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Managing chickenpox and whooping cough

 Randall Neustaedter OMD, LAc

Prevent every disease under the sun. That is the goal of the vaccine campaign. Super vaccines at birth, booster doses every ten years throughout life, new vaccines introduced every year. A campaign like that keeps the profits flowing for drug companies with a major stake in the vaccine trade. Imagine, no colds, no ear infections, a childhood free of all those pesky infections that cause loss of revenue at corporations when parents must stay at home with their sick kids. Such is the reasoning of big business. Don't forget the savings at HMOs where more office visits for illness means less profit.

 There is a downside to this utopian vision. Vaccines have adverse effects, always unexpected, and sometimes severely disabling, or fatal. The damage to our children from vaccines themselves has caused parents and now Congress to question the accepted wisdom of the explosive growth of the new vaccine market. The dangers of the rotavirus vaccine for diarrhea caused its hasty withdrawal after only one year of widespread use. The devastating damage to kids resulting from the hepatitis B vaccine prompted Congressional hearings into the wisdom of vaccinating babies against a sexually transmitted disease they were unlikely to contract. Now research is showing the beneficial effects to the immune system from catching those common childhood diseases.

 An increasing number of parents have chosen to defy the accepted wisdom and avoid those vaccines they think are too dangerous or unnecessary for their children. Unvaccinated kids (and even many who have received the vaccines) may come down with one of these diseases. The most common that still circulate are chickenpox (varicella) and whooping cough (pertussis). Someone out there could get measles or mumps, but cases are now rare. Rubella is a minimal disease that needs no treatment. The rest of this article is devoted to managing these childhood illnesses.

Chickenpox (varicella)

Many parents deliberately expose their children to others with chickenpox to get this benign illness out of the way and confer permanent immunity. Is this a good idea? Resounding yes, and do it now because chickenpox may take the same road as measles and mumps, disappearing from the childhood roster of illness, only to re-emerge as a more serious, and more common, disease of adults.

Treating chickenpox is simple. Do not suppress the eruptions with anti-viral drugs (acyclovir). Put Calamine lotion on the itching lesions, soak your child in Aveeno baths (do not use the version of these products that contains camphor). Give Rhus-toxicodendron 30 (homeopathic medicine), two pellets every three hours when itching is severe. If lesions are severe, oozing, or forming a heavy crust and slow to heal give Antimonium crudum 30 every three hours.

Like other viral illnesses, vitamin C, vitamin A in the form of beta carotene, and echinacea will provide support for the body's fight against the disease.

 Whooping cough (pertussis)

Be prepared for bad coughing spells. Beyond that whooping cough is usually free of complications. Infants under twelve months suffer more complications than any other age group, sometimes requiring hospital care for pneumonia or difficulty breathing with the cough.

Antibiotics are often prescribed for pertussis, but they have minimal effect on symptoms. Antibiotics do kill the bacteria and prevent spread of the disease to others. Cough suppressants are useless. Homeopathic medicines are more effective and have no side effects. Find an experienced homeopathic practitioner through the Council for Homeopathic Certification, or the National Center for Homeopathy. Since whooping cough lasts for at least six to eight weeks, the homeopathic prescription often needs to be adjusted as symptoms change. If no practitioner is available in your area, consider giving remedies on your own.

Drosera rotundifolia is the premier remedy for whooping cough, used if these symptoms are present: Symptoms are worse in the middle of the night. The cough is triggered by laughing and exertion. The cough is hoarse and barking with prolonged attacks that often end in gagging and vomiting.

Cuprum metallicum is the second most frequently prescribed remedy, used if these symptoms are present: The coughing spells are alarming and long, with spasms of the larynx that result in gasping and difficulty getting a breath. These spells end in exhaustion.

Sometimes the correct remedy needs to fit the individual's unusual symptoms. Be patient with whooping cough. The coughing spells will fade over time, but colds subsequent to the illness may result in a recurrence of coughing bouts. The good news is that whooping cough does confer lifelong immunity, unlike the vaccine.