Seeing Dr. Lawrence Palevsky made me appreciate my pediatrician even more than I already do. The basic message of both is that we want symptoms to be expressed because they are a way for us to understand what is going on in our bodies. It’s crazy to expect kids to be well all the time. When they are ill, the immune system is working because it’s getting something out of their bodies that doesn’t belong there.

What I especially liked was how holistic Dr. Larry was in his description of what that stuff is we might want to get out. He pointed out that we receive info in the following ways:
-genetics
-in utero info from our mothers
-air – what we breathe
-nervous system including all of our senses and anything that affects the senses, including electro magnetic fields
-skin – what we put on it
-intestines – what we eat
and then, through what we insert into the body via injections, if we choose to do so.

Every day, we all eliminate toxins through breathing, through our skin (sweating), through our intestines (bowel movements) and through our senses showing up in things like sleep issues and mood changes.

What we don’t know is how kids eliminate the information they get from vaccinations, which contain not only chemical compounds and adjuvants but viruses, which are protein-coated pieces of RNA or DNA from some other being.

Vaccines aside, Dr. Larry described chronic illness as the failure to allow the symptoms of acute illness to cleanse our bodies — for yucky stuff to leave. When we give kids drugs to lower their fevers or in some way change their symptoms “for the better,” we’re overloading them with information. The stuff stays inside and on top of that they have to deal with more chemicals and more info that confuses their body. This leads to a loss of resilience.

Dr. Larry also noted that there are trillions of viruses around and that we have more microorganisms in our bodies than there are people on earth or cells in our bodies! We fear and so vaccinate against 15 bacteria and 20 viruses — 35 out of trillions. Doctors are taught in medical school that vaccinations “teach” us to recognize these organisms before we encounter them, but Dr. Larry says we are more likely to encounter them naturally (and that 98% of polio is cleared out through gastroenteritis).

Kids get sick because there is inflammation that their bodies are working to release/resolve. Dr. Larry pointed out that kids often make a developmental breakthrough after a fever, including one 10.5-month old who had a fever for 5-7 days and then, when it broke, got up and walked. My son had a high fever and ear infection (which we did not treat) just after he turned one. He was exclusively breastfed and had, before the illness, almost zero interest in food except for amusing crunchy items like lettuce and celery. After the fever broke and he was back in good health, he was suddenly ready to eat solid food.

It’s great to hear people present a paradigm of health that views illness as one piece of the picture and not as some fire to be extinguished.

Dr. Larry works with patients in a way that sounds a lot like our doctor — talks to them, emails with them, looks at photos. He told the audience that we should demand this kind of attention from our doctors. He said he works with patients to help them decide what is right for their family with regard to vaccinations. In 2000, the Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics acknowledged that reductions of most diseases went down before vaccines were introduced, and that contributed to Dr. Larry’s understanding that diseases come and go on their own and in response to other factors (like what’s in the water and in the air, etc.). In the debate with Dr. Bob Sears that followed, Dr. Larry called for a rethinking of the allopathic model of medicine.

So much to learn and think about!

Among the information I learned today at the National Vaccine Information Center’s Fourth International Public Conference were the following:

-The majority of flu-like illnesses — 86% — are not caused by the influenza virus. The flu vaccine addresses only 14% of flu-like illnesses that are, in fact, caused by the influenza virus (as opposed to other viruses or bacteria) (from Peter Doshi’s talk)

-There have been only a small number of trials of the new H1N1 vaccine on pregnant women and on children. There has been no formal study of potential for fetal harm. Trials all had adjuvants, but the H1N1 given to people en masse will not. Thimerosal will be in the vaccine unless patients specifically request a Thimerosal-free vaccine.

-Last year there were 171 child deaths from the flu in general. So far this year there have been 48 child deaths from H1N1 out of 600 total deaths in the U.S. (3,900 worldwide in 191 countries). Predictions in August expected 90,000 deaths from H1N1. (from Vicky Debold’s talk)

-The Gardasil vaccine has an unknown duration of protection and only postpones the possibility of cervical cancer and does not prevent it (from Diane Harper’s talk).

More from Doshi’s talk at Crunchy-Chewy Mama.

It’s too late to be up when you’re planning to be at a conference at 8 a.m., but I just have to say how excited I am to be attending the 4th International Public Conference on Vaccination sponsored by the National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC).

There is lots to learn!

One place to start: To say nothing of the whole immunity issue, I recently found an interesting list of the chemicals in vaccines at the blog of Beth Greer, Super Natural Home.

In the next few weeks, I intend to highlight some of what I got out of the Holistic Moms Network national conference in more detail. For now, though I want to at least mention what an inspiring and yet frightening talk I heard from the founder of the National Vaccine Information Center, Barbara Loe Fisher. If you haven’t checked out the NVIC site lately, please do and consider supporting the important work this non-profit does to ensure that all parents have the ability and the right to make informed decisions about their children’s health.

I bought and look forward to reading Fisher’s new brand-new book, Vaccines, Autism and Chronic Inflammation: The New Epidemic. Other books on the topic are listed at http://www.nvic.org/ResourceCenter/VaccineBooks.htm