Tuesday, December 9, 2008
No, Katie Oberthaler has no excuse to have the flu, but you have plenty of excuses not to get a flu shot.
Take a look at what’s inside the vaccine. Formaldehyde is used as a preservative and to inactivate the virus. Aluminum, added to create an antibody response, is a neurotoxin that can cause Alzheimer’s. Some of this year’s vaccines contain thimerosal, which is 49 percent mercury.
These three chemicals, dangerous on their own, together become even stronger in raising the chances you’ll have Alzheimer’s. Not to mention the various autoimmune reactions that can occur, such as Guillain-Barré Syndrome, which is a paralytic autoimmune disease. I’ll take the flu, rather than risking my lifetime in a wheelchair or losing my mind.
The nasal spray she mentions in her column lists these side effects: coughing, runny nose, chills, muscle aches, fevers, and headaches. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? The Global Advisory on Vaccine Safety reported that the nasal spray vaccine was found to cause Bell’s palsy, or the paralysis of the facial nerve. Neither the needle nor the spray are effective ways of preventing the flu.
There are several things you can start doing right now to protect yourself from the flu, including avoiding sugar, getting enough rest, keeping stress to a minimum, exercising and washing your hands. Just by looking at this list, it’s no wonder why college students get sick, but they really don’t have an excuse. Adjusting your lifestyle can have numerous benefits, aside from preventing illness.
— — Christopher Voll is a freshman from Deerfield, Ill.
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Comments
Angel (anonymous) says...
thanks for the info, Christopher. please also note - the virus is based on last year's flu, so it's already a year behind. if the virus is constantly adapting itself, how is that supposed to keep you from getting a newer strain? just wondering...
December 15, 2008 at 4:46 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
connerm (anonymous) says...
Christopher: The toxins mentioned do exist in the flu vaccine, but they are in such low concentrations that they will not pose a threat. In a similar vein, every time you go out into the sun you face the risk of developing skin cancer, but for some reason you keep doing it.
I do agree with you that it isn't particularly necessary for people in our age group to get the shot since we are not really high-risk, but it is important to do so if you will be coming in contact with a person who is high risk. Since I spend a great deal of time with my 2 year old niece, I have gotten a shot this year. If you are planning on spending time with your grandparents or any relatives with weakened immune systems, it is always good to get the flu shot.
Angel: The vaccine is based off of the strains of influenza present in waterfowl (the animals that carry it throughout the world every year.) Researchers choose the populations of waterfowl that will be most likely to be in your area this winter and then pick the top 3 strains of influenza virus that they carry. These are the ones used in the vaccine. There is no selection against the previous year's strain in the waterfowl because they do not get sick from the virus, they just carry it.
December 16, 2008 at 7:05 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )