Do you remember the theme song from the show Cops? It goes "bad boys bad boys, watcha gonna do, watcha gonna do when they come for you?"

 

I am going to stick my neck out here and venture into an area most doctors do not dare tread into because of fear over lawsuits.  I feel the truth is truth and unless we start talking about this stuff we are heading quickly down a slippery slope. No scientist on earth can explain the full range of consequences. 

 

What are your plans the next time you or your child gets sick...whatcha gonna do?  Do you run off to the doctor for an antibiotic?  Do you bleach your entire house in an attempt to kill every invisible bug out there? I want you to strongly rethink this strategy, here is why...this strategy does not often work. 

 

The sickest kids we see in our office are the ones that take the most medications...then when those kids start getting adjusted and stop taking medications they become the healthiest kids we care for.  This is a testimonial that we see weekly at Health Quest..."after a year of Chiropractic we only had one visits to our medical doctor for our 3 year old daughter versus the year before we had 12 visits!" D.S.

 

The biggest problem with antibiotics is that we've come to realize that bacteria are little genomic hussies. They happily exchange their genes around each other through bacteria specific viruses (Bacteriophages).  This means that an organism that wouldn't be good at 'building' new antibiotic resistance mechanisms has another option; it can acquire the antibiotic resistance from other bacteria in the environment. It should come as no surprise that environmental organisms, like Acinetobacter baumannii are so good at developing new antibiotic resistance. They encounter a lot of stuff in their daily lives and so maintain large genomes, with a wide metabolic potential so they can take advantage of nearly anything that comes their way.

That paragraph above basically means antibiotics are ineffective against the innate intelligence of bacteria, and they are becoming even less effective every month.  As parents, we show love to our children by caring for them when they are sick.  Unfortunately this almost always means giving them some sort of medication, whether it is over the counter or prescribed.  Please rethink this.

 

Here is the good news...bacteria may be smart little buggers, but your body has an innate intelligence too!  The key is to work with this intelligence and to harness it, not to suppress it.  Remember, your body heals itself, not drugs or antibiotics.

 

First, realize that if you or your child has a fever, that is your innate intelligence at work.  Anything 103 degrees and below is fine, I would even argue a healthy thing.  Your body is smart and it raises temperature so that bacteria cannot survive.  Bacteria or viruses quickly die off at these temperatures.  Taking a medication to lower your fever (called an antipyretic) WORKS AGAINST INNATE!  If your child's temperature goes above 103 I suggest a cold shower or ice bath before you start dumping in the medication.  Recent reports with the swine flu show that people who let their fevers ride out fought it off in 5 days versus 9 days in people that took aspirin or acetaminophen.

 

How about a stomach bug? Again, your innate intelligence causes you to start vomiting or having diarrhea when you get something bad in your gut.  Your body is working hard to get that bug out.  Stay well hydrated, but work with your body.  Often we come along with our brilliance and take anti-diarrheal meds that actually keep the bug INSIDE OF US longer by stopping our body from doing its job!  Do not work against your innate.

 

Here is the big secret nobody wants to talk about...if the germ theory was true, we would all be dead! If you culture my nose or your nose right now there is all sorts of deadly bacteria and viruses to be found.  But you are alive and well right now?  Does this mean germs do not in fact cause illness?  It means that when your immune system is strong, germs are no big deal, in fact they seem to strengthen our immune systems.  Unless you live in a bubble, you cannot avoid germs.  So instead of disinfecting everything, put that energy into doing things that boost your immunity.
 

 

Chiropractic is the only health profession that recognizes and aims to work with the brilliant design of our bodies.  We strive to help your body work better.