112 The Complete Home Guide to Herbs, Natural Healing, and Nutrition
If you or any other adults wish to be vaccinated, make sure you receive
killed vaccines which have a higher safety record than live vaccines. Live
vaccines are defi nitely considered riskier for adults. Also, take them
separately (and spread the timing out), even if you have to pay more to do
so. Multiple vaccines are cheaper, but they overburden the immune
system incredibly.
Automatic Defenses
We have many automatic and natural defense systems for dealing with
viruses, bacteria, fungi, and other foreign bodies. It is generally believed
that viruses are different from bacteria in that bacteria operate outside
cell walls while viruses choose a host cell in order to replicate themselves.
Some can mutate — for instance, HIV dodges the immune memory
system in order to survive. With all viruses there can be the added
problem of secondary bacterial infection. Although modern drugs can
deal with fungal or bacterial infections, they used to be unable to invade
viruses or to penetrate the walls of cells inhabited by viruses. However,
some are now able to overcome certain viruses’ sophisticated defense
systems. This development could lead to the production of entire families
of antiviral drugs in the future, which could have a similar outcome to the
story of modern antibiotics (see below). Should an antibiotic be given to a
person with a virus, and should it enter the cell wall, aggressive side
effects can take place; these may include severe nausea, dizziness, immune
system imbalance, and emotional swings.
Antibiotics
Once reserved for life-threatening situations, antibiotics have now become
abused substances, generally via the dairy and meat food chain. Repeated
courses of antibiotics can disturb the immune system so much that they
can become ineffective. Physicians have become much more aware of this
problem, and avoid prescribing them where possible. Repeated use of
antibiotics in children, toddlers, and babies can lead to severe conditions,
which may include cases of unresolved tonsillitis (often resulting in
surgery to remove the tonsils), chronic respiratory problems, skin
disorders, middle ear infections, allergies, and hyperactivity. These are
problems that, originating in childhood, may be refl ected in a diffi cult and
sickly transition into puberty, with deeper problems like myalgic
encephalomyelitis (chronic fatigue syn drome), cancer, and other virulent
immune disorders occurring in adulthood.
We now know, in terms of specifi c side effects, that prolonged use of
immunity 112