by Helen Saul Case
(OMNS, Oct 22, 2015) My husband and I
chose to have our children vaccinated. We think some immunizations are
worthwhile. We are not in favor of others, but the law is not set up in
such a way where doctors and parents can make decisions together about
which particular vaccines children receive. Only with our continued
insistence did our children's pediatricians separate the administration
of the shots. Otherwise our kids would have been exposed to as many as
seven diseases at a clip. And unless your child has a sound medical
reason not to get a particular shot, such as a known allergy to certain
vaccine ingredients or he or she has a compromised immune system, it is
unlikely a doctor will allow a medical exemption. So in many cases a
reaction must occur first, and only then might a child be excused
from further dosages of a particular vaccine. That's like putting up a
traffic light at a dangerous intersection only after people
are seriously hurt. Right now, it's a ready, fire, aim approach. It
feels like a game of trial and error-of wait and see. That's simply not
good enough, and that's why I give my kids vitamin C, and lots of it.
Vitamin C and vaccine reactions
At fifteen months old, hours after she
received two shots for four diseases, DPT (diphtheria, pertussis, and
tetanus) and Hib (Haemophilus influenzae type b), my baby daughter was
screaming, falling over and uncoordinated, and spiked a fever that
registered as high as 103.5 degrees on our temporal thermometer. Knowing
that in large doses, vitamin C is an antipyretic (fever reducer) in
addition to being an antibiotic, antiviral, and antitoxin,[1] I acted
fast and got the fever under control with very large doses of ascorbic
acid and calcium ascorbate, or buffered vitamin C, to bowel tolerance,
and a tepid bath. At bowel tolerance of vitamin C, she was no longer
screaming and uncoordinated. Within the first hour her fever was down by
a degree; in the second hour, another degree. For the remainder of the
evening her fever hovered around 100.5.
"When it happens to your child, the risks are 100 percent." - Barbara Loe Fisher, National Vaccine Information Center
Her severe reaction was not recorded in
her medical record by her doctor. It simply stated "Called service last
pm withh fever"- misspelling and all. None of her other symptoms were
recorded. During the call, they recommended that I give her children's
Tylenol (acetaminophen), especially if her fever went above 101 degrees.
Seeing as her fever was below 101, I put her to bed and continued to
monitor her temperature each hour. Her fever fluctuated inversely with
her intake of vitamin C, so I continued to give her regular doses,
(250-500 mg every two hours or so), keeping the Tylenol handy just in
case. By the next morning, her temperature registered normal and she was
a normal, happy little girl again. While a mild fever indicates the
body's natural immune response is in good working order combating vaccines, a high fever that spikes during a vaccine reaction is very serious and must be brought down right away.
Acetaminophen can do this, but so can high-dose vitamin C. We watched it work.
It would be years later before we were
told which vaccine was to blame for our daughter's severe vaccine
reaction at fifteen months of age. Her third, and hopefully last,
pediatrician determined based on my detailed written record of her
severe reaction (the only record we had) that it was due to the
pertussis component of the DPT shot.
Vitamin C makes shots safer and more effective
I believe every doctor should be telling
parents to give kids vitamin C when they get vaccinations. In addition
to vitamin C's antitoxin properties (for example, its ability for
"neutralizing the toxic nature of mercury in all of its chemical forms")
Thomas E. Levy, MD, says "there is another compelling reason to make
vitamin C an integral part of any vaccination protocol: Vitamin C has
been documented to augment the antibody response of the immune system.
As the goal of any vaccination is to stimulate a maximal antibody
response to the antigens of the vaccine while causing minimal to no
toxic damage to the most sensitive of vaccine recipients, there would
appear to be no medically sound reason not to make vitamin C a part of
all vaccination protocols."[2]
Over forty years ago, Archie Kalokerinos,
MD, found that giving infants doses of vitamin C stopped them dying
from complications of inoculations.[3] Over forty years ago, Frederick
R. Klenner, MD, recommended children under ten take daily "at least one
gram [1,000 mg of ascorbic acid] for each year of life."[4] In
preparation for immunizations, Dr. Levy recommends "[i]nfants under ten
pounds can take 500 mg daily in some fruit juice, while babies between
ten and twenty pounds could take anywhere from 500 mg to 1,000 mg total
per day, in divided doses. Older children can take 1,000 mg daily per
year of life (5,000 mg for a five year-old child, for example, in
divided doses)."[5] A sick child, or one suffering vaccine side effects,
would require much more.
"Ideally, the vitamin C would be given
prior to vaccination and continue afterwards", says Levy. "For optimal
antibody stimulation and toxin protection, it would be best to dose for
three to five days before the shot(s) and to continue for at least two
to three days following the shot.... Even taking a one-time dose of
vitamin C in the dosage range suggested above directly before the
injections can still have a significant toxin-neutralizing and
antibody-stimulating effect. It's just that an even better likelihood of
having a positive outcome results from extending the pre- and
post-dosing periods of time."[6]
As for the kind of vitamin C to give
little ones, our children have done well with a mixture of about 80%
ascorbic acid crystals buffered with 20% calcium ascorbate powder added
to their favorite juice. As infants, we gave it to them using a dropper.
"When I was in active pediatric practice, I wish I had known what I
know now about vitamin C's ability to greatly modify vaccination side
effects. The 103 degree fever worried me much less than the screaming
and unsteadiness, which are markers of cerebral irritation." - Ralph Campbell, MD
Giving vitamin C before, during, and after vaccinations
My kids take vitamin C every day, and
always have. Now, in preparation for shots, they receive numerous,
regular doses of vitamin C before, during (yes right at the doctor's
office), and for weeks after administered immunizations. This is what
experience and our daughter's vaccine reaction has taught us. While we
had given her vitamin C all along, we weren't nearly as diligent about
frequent, timely dosing at vaccination time. We thought we were doing
enough. As many folks come to find out, what they think is "a lot" of
vitamin C isn't always enough vitamin C. You take enough to get the job
done.
To avoid vaccine reactions and side
effects, days before, the day of, and for days after vaccination, we
give our children enough vitamin C to get them just to the point of
saturation. After immunizations, their immune system needs all the help
it can get. They will get C as often as every hour until they get gassy,
a telltale sign that they are getting adequate amounts. The goal is to
get them to the point just before "bowel tolerance," or loose bowels.
For example, when our daughter was four, we started her with a
relatively large loading dose in the morning, 2,000 mg or so, then gave
her 1,000-2,000 mg every couple of hours throughout the day. We wait
until there is a rumbling tummy or softened or loose stool. Once that
point is reached, we throttle back the dose. We continue to give C, but
give less. The next day, we do it again.
Amazingly, the day of and for several
days after our four-year-old daughter's last vaccination, the first shot
she had received since her severe reaction years before, she
comfortably held fifteen to twenty grams, that's 15,000 to 20,000
milligrams, of vitamin C each day. She had no reaction whatsoever to the
vaccination. No swelling. No fever. No redness. Nothing. She was happy.
We were happy. That may sound like a lot of C for a child who only
weighed about 33 pounds, but it got the job done. Perhaps your child
won't need that much.
You might be surprised how much vitamin C
a three-month-old can hold after a couple of vaccinations. I was. We
don't allow the kids to get diarrhea and dehydrate, but we do want them
to have the vitamin C their bodies require when tackling sickness or
immunization side effects. Since gassiness comes before loose bowels,
it's a helpful indicator. If bowel tolerance is reached and stools
become frequent, liquid, or, as was the case for my breastfed
three-month-old, frequent and greenish in color (since they are always
liquid-like), we reduced the frequency and dose, but continued to give
it regularly, ramping the frequency and dose up and down as the
situation requires. This takes a little practice, but we know we're not
hurting our children with extra C. It is a very, very safe vitamin.
Vitamin C works
Vitamin C is incredibly safe and
effective. We are very comfortable giving both of our kids high doses of
C. Older, bigger children may hold more C, and younger ones not as
much. Saturation becomes a helpful indicator of how much your child can
hold.
I don't believe it is fair to let
children get vaccines without vitamin C. I also do not believe it is it
fair to let them acquire natural immunity through exposure to disease
without vitamin C. Always give C. As to the quantity of C to give, when
in doubt, give more.
Dr. Levy is convinced of vitamin C's
safety. He says, "Except in individuals with established, significant
renal insufficiency, vitamin C is arguably the safest of all nutrients
that can be given."[7] And it works. Over forty years ago, Robert F.
Cathcart, MD, discovered that bowel tolerance of vitamin C resolved
illness more quickly.[8] Neither of our children has yet to need an
antibiotic. We use vitamin C instead.
For any parent worried about vaccine
reactions and side effects, knowing about vitamin C should provide some
real comfort. It sure does for us.
(Helen Saul Case is the author of The Vitamin Cure for Women's Health Problems and coauthor of Vegetable Juicing for Everyone. Portions of this article are excerpted from her new book Vitamins & Pregnancy: The Real Story: Your Orthomolecular Guide for Healthy Babies and Happy Moms, with permission of Basic Health Publications, Inc.)
References:
1. Orthomolecular Medicine News Service.
"Antibiotics Put 142,000 into Emergency Rooms Each Year. U.S. Centers
for Disease Control Waits 60 Years to Study the Problem." (Oct 13,
2008.): http://www.orthomolecular.org/
2. Levy, T. E. "Vitamin C Prevents Vaccination Side Effects; Increases Effectiveness." Orthomolecular Medicine News Service (Feb 14, 2012): http://orthomolecular.org/
3. Kalokerinos, A. Every Second Child. Thomas Nelson (Australia) 1974.
4. Klenner, F. R. "Observations on the
Dose and Administration of Ascorbic Acid When Employed Beyond the Range
of a Vitamin in Human Pathology." Journal of Applied Nutrition, 1971, Vol. 23, Nos. 3 and 4, pp. 61-87. http://www.doctoryourself.com/
5. Levy, T. E. "Vitamin C Prevents Vaccination Side Effects; Increases Effectiveness." Orthomolecular Medicine News Service (Feb 14, 2012): http://orthomolecular.org/
6. Ibid.
7. Ibid.
8. Cathcart, R. F. Vitamin C, titration to bowel tolerance, anascorbemia, and acute induced scurvy. Medical Hypotheses, 1981 7:1359-1376. http://www.doctoryourself.com/