nigerian colleague's reactionthat was a rather pithy gist of that pov. He grew up without conventional meecine.

The Nelson's creams say they are 'homeopathically prepared'. Which I assume means they are nice soothing creams made with water with nothing in it . Which is fine if that's what you actually need. Its not homeopathy, its just avoidance of anything extraneous which might trigger eczema, in DHs case.

Never mind the million pounds, if you can prove that homeopathy works better than a placebo you can also have Tim Minchin's wife, which he will tell you if you listen to his wonderfully titled song .

Just seen that Mitchell and Webb sketch - so funny.

I don't know about the situation in humans, but as a vet I have seen a fair few puppies where the breeders have condemned vaccinations and treated the puppies with nosodes to prevent the diseases we vaccinate against.

Any clinical trials I have read in peer-reviewed journals have slammed nosodes as completely ineffective against challenge with the various viruses.

All the homeopathic vets I have spoken to refuse to say that nosodes will be protective against disease. In fact, the homeopathic vets I have spoken to vaccinate their own pets conventionally, which says a lot to me.

I still hear anecdotes from breeders who insist that they have never had a case of parvo because of the wonderful nosodes. Or possibly because they have never been challenged. Who can tell. I'd tend to believe the clinical trials. I don't mind if clients want to try homeopathy for some illnesses that I happily admit are not able to be "cured" by conventional medicine. I don't have a great deal of faith in it, tbh, but I am not ardently against homeopathy per se, providing it isn't at the expense of using a conventional drug which has been proven to work. As is the case with vaccination.

The British Homeopathic Association itself says:

"There is no evidence to show that homeopathic medicines can be used instead of vaccination. The Faculty of Homeopathy recommends that immunisation is carried out in the usual way, unless there are strong medical contraindications."

Apparently some rogue homeopaths have been trying to sell substances they call "homeopathic prophylaxis".

[I'm not going to spoil a nice, calm, informative post by saying what I think about that.]

It does depend where in India you're going, seeker. Goa yes, absolutely need anti-malarials. Mumbai no, it's not a malarial area at all. And so forth.

Jooly - when we got our dog, he was 9 months so we asked if he'd been vacc'd - told he had 'homeopathic cover'. Needless to say we had him to the vets first thing! My guess was that breeders, who often have a lot of dogs find yearly boosters horribly expensive and so are vulnerable to being deluded by - I assume - a cheaper 'alternative'.

Anyway, umfs quote seems like what the OP needs by way of 'a good source of information'!

CrystalQueen

I have 2 lovely, amazingly healthy kids...vaccinated ones. Through the normal (NHS) channels, at the proper times.

My friend has 1 amazingly healthy kid, vaccinated through the normal channels & at the proper time. She also has 2 kids not vaccinated. The youngest had rota virus (we vaccinate for that here) and was hospitalised due to severe dehydration. Only discovered because she couldn't be woken from her nap. Any longer left sleeping, they may have lost her.

And she has also had whooping cough. The baby ended up in hospital on a drip as she was so dehydrated from vomiting, and her mum, not being a believer in traditional medicine didn't take her, nor her sister (non vaccinated one) who also had it, to the drs to confirm it. Also didn't keep the middle & older sisters off childcare/school and within weeks we got letters to say that they had an outbreak at the school

All this before the baby was 18mths.