"There's an Unvaccinated Sucker Born Every Minute"
From: R. Weiser (weiser_at_acsh.org)
Date: 10/29/04
- Next message: Mary Fisher: "Re: Mayonnaise (safety issues for whole egg home pasteuization)"
- Previous message: Dr. Jai Maharaj: "Group Renews Call for Withdrawal of Cholesterol Drug"
- Next in thread: Gymmy Bob: "Re: "There's an Unvaccinated Sucker Born Every Minute""
- Reply: Gymmy Bob: "Re: "There's an Unvaccinated Sucker Born Every Minute""
- Messages sorted by: [ date ] [ thread ]
Date: 29 Oct 2004 12:48:16 -0700
(NOTE: The original blog post on the American Council on Science and
Health's site includes hyperlinks for some words, which I included in
parentheses here even though the format looks odd)
from http://www.acsh.org/factsfears/newsID.465/news_detail.asp
With severe limits on flu vaccine availability, it is only natural
that the public will try to seek out other effective means of flu
prevention. Feeding off the widespread panic over the flu and the
desire for alternatives in flu prevention, an abundance of "flu
remedies" is now available on the Internet, making strong and
misleading claims. Vulnerable people, relatively unregulated "dietary
supplements," and the vast territory of the Internet combine to create
fertile ground for misinformation.
A simple Internet search reveals a wide variety of products making
grand claims about their ability to prevent and/or treat the flu,
boost the immune system, and in some cases prevent or treat everything
from cancer to wrinkles. The three products below were among those
advertised in the top sponsored links for a Google search of the word
"flu":
- Some may be happy to hear that they can actually order a tiny bit of
the flu vaccine online in the form of Influenzinum 30C
(http://homeopathyworks.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/flu.html), an oral
homeopathic remedy that uses an extremely diluted form of this year's
vaccine and is "effective," according to the advertisement on Google.
However, before you get too excited, realize that you would need to
buy a volume of Influenzinum equal to more than 300 septillion times
the volume of the sun in order to get the amount of flu vaccine
present in one dose of the traditional vaccination.(1) Even that
amount -- were the manufacturer somehow able to provide it and were
you somehow able to ingest it -- would probably not do much for you,
as the vaccine needs to be injected.
- The website of Total Body Defense (http://www.fluaway.net/index.htm)
claims that the product is the "#1 recommended flu shot alternative"
and also includes a statement formatted to seem as if it was ripped
out of a newspaper, stating, "Doctors recommend TOTAL BODY DEFENSE to
prepare for the upcoming flu season due to a shortage in flu
vaccines." (It also claims that the product can "induce daily fat
loss" and "fight aging," among other things.) However, there was not
even one specific doctor mentioned as an endorser on the site, nor any
indication that anyone aside from the manufacturer endorses it as the
top "flu shot alternative." Furthermore, the website details the
supposed effects of seven of its ingredients
(http://www.fluaway.net/ingredients.htm) but cites specific studies
for only one of them (other references to scientific studies are vague
or do not give a specific citation). Also, no part of the site
mentions the potential side effects, contraindications, or drug
interactions (http://www.acsh.org/publications/pubID.515/pub_detail.asp)
of any of its ingredients, such as ginkgo
(http://www.rxlist.com/cgi/alt/ginkgo_wcp.htm), which should not be
used by pregnant women or people taking blood-thinning medications
such as aspirin.
- Perhaps the most troubling "remedy" in the search results was
Mesosilver (a colloidal silver solution), marketed by Purest Colloids,
Inc (www.purestcolloids.com). The homepage of Purest Colloids, Inc.
states that, "While we make no health claims about the use or
effectiveness of our product line, our customers have found our
products helpful in a wide variety of applications." This disclaimer,
like others on its site, is likely present due to the Food and Drug
Administration's 1999 ruling
(http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/ANSWERS/ANS00971.html ) that colloidal
silver is not recognized as a safe or effective treatment in
over-the-counter products for any condition, and its manufacturers
therefore cannot make drug-like claims about the product. Despite the
disclaimer on the company's homepage, the flu-related site for
Mesosilver (http://www.purestcolloids.com/flu.htm) states that the
"effectiveness of colloidal silver is unparalleled" and that
"Mesosilver is the most effective colloidal silver." If those are not
claims about the product's effectiveness, it is hard to imagine what
is.
The product's website also states that "no adverse side effects have
ever been reported." However, use of colloidal silver products has
long been recognized to cause argyria
(http://www.emedicine.com/derm/topic595.htm), a permanent blue-gray
discoloration of the body. The company's website claims that their
product does not cause argyria because it only contains actual
colloidal silver particles, as opposed to other types of silver such
as silver salts. While the data on argyria focuses on particles such
as silver salts, the adverse effects of the form of silver in
Mesosilver have't been scientifically studied in detail.
An abundance of products is marketed as flu remedies based on
unsubstantiated claims. This underscores the importance of basing flu
prevention strategies on sound science, and the importance of not
trusting obscure companies to disclose adverse reactions or
contraindications. Many companies are trying to cash in on the
potential health crisis posed by extremely limited flu vaccine
availability. Rather than relying on their unproven measures, take
simple and proven preventive measures such as frequent hand washing,
avoiding touching your nose and mouth, and avoiding crowds and people
known to be sick with the flu.
(1) Assuming a 0.5 cc dose, diluted by 100 (1 part of flu vaccine to
99 parts of water or alcohol [as Influenzinum's website details]) 30
successive times, one dose would be spread into 5 * 10^59 cubic
centimeters. The sun's volume is about 1.4 * 10^33 cubic centimeters.
------
Rivka Weiser
American Council on Science and Health
www.acsh.org
www.factandfears.com
- Next message: Mary Fisher: "Re: Mayonnaise (safety issues for whole egg home pasteuization)"
- Previous message: Dr. Jai Maharaj: "Group Renews Call for Withdrawal of Cholesterol Drug"
- Next in thread: Gymmy Bob: "Re: "There's an Unvaccinated Sucker Born Every Minute""
- Reply: Gymmy Bob: "Re: "There's an Unvaccinated Sucker Born Every Minute""
- Messages sorted by: [ date ] [ thread ]
Relevant Pages
|
