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Vaccination Decisions |
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Vaccinations: A Word of Caution for Our Animals – Part II by Dr. Will Falconer TO LEARN MORE ABOUT DR. WILL FALCONER PLEASE CLICK HERE
Part II Safety (Is It
Free of Harm?) Have you ever wondered why you get a reminder every year to revaccinate your pet when your physician never prompts you to do the same for your family or yourself? I'd like you to question the notion that we need this frequent vaccinating, and go a step further and listen to some evidence that this practice may actually be harmful to our four-footed friends. If someone, even someone in a white coat, suggests that you take a drug or get injected with some substance, two logical questions ought to immediately arise in your mind: 1. Is this beneficial to
me (or does this work as intended)? If we ask these two
questions about annual revaccination of animals, and we ask the right
people, we'll get a negative answer to both. We've already covered the
first question in Part I efficacy of annual revaccination is
clearly lacking according to immunologists. A more important question is
the safety issue, as a growing body of evidence mounts showing a
correlation between vaccinations and chronic disease. The chronic diseases have
many names, including arthritis, hypo- or hyperthyroidism, allergies,
asthma, inflammatory bowel disease, repeated ear infections, skin
disease, heart disease, diabetes, kidney failure, and cancer. What makes
them nightmarish is that they linger, they are not easily cured, and
they are slowly, progressively degenerative, meaning the patient
declines in health over the time they are present. The best that
conventional medicine can do with chronic disease is to control symptoms
through suppressive therapies. This is fraught with problems, including
side effects from the drugs, and apparently "new," more serious diseases
arising from the continued course of suppression. So, our greatest goal
as animal caretakers should be to prevent chronic disease in the first
place. The onset of chronic
disease after vaccination is often delayed, coming about 1-2 months
afterwards. This is not close enough for conventional medical minds to
appreciate the correlation, but it's there nonetheless. The evidence of
this comes from both anecdotal sources and research studies. A British veterinarian
has, for the last 10-12 years, asked those clients who present him with
an itchy, allergic dog, "When did this itchiness begin?" The response is
striking. Some 75% remember clearly: it began within 1-2 months of the
"puppy shots." Anecdotal evidence in human medicine is pointing to a
cause and effect relationship between childhood vaccines and autism.
There has been a marked increase in incidence of this devastating
disease that parallels the increased number of vaccinations now required
of children. The interval between vaccination and disease? About one
month. In a research study
published in 1996, the authors looked at a deadly canine disease of a
confused immune system. Known as immune-mediated hemolytic anemia (IMHA),
it means the dogs' immune systems attacked their own red blood cells as
if they were foreign. Needless to say, this is life-challenging and the
death rate is high, as one cannot live long without the oxygen-carrying
red blood cells. In the study, 58 dogs with the illness, presenting at a
veterinary teaching hospital over a two year period, were compared to a
control group presenting for other problems over the same time. The
question was asked, "Did anything precede the onset of IMHA?" Lo and
behold, a highly statistically significant group of the sick dogs had
been vaccinated with the usual yearly vaccines one month earlier. It was
so significant that the authors entitled their paper,
"Vaccine-Associated Immune-Mediated Hemolytic Anemia in the Dog." (Duval
and Giger, J Vet Intern Med 1996;10:290-295) In cats, researchers have
known for the last ten years about the correlation between vaccines and
a malignant tumor. This particular tumor arises where the vaccines are
commonly given, in the area of loose skin at the back of the neck, or in
the back of the hind leg. It appears to be uniformly fatal, even with
extensive surgery. And it has been clearly associated with two
particular vaccines, rabies and feline leukemia. Finally, in 2000,
recognizing the clear cause and effect relationship between vaccination
and this cancer, the disease was renamed by the research community. It
is now officially called Vaccine-Associated Sarcoma. In the early days of
homeopathic veterinary practice, a number of us would see something we
would later call the "vaccinosis phenomenon." It was instructive to us
as to just how significant an impact vaccinations had had on our animal
patients. We would be presented with a chronically ill animal, and after
carefully choosing and giving the appropriate homeopathic remedy, we'd
be met with disappointing results. A second or third prescription would
be made with similar dismal responses from the patient. Finally, we'd go
back to the owner and ask about vaccinations. Inevitably the patient was
vaccinated. "Whenever we got the reminder postcard, we went in for the
shots." Then we would reanalyze the case in light of this knowledge, and
look at remedies that were particularly noted to have been applicable in
illness that arose after vaccination. When we'd prescribe again with a "vaccinosis"
remedy, the results were often startling. Not only would the disease
symptoms lessen by 50% or more, but the patient would start acting more
normally. The dog who was hyperactive would settle down and pay
attention, the angry cat would become a lover again, or the animal
terrified of visitors would come out and say hello. The owners were so
impressed with the changes that they would often call before the next
appointment to tell us how great things were going! The inference we have
made from this experience, repeated over and over in different parts of
the country in different practitioners' hands, is simple: vaccinations
are responsible for a significant portion of the illness we see in the
patients with chronic disease. The veterinary profession slowly continues to evaluate this practice of vaccinating annually. In 2000, the American Association of Feline Practitioners came out with an official statement against annual vaccination in the cat. They based this position on research from Cornell where kittens, vaccinated once, measured seven years later still showing evidence of immunity from those vaccines. Quite frankly though, I donąt think we can afford to wait for the whole profession to catch up. Our animals are at risk to become chronically ill if we continue this baseless practice of annual revaccination. And, years from now when we look back incredulously at how such a practice was ever thought to be wise, wouldn't it be nice to be able to smile and pat your healthy twenty-something pet and say, "We knew. We stopped. That's why you're still here."
About
the Author Dr. Falconer is a member of the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association, the Academy of Veterinary Homeopathy, and the National Center for Homeopathy. He writes articles for national pet magazines and medical journals, gives public lectures to animal owners, and shares homeopathic case reports with conventional and holistic veterinarians. He enjoys a full-time classical homeopathic practice in Austin, Texas.
Sunnybrook Ranch 211 E Hatton Rd Tieton, Washington 98947 (509) 673-4561
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