It's been a frightening week what with the recent death of a young Etobicoke boy from H1N1. I've been inundated with questions about whether to get the vaccine or not. I wish I had a crystal ball and could provide definitive answers, I'm afraid I don't. The best advice I can give is to do what you are doing and read and educate yourself about all the possible benefits and risks and make an informed decision where you feel that you can live with the consequences either way. Given that it's a brand new vaccine, we don't know much about side effects or efficacy, we do know that it contains mercury and squalene.
What I would recommend is being vigilant, if you suspect you or your child may have H1N1, proceed to the nearest emergency room ASAP and push for appropriate testing and treatment. Be suspicious if you or your child have a fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. Fever and cough are particularly important. Some people may have vomiting and diarrhea. People may be infected with the flu, including 2009 H1N1 and have respiratory symptoms without a fever.
For naturopathic flu prevention and treatment my colleague Dr. Daniel Chong has written some excellent, very well researched blog posts, so rather than re-invent the wheel I'll refer you to him. One thing I will point out from his articles is that echinacea is NOT appropriate for treating H1N1. Please read what Dr. Chong has to say:
http://nalukainaturalhealth.blogspot.com/
I think the scariest part is not knowing what to do. By educating yourself and those around you on how to stay healthy, I hope to empower you and alleviate some of the fear and anxiety.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment