Medical opinion by John F. Ruhland, ND

Let's Have a Pox Party!

Chickenpox, mumps, rubella, and even measles are generally benign diseases for normally healthy children above one year old. Children can benefit from catching the natural disease, because it confers lifelong immunity, protecting them when they become elderly. For public reference, here's a letter I sent my friends, to try to help revive the tradition of Chickenpox parties. Parents should of course do independent reading on vaccinations and the diseases to become fully informed. I suggest some references below.

Dear Friends,

We are trying to find children with the common childhood illnesses (like chickenpox) so our child may develop the natural form of the disease. This gives a much better immunity than vaccination, and has a very important extra benefit: it will protect the future children of a female when she breastfeeds her own children, by conferring temporary passive immunity as long as she breastfeeds. Vaccinated kids are not protected from these diseases by their mother's breastmilk if the mother was vaccinated and never had the natural form of the disease. If you are interested, please let me know. We would love it if you would allow us to have a party with your child if (s)he gets one of the common childhood illnesses, even if you prefer not to participate as a recipient. Please also circulate this to your other friends with young children.

Sincerely,
John Ruhland

For further reference:

Mothering Magazine is the foremost parenting magazine for people interested in holistic health. They have taken a stance against most immunization. I posted a similar request on their website (see Mothering.com).

For further discussion on vaccinations, please see the Washington Free Press webpage for back issues: www.wafreepress.org/back.html. The Free Press has published an excellent series of articles on vaccinations in the past year, beginning with my NatureDoc column in the September/October 2002 issue. It usually takes about two months for the current issue to be posted.

Lastly, members of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) voted two years ago in October for an end to mandatory childhood vaccines. The resolution and mandatory vaccine fact sheet are posted on their website: www.aapsonline.org.

An excellent source for a balanced view of vaccination, is the National Vaccine Information Center: www.909shot.com.

I will soon be adding links to all the WA Free Press articles, as well as to other important vaccination sites, on my website: www.drruhland.com.

Dr. John F. Ruhland practices at the Natural Health Medical Clinic, 4002--25th Avenue S, Seattle, WA 98108, 206-723-4891, www.drruhland.com.