Monday, July 11, 2011

Alternatives to Vaccines? What are my options? A personal quest.

Alternatives to Vaccines?
What are my options? A personal quest.
by Elena Cecchetto DCH, CCH, RSHom(NA)

I had been reading about homeopathy for a little while and knew that Homeopathic Remedies for Immunizations existed (Homeoprophylaxis). I knew that somehow you could use Homeopathic Remedies for protection against targeted infectious diseases. I just didn't know exactly how to do this. My fear of needles (specifically the vaccine dangers) sent me on this quest. So I called a few people to find out if they knew how.

I called my friend’s cousin who had studied Homeopathy. I called a few Homeopaths listed in the yellow pages (yes, back in the days of the yellow pages). I told them what I would like to do and asked if they knew how. I got a few different responses. They all agreed that indeed it is entirely fitting for the system of medicine known as homoeopathy to be able to perform this function. However, they just weren’t exactly sure what to do to accomplish this.

Homeopathy has been well known for its incredible results during epidemics. In the era of the 1912 epidemic, the Homeopathic Remedy called Gelsemium had excellent success rates among the Homeopathic Doctors of the day. Yes, in the early 1900’s, in North America, Homeopaths were considered “Dr.’s” Some fun anecdotes and statistics that stick in my mind describing the use of Homeopathy for epidemics go something like this:

1. One of the earliest tests of the homeopathic system was in the treatment of Typhus Fever (spread by lice) in an 1813 epidemic which followed the devastation of Napoleon's army marching through Germany to attack Russia, followed by their retreat. When the epidemic came through Leipzig as the army pulled back from the east, Samuel Hahnemann, the founder of homeopathy, was able to treat 180 cases of Typhus, only losing two (1.11%). This was at a time when the conventional treatments were having a mortality rate of over 30%.

2. Within three years of the Diphtheria outbreak in Broome County, NY from 1862 to 1864, there was a report of an 83.6% mortality rate amongst the conventional medical doctors and a 16.4% mortality rate among the Homeopaths.

3. The May 1921 edition of the Journal of the American Institute for Homeopathy had an article about the use of homeopathy during the Influenza Pandemic of 1918. Dr. T. A. McCann, from Dayton, Ohio reported that 24,000 cases of flu treated with conventional medicine had a mortality rate of 28.2% while 26,000 cases of flu treated homeopathically had a mortality rate of 1.05%.

My quest wasn’t successful and I got the shots to go travelling. Luckily, I had no side effects that I know of, so far. Even better, I spent months reading the Homeopathic literature that I carted around with me and became completely enamored with the Philosophy of Homeopathy.

More than a decade later and I am finally one of the handful of Homeopaths in Vancouver with the level of education and accreditation that gives me the title of “Certified Classical Homeopath”. Even better, I have the opportunity to offer Homeopathic Remedies to target protection for specific infectious diseases. There are various protocols that can be used depending on the disease.

There is a great personal satisfaction that I get when I receive postcards from the travellers who’ve received excellent Homeopathic Care. Imagine going to India without experiencing any gastro-intestinal complaints! Amazing! Fun! That is what travel is meant to be. I am determined to be able to support people in attaining this kind of travel experience.
 
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