Dr. Douglass' view on the flu vaccine

[tim-from-pa]

My favorite Internet doctor, doctor Douglass, would not mind it I posted his "copyrighted" material for all to read, as this is a message I'm sure he wants people to get, and what he says I've been saying all along about the flu shot:


New hype over flu shots doesn't match reality

It's that time of year again... and no, I'm not talking about the approaching holidays.

It's the time of year when they'll say just about anything, no matter how absurd, to get more patients to roll up their sleeves for a flu shot -- like the claim from a new study that supposedly finds the vaccine is "60 percent effective" at preventing the flu.

Makes it sound like 60 percent of the people who get the shot are protected from the flu, right?

That sounded a little on the high side to me -- like around 60 percent too high -- so I dug a little deeper. Sure enough, the study actually proves what I've been saying all along: Statistically speaking, the shot protects practically no one.

In fact, the data from 31 studies published over the past 44 years finds that pretty much no one even gets the flu in the first place.

An exaggeration? Maybe -- but not by much, because despite the media's annual flu-shot frenzy, the study finds that it's simply a non-event: Just 2.7 percent of the unvaccinated and 1.2 percent of those who do get the shot come down with the disease in any given year.

On paper, that's a difference of 60 percent, but the ABSOLUTE reduction in risk isn't even close to 60 percent -- it's a measly 1.5 percent.

Whoop-de-doo... and believe it or not, even that number is a little on the high side, because other studies haven't been nearly as generous.

One analysis released earlier this year found no evidence the shot reduced the rate of hospitalization or slowed the spread of the disease. That study even found that the little evidence FOR flu shots came from studies that were rigged by vaccine makers.

But while the benefits may be nonexistent, the potential risks are all too real: Flu shots have been linked to fatigue, pain, nerve damage, seizures, paralysis and even death.

The bottom line here is you can do everything wrong and still not get the flu -- but if you want to slash your odds even further, don't waste your time with a vaccine.

Work on good hygiene and a strong immune system instead.

 

[jasoncran]

ok, well i wont say that i hold your position on medicine but common sense says eat healthy, rest and exercise goes a long way.

and i have never had the flu and didnt have the shots when i was out of the active army till they made me take em now.


i always get the crud from them. it never fails i get the allergic and asthma thing again for a week. i have no choice i am ordered to by the army to get that flipping shot.

i even tell them that a virus mutates so rapidly that it can be for this years strain. i was told that is correct and i still need it. for what? its an old strain! well just in case the old one hits yah?

 

[tim-from-pa]

ok, well i wont say that i hold your position on medicine but common sense says eat healthy, rest and exercise goes a long way.

and i have never had the flu and didnt have the shots when i was out of the active army till they made me take em now.


i always get the crud from them. it never fails i get the allergic and asthma thing again for a week. i have no choice i am ordered to by the army to get that flipping shot.

i even tell them that a virus mutates so rapidly that it can be for this years strain. i was told that is correct and i still need it. for what? its an old strain! well just in case the old one hits yah?

I think you're a lot like I am Jason. I don't get the flu either, and when they (e.g. doctors) tell me the symptoms, I never really remember getting anything so bad that "I'd feel like I was hit by a truck" or "I'd want to do nothing but sleep all day" and "really high fever" etc etc. But just because they are sickly enough to get it they figure I must be like them as well and would pressure me to get it. My theory is that some people don't get the flu and some do, considering the biological make-up of the person is more conducive to growing viruses than others.

Case in point ---- has your dog or cat ever caught your cold? Or again, ever catch a cold from them? I rest my case.

 

[jasoncran]

my position is of the older common sense.docs said that to me and my parents. eat, drink plenty fluids and rest and exercise.

if the cold becomes unbearable then come back or go to the er and get an decongestant. otherwise it will go away in seven to ten days.

 

[Potluck]

Case in point ---- has your dog or cat ever caught your cold? Or again, ever catch a cold from them? I rest my case.

The bodies of those animals can dump as much as 4,000 mgs of vitamin C per day into their systems. I'm not suggesting go on a Vitamin C binge but it does demonstrate differences in biological make up.

Anyway, I'm pretty much like Jason or Tim, I rarely get sick and if I do it doesn't last long. As far as the above goes I usually get a strong craving for grapefruit just before I down with something. Not oranges or orange juice for some reason, I really don't like the stuff. Mostly I'll get unsweetened grapefruit juice if I can find it. Added sugar doesn't appeal to me at those times. And yes, there is a bit of pucker factor. :
Good stuff that :D

And I'm a big advocate for plenty of sleep. It's a waste of time maybe as is eating but it's the time for the body to rebuild and take care of itself.

I don't really need the going vaccine of the week. My biggest problem is people constantly telling me what I should or shouldn't do. If I don't want the vaccine then please, leave me alone about it. You go ahead, knock yourself out.

 

[jasoncran]

i want the anti-liberal vaccine where it causes that virus to die.

one can dream. man one can dream.

 

[tim-from-pa]

And I'm a big advocate for plenty of sleep. It's a waste of time maybe as is eating but it's the time for the body to rebuild and take care of itself.

Yes, sleep is restorative. I get a minimum of 8 hours a night, and maybe up to an hour more. There's something in this culture that frowns on sleep as if the person is lazy. But its a resource enhancer. Like nutrition, it supplies the body with what it needs.

On the other hand, what advice do they give to you to prevent illness these days? it's what I call resource depleters, i.e. stay away from saturated fats (so the person is now setting himself up for deficiencies), exercise (takes energy), less sleep (takes more energy, too) and when "diet and exercise don't help then take.... yada yada yada" and they proceed to tell you what drug to take as if God doesn't have a better way. And that's also a resource depleter.

So when you look at all the pseudo-health advice out there, you have to admit that it's all depletion advice (i.e. what to avoid, or what to take or do that takes energy) instead of telling people how to build up their resources.

 

[bigllama]

Not saying you're wrong 'cause half the time I don't get a flu shot, but this 'Dr. Douglass' guy seems to be pretty sketchy. No references on any of his articles, and doesn't really say what kind of studies they are or where they came from