Published October 16, 2004
in the North Island Weekender
Allan, age 55, came into my
office recently wanting my opinion regarding the prevention of the flu. He was
beginning to lose confidence in Health Canada in view of the recall of Vioxx by
Merck, the pharmaceutical giant on Thursday Sept 30th 2004. It was
withdrawn due to the increase risk of heart attack and stroke after 18 months
of use in a clinical trial and Health Canada then also pulled it off the
market. He had been taking Vioxx for the last year for arthritis in his right
knee. He didn’t know if he should trust Health Canada in their claims that the
flu shot is what all Canadians should have to prevent the recurrence of flu
every year. Perhaps in a year from now they would find some untoward effects of
the Flu Vaccine that was produced for the year 2004/2005! So who do you trust
he asked me?
The evidence seemed to mount
from the vaccine administered last year, that it did not contain the A/Fujian
strain, which was the predominant flu strain circulating and thus studies are
still being done to see if it was a good enough match to protect against that
strain circulating during 2003-2004.
Clinically what
I have seen regarding immunizations are some untoward effects many years later
and a cause and effect relationship can never be truly proven. The concern we
have is the increase rate of chronic diseases including heart disease, cancer,
as well as chronic fatigue and multiple chemical sensitivities. When vaccines
are administered they are in a soup of ingredients including egg protein,
aluminum (as a preservative since they don’t use thimersol mercury any more)
and formaldehyde. So along with the virus that people can react to, they can
also react to these substances. For instance if you have an egg allergy you
should not get the flu vaccine.
All you can
trust is your heart I told Allan, and what felt right for him. Our job as
physicians is to teach, (docere from the latin root word for doctor means to
educate), and give information in order that he can make his own decisions for
his health.
The homeopathic
flu vaccine that we administer to patients every fall is a preparation that is
made from the current year’s flu vaccine. When it is made the “energetics” of
the flu vaccine are administered without all the additives or virus per se. The
use of herbs, vitamins, nutrients and minerals make up less than .0001% of adverse drugs reactions causing
death, compared with prescription drugs being the fourth leading cause of
death. So even if the remedies might not work, as is the case in any medical
practice, at least these won’t hurt you!
In addition to
this homeopathic Influenzinum 2004/2005, I also suggested to Allan the
following:
If you get the flu there are
two remedies to have in your first aid kit: Dolicoccil and Cold FX. Dolicoccil is a homeopathic remedy to treat
the first signs of the flu and if you take it within the first 24 hours of
symptoms you can prevent the flu from getting a hold on you. Cold FX was recently
on the TV shown as a great remedy for colds and flus. Take as directed on the
package for three days and voila your symptoms will disappear. Some take it
preventively including the researchers!
The scientists report a
26-per-cent drop in the average number of upper respiratory tract infections
per person among those taking Cold-FX. Among those who got at least one cold,
Cold-FX users found a 56-per-cent drop in the chance of getting sick again.
Cold-FX, raises T-lymphocytes, natural-killer (NK) and T helper cells which are
white cells in the blood that are key to fighting viral infections. It has been
studied at the University of Alberta since 1992. I have been recommending this
remedy for years and it is available in most grocery and health food stores.
I assured Allan that there
were many other remedies to consider to treat and prevent the flu other than
the current flu vaccine. Vioxx was approved five years ago and there were
concerns expressed over the years regarding its safety and now other scientists
are suggesting that other non steroid anti-inflammatory (NSAIDS) drugs could be in the same category
as Vioxx where the anti-inflammatory effect in the body works against the
heart. Do you want to put your faith in the pharmaceutical companies that often
release drugs onto the market prematurely after very short clinical trials and
before any serious side effects can be noted or do you want to consider taking
remedies such as Cold FX has been studied and used clinically for over 15 years
with no side effects?
Dr. Pincott has been practicing naturopathic medicine since 1985 and is currently practicing in Campbell River. She can be reached at (250) 286-3655 or www.DrPincott.com