Re: "There's an Unvaccinated Sucker Born Every Minute"

From: Gymmy Bob (nospamming_at_bite.me)
Date: 10/30/04 

Date: Fri, 29 Oct 2004 22:11:20 -0400

The marketting has been successful then.

"R. Weiser" <weiser@acsh.org> wrote in message
news:5d7ce928.0410291148.3d8b29eb@posting.google.com...
> (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

Relevant Pages

  • "Theres an Unvaccinated Sucker Born Every Minute"
    ... With severe limits on flu vaccine availability, ... Furthermore, the website details the ... Mesosilver (a colloidal silver solution), marketed by Purest Colloids, ...
    (sci.med)
  • Guillain-Barre Syndrome (paralysis) and vaccines
    ... It is especially known for following flu vaccine (and became very know ... after the fiasco known as Swine flu - which never even existed at all). ... The one called Guillain-Barre Syndrome often comes on quite fast after ... Advocate Says Government Should Release Flu Shot Data Dec 10, ...
    (misc.health.alternative)
  • Re: Thimerosal in the Flu vaccine
    ... Just so you know...Last year at my sons school there was a flu ... Thimerosal is a mercury compound that is in the Flu vaccine. ... We are being warned about mercury in fish, ...
    (misc.health.alternative)
  • flu vaccine
    ... We don't get the flu vaccine, by choice, for several reasons, firstly, for a ... healthy person, flu is usually unpleasant, not dangerous, secondly, it's ... Recently DS has had a virus, not flu as far as I know, but something, it's ... I haven't seen any ads for the flu vaccine in the last month or so, ...
    (misc.kids)