The Dangers of Vaccination
The purpose of vaccination is to protect your pet from potentially fatal infections by
pathogenic (disease-causing) viruses such as distemper, rabies, and others. The way
this is done is to inject either a killed virus or a 'modified' (non-pathogenic) live virus,
which sensitizes the immune system to that particular virus. Thereafter, if your dog is
exposed to, let's say, parvovirus, s/he will be able to respond quickly and vigorously,
producing antibodies to overcome the infection.
This sounds like a pretty good plan, on the surface. However, as with any medical
procedure, we must ask the simple and direct questions, Is it safe? Is it effective? Do
the benefits outweigh the risks?
The Problems with Vaccination
'Routine' vaccination, as it is practiced today, is not always effective (especially in the
case of the feline leukemia vaccine), and frequently has adverse side effects, either
short term or long term. With the use of multivalent (combination: 3-in-1, 6-in-1,
etc.) vaccines that are repeated year after year, the frequency and severity of these
side effects in our pets has increased dramatically.
Not surprisingly, most of the problems involve the immune system. After all, the
immune system is what vaccines are designed to stimulate. But they do so in a very
unnatural way that can overwhelm and confuse the immune system. The body may
overreact to normally harmless substances (allergies, especially flea allergies and
other skin problems), or even produce antibodies to itself (auto-immune diseases).
At the same time, the body may be sluggish in responding to those things that it
should reject, such as common viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites. This can result
in increased susceptibility to acute infections (such as parvovirus), chronic or
recurring infections (such as ear infections in dogs, bladder infections or feline
leukemia in cats), or other chronic problems such as arthritis, kidney disease, or even
cancer.
In summary, there is a great deal of evidence implicating vaccination as the cause
of many serious chronic health problems. For this reason, I do not recommend
vaccination for dogs or cats.
In particular, I strongly recommend against vaccination for Feline Leukemia in
cats, because (a) it is not very effective, and (b) I have found that vaccinated cats
that subsequently contract the virus are much more likely to die from it. I also
recommend against vaccination for Lyme disease and kennel cough in dogs, again
due to lack of effectiveness, and the fact that these conditions are generally not very
serious. As such, the potential harm of the vaccine is not justified.
In all fairness, the choice to forgo vaccination for your pets does carry some risk.
Your puppy could contract parvovirus, for instance, which that particular vaccine is
effective in preventing. Fortunately, parvo is generally quite easy to treat
homeopathically. Distemper and infectious hepatitis are rarely seen anymore.
Unfortunately, the law now requires rabies vaccination for dogs and cats. This is
for reasons of potential human exposure, not for the health of your pet.
You should know, however, that all vaccines, including rabies, are medically
approved for use in healthy animals only. This is explicitly stated in the package
insert for every vaccine. So if your dog or cat is showing any signs of acute or chronic
disease, the manufacturers do not recommend administration of the vaccine.
Finally, for some good news, rabies titers are being increasingly used to
demonstrate effective immunity and avoid unnecessary revaccination.
Rabies vaccination should be followed immediately by a single dose of the Lyssin
30C, which is the rabies nosode. This should help to minimize the harmful effects of
the vaccine. However, if you see any symptoms or reaction to the rabies vaccination,
you should consult a veterinary homeopath for treatment instructions.
Homeopathic Nosodes
As an alternative to vaccination, I sometimes recommend the use of homeopathic
nosodes. A nosode is simply a homeopathic remedy that is made from a disease
product. Nosodes are not in any way infectious, and can be used to prevent viral
infection. Under most circumstances, there is no need for nosodes in adult animals,
so their use is generally limited to puppies and kittens. There is, however, a nosode
for heartworms, which could be used in adult dogs on an ongoing basis. I will discuss
this further in the section on heartworms.
Limitations of Nosodes
There are some limitations to the use of nosodes. The law requires rabies vaccination
for dogs and cats. The rabies nosode, Lyssin, will not satisfy that requirement.
Many veterinary offices and kennels insist on current vaccinations, and will not
accept nosodes as an alternative. I suggest that you find a local veterinarian that is
more open-minded on the topic.
Most important, though, is that although nosodes are a safe and effective
alternative to vaccination, their use does not improve your pet's health. They merely
cover up a possible susceptibility to a particular pathogen. Constitutional
homeopathic treatment is far preferable, when possible, in that it will reduce those
susceptibilities at the source by improving the overall health and immune function of
your pet. As such, constitutional treatment generally supersedes the administration
of nosodes.
If You Choose to Vaccinate...
As I have said, being a veterinary homeopath, I do not recommend routine
vaccination for dogs or cats, except for rabies where required by law. If, for whatever
reason, you decide that you must vaccinate your pet, I would make the following
recommendations to minimize the damage to your pet's health:
1 Do not vaccinate an animal with symptoms of acute or chronic health problems, or
at the time of surgery or other physical or emotional stress.
2
3 As much as possible, vaccinate for one disease at a time, and avoid multivalent
(combination) vaccines. For cats, vaccinate for feline panleukopenia alone. The
vaccines for the two upper respiratory viruses, calicivirus and rhinotracheitis,
can be given together. I strongly recommend against vaccination for feline
leukemia virus. For dogs, give parvo separately from distemper and hepatitis.
Do not vaccinate for leptospirosis or parainfluenza. Never give the rabies
vaccine at the same time as any other vaccine.
4
5 For adult dogs and cats, vaccinate every 2-3 years, instead of yearly. Better yet,
just vaccinate puppies and kittens, and don't vaccinate adults at all (except for
rabies, since that is required by law).
6
7 After vaccination, give a single dose of the appropriate nosode in the 30C potency.
8
Acute Homeopathic Treatment
Viral diseases such as feline infectious peritonitis, canine distemper and canine
parvovirus are usually not responsive to conventional medical treatment such as
antibiotics and steroids. (Supportive care, such as intravenous fluids, can be critically
important.) Fortunately, they usually respond very quickly and favorably to
homeopathic treatment, so the risk of not vaccinating is greatly lessened.