I’m not writing this to convince or attempt to change the way anyone feels about vaccinations. My purpose is to help those of you who have chosen to do something other than the full schedule of vaccines for your children to feel more serenity about your choice in the midst of the fear tactics of the pharmaceutical companies, the media, and now our government. Since I started my homeopathy practice in 1991, one of my main objectives is to help my clients and community find resources in order to be informed.

What happened?! A relatively benign childhood illness has suddenly become an anxiety-provoking, life-threatening disease. Here’s a little video to put it in perspective: Measles, Back In The Days Before The Marketing Of The Vaccine

Yes, measles is highly infectious and it does cause uncomfortable symptoms. The child does need at-home nursing care for about 10 days, although for much of that time, they feel fine and want to play normally. There is a chance complications can arise, just like any aspect of life, even getting into your car, or walking across the street, there is a level of risk. If the child is immune compromised or has poor nutrition, especially low levels of Vitamin A in the diet (such as not enough fresh fruit and vegies, butter, meat, eggs), they are more likely to have complications. On the other hand, once children have had measles, they gain lifetime immunity (which the vaccine does not provide). Since the illness is relatively benign, the question is whether the risk of vaccination is greater than the risk of having the disease. Thinking about this in a more general way, there may actually be positive reasons for children getting the measles and other childhood illnesses! 

The immune system develops beginning at the age of twelve months. At this time, it is able to manufacture antibodies to specific diseases and learns to recognize pathogens in order to overcome them naturally. Childhood diseases are one way the immune system learns to flex its muscles. In my early training as a homeopath, I was introduced to the philosophy of Rudolph Steiner (Waldorf Schools) and Samuel Hahnemann (developed Homeopathy over 200 years ago). As both innovative thinkers and careful observers, they believed childhood illnesses enhance the personal, inherited, and even karmic development of the children who catch and recover from them. So what are we doing as a society to our children’s development and that of future generations if we suppress these illnesses? We are weakening their immune systems. This in turn causes a host of autoimmune illnesses, like asthma, diabetes, environmental allergies and food sensitivities, which we are seeing more of in recent generations of children. 

As a homeopath and parent for more than 35 years, I have seen homeopathic medications work wonders in both acute childhood illnesses and with supporting the immune system long-term. The course of the child’s illness is much quicker, they are more comfortable, and there is less chance of complications when the correct homeopathic remedy is given.When recovery is slow (taking more than 10 days) the immune system is presenting the need for a new constitutional remedy. At this point, evaluation from a homeopath proves worthy.

Here is a link to Aviva Romm, MD's website, she wrote a great article about what the measles symptoms are; general recommendations, and natural treatments, including dietary, supplements, and herbal recommendations. 

I would add some recommendations for homeopathic medicines to have on hand in the 30C or 200C potency, including pictures of the plants these remedies are made from:

Aconite: for the first symptoms of high fever, rapid pulse, dry skin and a dry cough and restlessness preventing sleep.

Belladonna: useful in the early stages with high fever (102 degrees and higher), face is bright red, and the child feels so hot that heat emanates from the body, although not very thirsty, pupils are dilated, they are oversensitive to light and noise, and when the rash appears it is bright red, and shiny.

Bryonia: the person feels dry and is very thirsty with chapped lips, the eruption develops slowly or is delayed, all motion makes them feel worse, so they don’t want to move at all, a dry, hard cough develops without the rash expressing (so when the remedy is given, the rash should soon appear), they are very irritable and don’t want to be bothered.

Euphrasia: is best for measles when there is a lot of bland mucus running from the nose and burning tears streaming from the eyes, and especially when in the early stage there are a lot of eye symptoms including conjunctivitis with a sticky, thick, yellow discharge, a sensitivity to light, an intense, throbbing headache, and a dry cough with the rash and the voice may be hoarse.

Pulsatilla: used primarily in the later stages of the measles, when the fever is no longer high and the chills may predominate, although they prefer cool air and open windows and feel worse in stuffy rooms. The child is especially clingy and lethargic, wants to be held and carried at all times. The mucus from the nose is thick and yellow, they may have an earache, feel nauseous and may have diarrhea, if they have a cough, it’s dry at night and loose during the day. If eye symptoms linger after the measles go away, this remedy is very helpful to resolve them.

These are the most commonly used remedies for measles and there are many more possibilities including for more severe and less common symptoms. (see Vaccine Free Prevention and Treatment of Infections Contagious Disease with Homeopathy: A Manual for Practitioners and Consumers by Kate Birch) It is important to remember symptoms are signs the body is working to deal with the virus and homeopathy can support relief in a natural and holistic way. Over the last 200 years homeopathy has helped countless children and adults recover more quickly from epidemic diseases with less suffering and without secondary complications. Should you be faced with this illness and want to have a consultation with me during the process, please do! You do not have to deal with this alone. If you have these remedies on hand and your child comes down with symptoms at night or on the weekend and I am not available, these are the first remedies to give. Just choose the one that fits best with the symptoms. Give 3-5 pellets as a dose once every 3-4 hours for no longer than two days. If you notice no change after that time, call me.

Many of these illnesses are manageable at home with rest, fluids, hygiene and loving care. Many others are not currently a danger to our population. Others are more of a problem when a young child goes to large daycare situations.  Those of us lucky enough to have access to care for illnesses with homeopathy, herbs, healers, and community support, are even more resourced and have an additional advantage. The lack of differentiation between life threatening illness and manageable illness is indicative of the fear-based consciousness of our current era.

It's also important to remember that we have preventative resources as well. Building up the immune system is key - with a good cod liver oil, adaptogens like elderberry syrup, foods containing high levels of Vitamins A, C, and D (with K), a constitutional homeopathic remedy, and plenty of exercise in fresh air and sunshine. We also have this excellent resource, which has been used since homeopathy was developed 200 years ago - Homeoprophylaxis - taking a specific homeopathic remedy when an outbreak of a specific illness is prevalent or when exposed to this outbreak. Here's a link to an article: Homeoprophylaxis: Human Records, Studies and Trials. Please get in touch with me if you're interested in this option for your family.