Hepatitis B Vaccine:
Why Target All Kids?
Most states now require all children under the age of 14 to get immunized against Hepatitis B, a disease that the vast majority of kids have a very low risk of getting. Of the estimated 27,000 new cases of Hepatitis B reported each year among children, roughly 7,000 are infants who were infected by their mothers during pregnancy and 20,000 were infected in the first five years of life through close contact with a family member with the disease.
Why then, with such a small risk in getting this disease, is the entire childhood population being targeted? Could it be that the at risk population target (those who are sexually active, IV drug users, or have household contacts) was so unsuccessful that they decided to target all kids, using school admittance as leverage?
Some scientists believe that in certain people the vaccine can be worse than the disease it prevents. When your child's health is at stake, it is very difficult to choose between a potentially serious disease and a potentially harmful treatment. The assessment you must make for you and your child is if he/she is in the 5% at risk population. Of the 5% who contract Hepatitis B, 90-95% fully recover, usually within four weeks. (Acute hepatitis eventually heals. Chronic hepatitis results in ongoing liver problems.)
Suggested therapies for treating hepatitis:
Before evaluating or applying any treatment, become informed and know your options. Some conditions may require a physician's care, some may not.
Herbal medicine includes a wide range of pathologies, however, competent diagnosis is essential. The liver-cell regenerative properties of herbs such as milk thistle and licorice can be helpful. In addition, positive results were found in a preliminary study in which carriers of hepatitis B virus were treated with a preparation from the plant Phyllanthus amarus for thirty days. During this time, fifty-nine percent of those treated had lost the hepatitis B antigen when tested fifteen to twenty days after treatment and few or no toxic side effects were report. Phyllanthus amarus has centuries of documented use in Ayurveda and may be a breakthrough in treatment of hepatitis B when used in conjunction with plants such as tumeric and milk thistle.
Clinical studies have demonstrated the value of Herbal medicine used in treating liver conditions. As an example, Milk Thistle is effective in many types of liver disease such as acute viral hepatitis, chronic-persistent hepatitis, chronic-aggressive hepatitis, and cirrhosis of the liver.
Researchers have also shown that St. John's Wort inhibits the growth of some strains of bacteria that are highly resistant to antibiotics, such as Staphylococcus aureus, enterococcus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa and has also been reported to have anti-viral activity against herpes simplex virus, influenza virus and hepatitis B virus.
Nutritional therapies, which some experts recommend, include Vitamin C (to bowel tolerance to support liver), beta carotene (100,000 US daily for two weeks then reduce to 25,000-50,000), Liver glandulars (three to four times daily), milk thistle extract, vitamin B complex, adrenal glandular, multi-enzymes, and Evening Primrose oil.
Most experts recommend a diet low in protein to minimize stress on the liver. A whole foods diet that follows a hypoglycemic regime of small meals throughout the day, avoiding stressor foods such as refined sugars, alcohol, and caffeine is recommended. According to Dr. Wright, you should also drink plenty of filtered water. Drinking fresh lemon juice water every morning and evening followed by vegetable juice is one of the most therapeutic regimes for the liver. Do this consistently for two to four weeks and then several mornings a week for several months and whenever liver symptoms reoccur.
STATE MANDATES
Check with your local or state health department or ask your public librarian to help you research the vaccination requirements in your state.
Every state has a medical exemption and every state except Mississippi and West Virginia have religious exemptions. The following states allow philosophical exemption to vaccination: Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Louisiana, Maine Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin.