Vaccination and Antibiotic
For Infants
And The Damage They Have On The Immune System
Morgan Stewart
11/25/2012
English 2010 sect. 001
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A newborn child is a fragile thing, dependent on their family to take care of them, but
most importantly they are growing. Always growing, always learning new things, and always
developing. So the question needing to be asked is whether giving a child, newborn to twelve
months old, vaccines is a good or bad thing? Are antibiotics good or bad for infants? What affect
will vaccinations and antibiotics have on their immune systems? In this essay I will inform on
both sides of the issue, but will altogether argue that immunization of any kind should be done
after the child is a year old and antibiotics should not be used so frequently. I will not speak
against vaccines and antibiotics or peg them as bad all-together, but that the timing of when a
child receives them is critical when it comes to the future health of their immune system.
Vaccines are designed to introduce inactive diseases to a child’s immune system to help
protect them from those infections throughout their life, but research shows that by introducing
these vaccines to a child so early in life they are hindering their immune system from building a
natural immunity as well. An infant’s immune system does not fully develop until six months of
age so the fact that they are starting vaccines at two months does not seem to be the way to go.
Research shows that from 1980-1989 self-reported asthma rates went up to 38% and the death
rate of asthma went up to 46% in the U.S. alone.
The immune system is more than just inside your blood stream and some organs; it also
involves several things you wouldn’t really think about: your skin, nasal hairs, tonsils, spleen and
intestines, thymus gland, various nodes, and the pituitary gland in the brain. All of these things
are crucial and help to block out and fight pollutants threatening the body. One flaw of vaccines
are that they are unnaturally injected into the bloodstream, whereas most pollutants go through
the mouth or nasal cavity, sometimes an open would, not through a needle to the skin straight
into the bloodstream. By injecting the vaccine through a needle half the body is not being used to
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defend against the foreign matter, which can hinder immune system response from those parts
being bypassed. Just the tonsils alone can produce extra antibodies to help fight diseases and by
injecting the tonsils aren’t being used. This unnatural route can use up to 70% of the immune
system compared to the natural 3-4% and can cause the body to go into overdrive and take things
needed by the bones or organs, and in some cases have far more damaging effect on a child, like
the link made to diabetes, allergies, and asthma.
An allergy is a reaction of the body to harmless substances that shouldn’t affect the
human body, but for some reason allergies have become so frequent that one in five Americans
suffer from them according to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America. Early childhood
is when the body learns to recognize a bad substance from an okay one. If the body isn’t
thoroughly exposed to substances like pollens and other microorganisms then the body cannot
set up a proper defense and results in things like allergies, bringing in the concept “Hygiene
Hypothesis”, which suggests that a child exposed to or surrounded by things that could cause
allergies, like pollens and livestock, are more likely to build a better immune and not have
allergies.
You wouldn’t believe it, but there is actually such a thing as “good bacteria”. The
immune system knows it’s good and won’t attack it because it helps the body stay healthy
throughout life, but today there are vaccines and unnatural antibiotics that don’t know the
difference between good and bad and will destroy it all. By doing so they are taking away vital
elements to keep the body safe and affecting the immune system to being attacking the good if it
appears again. By becoming immune to all the healthy bacteria and antibiotics the body finds it
harder to fight diseases and in the end will wind up weakened and the body damaged from
sicknesses it can’t fight off.
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People are far too reliant on antibiotics and vaccines in their daily lives and it is taking a
toll on their immune system, specifically starting in infancy. Infants and small children getting
sick has become a normal and expected occurrence, which was not so thirty years ago, and
everyone’s solution to the problem: drugs. It is more important now than ever that people learn
the affects their decisions have on the future generations and take action to change them. If they
were just to postpone the mandatory vaccines until a child hits a year old they could help the
child build their own immune system to help the fight as well. Also, if parents were to let their
children fight sicknesses they get on their own, the best they can, they would also help build up
their child’s immune system rather than allowing them to rely on antibiotics that could one day
have no further affect and then leave the body to fight a fight it doesn’t know how to fight.
It has become extremely important that parents get the facts and know when their child
should receive vaccination and what vaccinations they should get, as well as knowing how they
can help their child’s immune system and protect against diseases by using less antibiotics to
reduce the chance of growing an immunity to them. Just by getting the facts and not freaking out
every time their child has a runny nose parents can help their children lead a happier and
healthier life.
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Sources
Clinton, Catherine. "Development of the Infant Immune Function and the Effects of Breast Milk."
Natural Medicine Journal. Natural Medicine Journal, 08 2010. Web. 5 Dec 2012.
<http://naturalmedicinejournal.net/pdf/NMJ_AUG10_LR brm.pdf>.
Neustaedter, Randall. "Do Vaccine's Disable the Immune System?." Healthy.net. Healthy.net. Web. 5
Dec 2012.
<http://www.healthy.net/Health/Article/Do_Vaccines_Disable_the_Immune_System/539>.
Stellpflug, Craig. "How Antibiotics Destroy Your Immune System." Natural News.com. Natural
News.com, 16 2012. Web. 26 Nov 2012.
"Your Immune System, How it Works and How Vaccines Damage It." Vaccine Awareness. Vaccine
Awareness Network, 30 2012. Web. 5 Dec 2012. <http://www.vaccineriskawareness.com/YourImmune-System-How-It-Works-And-How-Vaccines-Damage-It>.