Vaccines: Are You REALLY "Green?"

Yesterday, an acquaintance who is also one of my Facebook friends declared she has decided to go "green" as well as going organic. The two go hand in hand and one would be hard-pressed to do one without doing the other. When she posted her decision to her Facebook wall, I could not help but wonder if she will still choose to vaccinate her children. Yes, I do realize it is none of my business and anyone who knows me well enough knows I only try to educate others on autism and vaccines rather than condemn people for continuing to vaccinate.

That said, even many "crunchy" parents who are not parents of children with autism choose not to vaccinate. They do so with the intent of removing as many harmful chemicals as possible from their families' lives and with overall health of their bodies and the earth in mind.

Perhaps it is not my place to do so but I sometimes feel compelled to provide people with unsolicited information regarding vaccines that they most likely will not have been given otherwise by their pediatrician or have come across on their own. My friend's Facebook post was one of those compelling moments. Before you get all snappy with me though, let it be known that I was tactful enough to send it to her in a Facebook message rather than post it as a comment. Give me some credit, already!

Knowing what I, myself, have learned through this process of going green and buying organic and removing chemicals from our own home, I also know that we are constantly having "a-ha" moments when we discover we have missed a detail here or there and we find something that should be removed. For example, air fresheners are one of those things people do not think about a whole lot but studies have shown they can cause hormonal disruption.

A lot of people probably think nothing of turning on their faucet and getting a drink of water. After all, if you are reading this, you probably reside in a civilized country - not some third world country - and the water is clean here, right? Or is it? The CDC estimates more than 60% of U.S. households on public water receive fluoride in their water. That sounds like a good thing until you consider the fact that fluoridated water has been linked to cancer. The CDC claims there is "no credible evidence" of a link between the two but the CDC also puts out a lot of things I do not agree with - for instance, I should have my child vaccinated for chickenpox. It's chickenpox, folks! Kids get it and they get over it and their immune systems are stronger afterwards. My kids do not need a shot of aborted human fetuses or MSG or antibiotic (Neomycin) (see Varicella) just to ensure that they might not contract chickenpox. Aside from all that and back to the issue of water, none of what I mentioned is even considering all the heavy metals, disposed medications, and other toxins people receive by drinking tap water. Not all water is treated, ya' know. And what cannot be treated gets dumped right back into the water supply. Mmm, Mmm! Makes me thirsty just thinking about it!

As is often the case when I write very late at night or incredibly early in the morning, I have gotten off on a tangent. Bringing us back now...

Vaccines are one of those areas I feel few people probably consider when they decide to go green and so here is the message I sent my friend with a few personal details removed, of course...

"In addition to going "green" I noticed you mentioned you are going organic as well. Knowing what I know now with our situation and everything we have learned along the way with autism and going green and eating organically, I thought I would suggest that you consider looking into what is in the vaccines children receive today. Although pesticides cannot be washed off 100% effectively, and going organic is a great idea, a lot of people don't realize their children will receive more toxins over the full course of vaccinating than they will receive if they still choose to eat non-organically.

Before you blow me off and think I am one of those anti-vaccine crazed autism parents, let me explain that I am not anti-vaccine. I am anti-toxin. As in, I am against doing any further injections of proven toxins into my children. Since nearly every vaccine out there contains PROVEN harmful chemicals, it's worth knowing what is going into our children.

I don't tell people NOT to vaccinate their children (it's none of my business!), I simply ask that they educate themselves because the fact is, most people DON'T know what is in vaccines. They blindly trust their pediatricians and even many pediatricians do not know what is in vaccines if you ask them. Believe me, I know this from experience now. I wish I had known to ask before....maybe we wouldn't be where we are now.

That said, here are some things to know about vaccines:

*Children whose pediatricians follow the CDC (Centers for Disease Control) and AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics) vaccine guidelines now receive 36 vaccines by the age of five years old (by six years, for some). That number will soon jump to 42 vaccines. When you and I were younger, the guidelines called for a total of TEN vaccines.

2010 CDC Vaccine Guidelines

You will notice, a number of vaccines given to children are given several times (one initial shot and then "boosters"). One question many of us who no longer vaccinate ask is, if vaccines are so effective then why do children need so many "boosters?" Another question to ask is, "Does my child really need ______ vaccine? While some vaccines are meant for diseases with high death rates, many of them are for "diseases" that are very mild in their effects and few people die as a result of contracting them. For example, how many people do you know who have died from chicken pox? There wasn't even a chickenpox vaccine when we were children....kids got it, they got over it, no big deal. And an added bonus is their immune systems became stronger because of it.

*Many "outbreaks" of diseases occur involving individuals who ARE fully-vaccinated. Even the government owns up to this fact. So again, if vaccines are so effective, then why are individuals who are fully vaccinated coming down with some of these diseases?

*Many vaccines contain aluminum, formaldehyde, and thimerosal (mercury) - all of which have been proven to cause neurological damage and are also linked to cancer cell growth in laboratory rats. HERE is the ingredients list. Something to consider when your child is being injected with these toxins over 30 times.....

*Vaccines can legally be marketed as mercury-free/preservative-free even when they contain "traces" of mercury in them. Those "traces" have been shown to be anywhere from 1-60 times the amount of mercury proven to cause neurological damage.

*Vaccines can and do harm SOME individuals. At the very least, they can come with a whole host of side effects. However, your doctor won't tell you this and you won't know unless you read the vaccine inserts, which you are usually not given unless you ask for them. The government owns up to the possibility of vaccine injury as well with their vaccine compensation program.

*If you still choose to vaccinate, ask THESE eight questions before doing so.

*Finally, and most important to know, you are NOT required to vaccinate your child for him/her to be allowed to attend school. You DO have a choice - make it an educated one!"