By Dr. Autumn Frandsen
As autoimmunity, early onset of diabetes, and food allergies among many other issues become more prevalent in our children, many parents look for something to attribute it to. One of the more heated debates in our media currently is the issue of childhood vaccinations. As early as birth, our children are given the Hepatitis B vaccine and by the time they are 18 months they may have been administered 13 different pathogens up to 4 times each. While I am not opposed to vaccinations and in fact am in favor in most cases, I do not believe that the schedule set forth by the CDC is appropriate in all cases.
Both of my children are fully vaccinated, but I chose to delay the schedule and declined the Hepatitis B vaccine usually given right after birth due to the low risk factor in the children’s lives. Luckily for me, I am in the integrative medical field when my daughter was born so I was connected with several holistic pediatricians that would see her, and later my son, despite the fact that I chose not to follow the recommended vaccine schedule. This can be difficult for some parents as many pediatricians are very strict on the CDC vaccine schedule adherence. After hearing this from many patients, I decided to start offering a delayed schedule at my office and for those that have a family history of autoimmunity, vaccine injury, or autism; I began to research the benefit of homeopathic vaccines.
There is an option for those that choose not to vaccinate immediately to use what is called a nosode, or serially agitated dilutions of infectious agents without adjuvants or preservatives. While I am not advocating foregoing vaccinations, nosodes can add a layer of protection until it is safe for the child to receive the vaccines. It is a great option for patients whose parents want to give them one vaccine at a time to monitor for adverse reactions. Administration of the homeopathic vaccines involves oral ingestion of a diluted version of the substance on one day and then a second dose on day two. For my particularly sensitive patients, they may experience similar side effects as a healthy child to a standard vaccination such as a fever, some lethargy, or a feeling of malaise for a day or two but as in a standard vaccine, this indicates that the immune system is recognizing the pathogen and developing an immune response. There are no preservatives or other agents in the homeopathic vaccines, so in my years of these administrations, I have never seen a fever last more than 2 days and have only seen even this in a handful of patients. I see a large number of Lyme disease and mold toxic patients and this population of my patients is usually where any reaction is observed.