A Vaccine for Shingles?

Today I saw a sign in front of Walgreens that they are offering shingles vaccines.  Now if there is anything that says how ridiculous this whole vaccine issue has become, this is it.  The reason? Shingles is NOT an infectious disease that spreads from person to person like flu.

The virus that causes shingles is the same that causes chicken pox.  Chicken pox is the primary manifestation of exposure to the Varicella virus.  This virus is in the Herpes virus family.  A characteristic of Herpes viruses is that once you have them, you always have them.  You get a big infection, then the virus goes dormant in the the nerve roots of the spinal cord.  It can be dormant forever without ever showing itself again.  But every now and then it may manifest, like a cold sore which is a Herpes virus.  As I said, Chicken pox is the primary manifestation of the Varicella virus.  When you get over chicken pox, the virus did not go away, it went dormant in your nerve system.  Then 50 or 60 years later, you get stressed out and the virus grows again and you have shingles!  Shingles is adult chicken pox!  You could also say it is a form of a "cold sore" that shows up on the trunk of the body.  The thing is, and this is very important: YOU HAVE TO HAVE HAD CHICKEN POX TO GET SHINGLES LATER!  If you never had chicken pox, then you can't get shingles until you get chicken pox.  Therefore, getting a shingles vaccine is a waste of time, let alone dangerous as all vaccines are!

But, you may say, then why not make sure all kids get the chicken pox vaccine? Because the vaccine does not work and is very, very dangerous.  From 1995 to 1999, there were 10,000 reports of adverse reactions to this vaccine, all involving nerve damage.  These reactions include: encepahlits (brain inflammation), inflammation of the spinal cord, Guillian-Barre syndrome, Bell's Palsy, Cerebellar Ataxia (sudden loss of co-ordinated movement and speech), seizures, and Paresthesia.  Is this a chance you would want to take with your kids? Or yourself?

Shingles is certainly not a condiiton to wish on anyone, but don't be fooled into thinking that there is a vaccine for it.  There isn't.

Chiropractors are dangerous? Seriously?

My daughter told me at dinner tonight that the husband of one of her employees is scheduled to have back surgery.  Apparently he has been diagnosed with a herniated disc.  So far he has gone through physical therapy and nerve bocks that have not done any good so the only option left is surgery.  He has young children at home and he won't be able to lift them until September!  My daughter asked if he had tried seeing a chiropractor, and the wife said that he did ask his physician and was told that that will only make it worse!

Now, chiropractic is NOT a back pain specialty, it is a total health approach for the body.  However, many studies have been done to show the efficacy of chiropractic care for the treatment of low back pain, and it is, hands down, far superior than anything medicine has to offer.  There are no "side effects" other than the person might just get well.  And in 27 years of practice, not one person in my office has ever been crippled from our care.

So let's see.  This poor man has been suffering for I don't know how long, he has had anesthesia injected directly into his vital nerve system - you know, the one that controls and coordinates the life of the body - and now he is going to have his back opened up with the possibility of paralysis and even death.  He may become crippled from this surgery.  This is rare but I have known it to happen.  He may become addicted to pain drugs, as many do.  And chances are very good that he will have additional surgery because the pain still didn't go away and the surgical area filled up with scar tissue that is choking off the nerves.

You decide.  Who is going to make it worse?

4 Weeks

As of yesterday it has been a month since my body revolted on me. I don't want to call it an injury, since I had done nothing to injure myself. But rather it was a more like a seizure. Just as a rabbit or a deer will seize in front of headlights, my body seized in response to an overload of stress.

Since then I have improved quite a bit. I started seeing a chiropractor who specializes in upper cervical adjusting. This is the approach we were initially taught at Palmer College. BJ Palmer, the founder of our school called it the "Hole in One Technique". By addressing the atlas, i.e. the first cervical vertebra, you will affect every process throughout the body. For decades this is all that was taught at the school. Adjust the atlas and let the Innate Intelligence of the body free up and do the healing. This is a very powerful concept, often forgotten by chiropractors because they feel that they have to "treat" the pain rather than free the body to do its own healing. However, the power that created the body heals the body. There is no other way, and when you consider that creating the body is nothing short of a miracle, then healing becomes a miracle too. We don't have to control it, just release the power and get out of the way!

I started running again. My leg still feels weak and the muscle aches at times, but I am able to run about two and a half miles with some walking thrown in. I'm able to adjust people longer without having to sit down. And the numb area has gotten a little smaller. Just a little. But it gives me hope that I will overcome this, and soon. It is very weird when you suddenly lose a function of your body. It changes you, and not in a good way. And you appreciate it so much more when you get it back! You just can't take health for granted because all it takes is a second to lose it!

Health - You don't know what you've got 'till it's gone!

It's funny how we can take out bodies for granted. I try not to, full appreciating all it does for me. But when something suddenly changes, you begin to realize how important a fully functioning body is.

I recently hurt myself that resulted in intense back spasming and left leg weakness. The weakness came on so fast, it was incredible. I found it difficult to stand, let alone walk, and of course, running was out of the question. I love to run. I feel like my life depends on it. I run 4 days a week all year long and in all the weather typical to Cleveland. But not for the last 10 days.

I began to feel like an invalid. I could get up and walk, but after 30 seconds, I had to sit because my thigh would burn in pain as the muscles tried to hold me up. I couldn't do anything. I mean anything! I couldn't go to the store, I could barely get through my day at the office. All I would do is go to the office, sit while I adjust people, and come home. Then I would sit on the couch or the chair in front of the TV and veg. I began to wonder if I would ever have my life back.

I have been working on myself, and with the help of a chiropractor friend of mine, Dave Budney. Slowly the strength is coming back and today I finally felt strong enough to try a run. Actually, I didn't feel strong enough, but I could not take another day of sitting. Running withdrawl is horrible. So I put on my running gear and went or it. It was difficult at first, but I was able to get in about 2 and a half miles. When I got home, I felt absolutely great!

I know now that what has gripped me is slowly leaving and I can see the end of the tunnel. But the body you've been given is the only one you will ever get. A healthy body is defined by how well it works, not how well it feels. And in the matter of a moment something can change that suddenly changes how it works. And that is a horrible, horrible feeling. Thank goodness for chiropractic, because that is the only approach that can restore health, and keep us healthy (i.e functioning!). Because once it's gone, health may be gone for good!

How healthy is a health nut?

Today one of my practice members mentioned that someone she knows lost his fiance to pneumonia. The lady who passed away was in her 40's and Diane described her as a "health nut". She exercised all the time, at the right foods, took her supplements - a true health nut. So how was it that someone would come down with an illness like pneumonia and die from it?

My question to Diane was "What is the missing variable?" She didn't know.

The missing variable is that the woman was not under chiropractic care. The most important aspect of health is maintaining the health of the operating system of the body - the nerve system - with regular chiropractic care. It doesn't matter how much exercise a person gets, or if they have the most expensive urine from all the vitamins they take. If the nerve system is not fully communicating in the body, the body will get sick.

The circulatory system distributes food and oxygen throughout the body. It also collects wastes to be eliminated from the body. The nerve system also circulates. But it circulates information, and most importantly, Life Force. If the nerve system is sick, the circulation of Life Force can be altered. If a part of the body is not getting proper Life Force, that area of the body may start to break down. The body is programed to self-destruct when Life Force leaves it. In a dead body, this is called decay. If it happens in a part of a living body, it is called and infection. But it is not an infection. It is the cells undergoing self-destruction by creating bacteria that digest the cells. If this happens on a grand scale, the whole body will die.

The chiropractic adjustment is the only way to make sure that the nerve system is operating properly and that Life Force is flowing. The important thing to remember is that healthy people do not suddenly die! Diet is important. Exercise is important. Proper sleep and hygiene are important. But without chiropractic care as part of the equation, one can never be truly healthy or truly well.

What do you believe?

'Thoughts create things.''

" What you think about is so."

I hear this over and over again from various people talking about attracting things into our lives. This applies to things we want, and things we don't want. People all want better health, but how often do you here people say "oh that just makes me sick!" Or, "that person I work with is a pain in my neck!" Or, "It's winter, I always get sick in the winter". Then what happens? They get sick, develop a neck pain, or something else.

When we think of something, the body listens. Every thought creates a reaction, without exception! If you think thoughts of sickness, it will happen. The pain in your hip may not be arthritis, but if you continue to say it is because your Aunt Mildred had it, then you will get it too.

The secret to having good health and anything else in life is to alway feel good. Be happy - always! Instead of thinking about the things in life that make you ill, think about what makes you well - and be happy about it! Regardless of the circumstances.

So, think about what you say. Even if you are joking, thoughts become things!

I'm Back!

I guess it has been over a year since I posted anything to my blog. It's funny how you plan things and then, slowly, life gets in the way and you forget about certain things that you had planned. But that's all behind now. It's a new year, with new energies, and now, new blogging!

This past year my granddaughter, Madison Lucy was born. She was born on May 30 to be precise. She came into this world healthy, and she has not been vaccinated. In her almost 8 months of life, she had one little cold that she got over in two days. She cut two teeth during the past month and had a little fever with each one. But she did not get a congested nose or ear infections.

Vaccinating newborns is such a ritual in this country. But health does not come from chemicals being shot into the blood stream of an infant. Health comes from proper nutrition, hygiene, exercise, and keeping the nerve system in its proper tone and tension with chiropractic care. Our little Maddi is already developing into a healthy child because she gets adjusted regularly!

Keeping the nerve system, the operating system of the body, healthy is the most important thing everyone can do for themselves - at any age!