Vaccine Free

Review

This book review is reprinted fromVolume 21, Summer 2008 edition, with permisstion from Homeopathic Links.

Reviewed by Dr. J. Rozencwajg, MO, PhD, NMO, New Zealand

This is a very timely book, coming just when more and more people, practitioners as well as lay persons, are questioning the validity of vaccines, whereas at the same time diseases that were once called exotic are appearing everywhere in the world thanks to fast travel.

The book starts with a review of basic homeopathic principles and the homeopathic approach to fevers, followed by a simple but good overview of the immune system, the homeopathic concept of susceptibility and prophylaxis as well as the way vaccines create injury and how we treat these injuries with homeopathy.

I might be nit-picking, but writing that some vaccines are the same as serums is not correct; and explaining that because antibiotics are of fungal origin they create fungal infections afterwards is certainly not the way to be taken seriously, although those are the only errors I came across.

Another problem is the use of antiquated terms or notions: degradation of blood, decomposition of blood, zymotic diseases; these are archaic terms that do not make sense in today's medical world; as correct as they were years ago within the knowledge of that time, they should either be explained in today's terminology with understandable English, or replaced with the actual modern concepts like septicaemia, especially given that the book is aimed at the general public.

The second part of the book goes through diseases like rabies, tetanus, polio, diphtheria syphilis, AIDS, cholera, malaria, 37 in total, some grouped together as their symptoms and clinical presentations are comparable.

Each disease is described properly; the conventional vaccination and treatment is explained, then the homeopathic treatment and prevention are explored, with a list of remedies and a short description of each of the major remedies as it relates to the specific disease.

Not too many details here but not bare bones either, Kate Birch has found the almost perfect presentation of the necessary information to make this book a useful reference to keep close to your desk rather than gather dust on a bookshelf. I really appreciated the practical usefulness of the information provided and know that I will certainly refer to it quite often.

We all meet concerned parents who hesitate a lot about what to do about vaccines; this book will give correct and concentrated information, and if more is needed there are many references listed in it.

And when we come across one of those pathologies we will encounter once in a lifetime, we have here a good short summary of what it is and how to approach it.

I strongly recommend it to each and every practitioner.

This book review is reprinted from Volume 22, Winter 2009 edition, with permission from Homeopathic Links.

Reviewed by Ralf Jeutter, Ph.D., RSHom, United Kingdom

By compiling this book, the author has produced the most comprehensive information resource concerning homeopathic prophylaxis. At 440 pages this is clearly a work of love and dedication. A wide variety of infectious diseases are described in great detail as to their pathology, the conventional treatment employed and the homeopathic remedies appropriate to these diseases (as prevention and/or treatment). The author has also included sections on otitis media, pneumonia and conjunctivitis, since these occur often in the context of vaccination. A curious omission, though, is borreliosis.

Those readers who are happy with a virtually unreferenced compendium will probably agree with Neustaedter's assessment in the Foreword: "Armed with this text, practitioners can feel confident that these diseases are manageable and their corresponding vaccines unnecessary." The book addresses practitioners and "consumers" alike, and has therefore chapters on "Basic Homeopathic Principles", "Homeopathic Philosophy on Fevers" and an "Overview of the Immune System".

Those readers, however, who think that a book of this length and content should be thoroughly referenced, might well take a more critical view. This book puts itself beyond reproach by stating: "The information presented here is based on the experience of my practice and the clinical practices of homeopaths past and present. This book is not intended to be research oriented, nor exhaustive, but rather a practical guide into homeopathic thought and practice." (p. 3) That does not mean, however, that a thoroughly researched and annotated book on this topic would not have been more preferable. It would have made a welcome break with the tradition of simply passing on, Chinese whisper style, what individual homeopaths have said in this field, which is notoriously based on rumour, anecdote or selective experiences of individuals (e.g. Grimmer, Burnett, Kent, etc.)

There is no mention of the work of Isaac Golden at all, who has carried out the most systematic and thorough primary research in this field. What is needed is a systematic review of the available literature, and an attempt to trace the different lines of transmission of the available information. Moreover, had the author decided to make the book more research-based, she would have been possibly a bit more cautious regarding certain generalised statements, as for example that "acute epidemic diseases are an attempt of Mother Earth to heal a certain ailing aspect of the population: avarice, lust, gluttony, slothfulness..." (p. 50), or that "the tuberculosis epidemic in Europe occurred under the heavy political oppression by the monarchy [which monarchy?] during the Romantic period of the late Renaissance" [Romantic period - late Renaissance: they are easily 200 years apart! ].

Equally, the materia medica is not referenced; it is therefore not clear where what information comes from. To find under Echinacea (for vaccination damage) the entry: "A corrector of the depravity of the bodily fluids" is not satisfactory, since it is neither a symptom nor a useful description of a pathological state.

The myth is repeated that gonorrhoea "is considered to be the infectious principle of the sycotic miasm", where Hahnemann very clearly attributes sycosis to the "figwart disease" (in today's language Human Papilloma Virus), which can be attended by "a sort of gonorrhoea" (Chronic Diseases, p. 87).

The bibliography, sparse as it is, needs to be checked thoroughly. Some website links do not work at all, and some are not acceptable in a book like this, e.g. answers.google.com. If homeopathy wants to make progress in securing its own knowledge base, it must leave its critique-free niche where opinions, assumptions and hypotheses thrive (which can neither be verified nor disputed), but where academic accountability is hard to come by.

Although the book does not satisfy external academic standards, it is a very thorough collection of information regarding homeopathic prophylaxis. The appendices on types of vaccines and the quick reference guide are very useful. The author's passion and conviction come through strongly, which echo the sentiment Grimmer expressed 60 years ago thus: "It is also our duty to invite physicians of all schools of healing to test fully the homeopathic art of protection against epidemic diseases if nothing else. If such tests were honestly made by sincere men of all schools of healing, homeopathy would reach its place in the sun."

This book review is reprinted from The Homeopath with the permission from Autumn 2007, Volume 26:2 of The Society of Homoeopaths.

Reviewed by David Owen

This book starts with a review of the principles of classical homeopathy and summarises the challenge to homeopaths of having to manage layers of suppression caused by western medicine including vaccination, while at the same time advising patients about managing the risks of preventing infectious diseases by vaccination. Kate Birch, a member of the North American Society of Homeopaths, weaves a well thought out text to give a broad overview to help inform and empower patients, although it does not present the full arguments and 'evidence' to which those promoting vaccination would draw patients attention. It includes a well reasoned argument for the need for fevers, challenges the germ theory as the basis of infectious disease, and a description of the immune system and how it responds to vaccination. For the practitioner it addresses questions of susceptibility and how this changes, homeopathic prophylaxis, and an extended view of miasms as they relate to infectious diseases. There are many useful learning points that those seeking to understand the broader miasmatic categories so usefully described by Sankaran and others, could use to help deepen a knowledge of these miasms and in recognising them in clinical practice.

The book will help practitioners recognise vaccine injury and presents a number of ideas about its homeopathic treatment. The book reviews a number of infective conditions as well as the usual illnesses for which vaccination is offered, diseases such as plague, genital warts, malaria, glandular fever, including details of the disease pathology and vaccination programmes offered for them. It looks informatively and knowledgeably at the remedies related to these acute illnesses and while most UK homeopaths will not regularly see these acute states, we will see patients where their case expresses aspects of the acute state and where understanding the picture and these remedies will help in the patient's care.

One of the most difficult aspects of advising patients on vaccination is that it is often unclear with whom is the contract. Is it with the parents, is it with the child, is it with the wider population and the prevention of illnesses that might put others at risk? Unfortunately the book (I think mistakenly) presents homeopathy as a straightforward alternative to vaccination. The alternative to this is to engage patients in a 2-stage process, clarifying first of all the pros and cons of vaccination to the individual and the population. Inviting the patient to gather as much information as they can to enable them to make an informed decision about their choices on whether to vaccinate or nor. Once they have made this decision the homeopath can support the patient with the choice they have made. In the current political and medical environment with the current evidence, the homeopathic profession makes itself a hostage to fortune if it really presents homeopathy as a direct alternative to vaccination. That said, this book is a formidable collection of information about acute diseases, acute disease management, understanding epidemics and epidemic remedies and as presenting insights into 'new miasms'.

This book review is reprinted with the permission of the Homeopathic Academy of Naturopathic Physicians

REVIEWED BY NEIL TESSLER ND DHANP

There is an issue that is of great importance to the homeopathic community and that is our relationship to the larger world of science and the science within homeopathy. However much science or the notion of "evidence-based" is subject to abuse, the fact remains that the standards of scientific discourse are the invaluable norm within society, and when not otherwise under the boot heel of industry, work for the general benefit of the population as a whole. Some cultures have suffered immeasurably when science is pushed aside by an ideological agenda emanating from politicians and theologians. In recent years we have seen how this same tendency has grown in the U.S. Society suffers the loss of a rational foundation for its forward progress and degradation in intellectual standards infects even the educational system. Suddenly we find ourselves mired in myth, imagination and superstition far more rapidly then we would have imagined. The only advantage accrues to those who would manipulate popular opinion, which is always easier when intellectual standards are compromised.

Hahnemann was a scientist first, and the inductive science Hahnemann applied to his endeavors is the rational basis for homeopathic practice. Science, whether inductive or deductive, whether in vitro or in vivo, is a rigorous discipline with a specific approach to language regarding findings, and specific requirements to support assertions of fact. It is critical that our homeopathic educators teach this rigor and invest our students with these concepts and this language. Non-dogmatic phrases such as "These findings would tend to indicate. . ." go a long way to establish the open-ended nature of scientific inquiry, as opposed to dogmatic assertions of fact. The use of footnotes and references is also a basic aspect of rational discourse.

Unfortunately, despite various worthwhile qualities, Vaccine Free Prevention and Treatment of Infectious Contagious Disease with Homeopathy: A Manual for Practitioners and Consumers suffers from serious errors in exactly these areas. Yes, there is much well organized information on homeopathy, acute case taking and assessment, primary and secondary action, vaccine injury and its homeopathic treatment, etc., that may be of use to practitioners. However, Kate's presentation of the delicate issue of vaccination traverses various scientific issues and discussions and this is marred by sometimes outlandish assertions and presentations of alleged fact, both scientific and philosophical, that are inherently questionable or in other instances require footnotes or references that are conspicuously missing.

In a discussion of "epidemics and collective susceptibilities" we find the following: "The homeopathic perspective is that acute epidemic diseases are an attempt of Mother Earth to heal a certain ailing aspect of the population: lust, gluttony, slothfulness, pride, envy or wrath for example."

I guess I don't go to that church. If this is what is meant by "collective susceptibilities", we have gone far from the science of homeopathy, into the realm of theological doctrine. These puritan categories conjure images worthy of Hieronymus Bosch rather than Hahnemann's homeopathy. If you replace "Mother Earth" with "God" the problem becomes even clearer. Asserting that this alleged association between biblical sin and the vengeance of Mother Earth is "the homeopathic perspective" is a grave mistake and a danger to homeopathy. It is bound to invite derision from any discerning non-homeopathic reader who might happen upon it.

The author then writes, "The epidemic disease that comes has a similarity in character to the diseased state of the population." Are we then to imagine a direct relationship between say, "slothfulness" or "envy" as a diseased state of the collective population, with a specific type of epidemic? This is far into a very murky realm of imagination and speculation. The author must plainly state that these are her personal views, not "the homeopathic perspective". Furthermore, a statement of this nature should be supported by example after example.

A little further on, Kate discusses the "main program" of homeopathic prophylaxis as involving twenty-eight remedies given over five years and asserts that its "efficacy of protection runs at 89%". The reader hangs in suspended animation waiting for the references to support this astounding assertion! Alas, we wait in vain. In the meantime, can anyone seriously. imagine actually attempting to treat a child homeopathically amidst this meteor shower of remedies?

Elsewhere she attributes to Hahnemann the notion of using nosodes as prophylaxis for epidemic diseases. Maybe everyone else knows this, but I don't and searched in vain for a reference. Assertions of this nature must be supported by references. In the meantime, this was by no means the known practice of Hahnemann in epidemic disease, which was invariably based on the genus epidemicus.

One section discusses the various components of the immune system. Yet the discussion of innate immunity tells only part of the story, though it does so as if it were the whole story. Various physical barriers of the body are listed as defining innate immunity, but the critical elements of cellular innate immunity such as the complement system, phagocytes, eosinophils, basophils, mast cells and natural killer cells are forgotten. This is a significant omission in a discussion of immune response, leaving the reader/ student with an incomplete and ultimately incorrect definition.

The last sixty-five percent of the book is a compilation of epidemic and infectious illnesses, their conventional prevention and treatment and detailed indications for homeopathic remedies in each condition. More or less identical lists can be found in many other books old and new.

In my opinion, the author, having done an enormous amount of work, was ill served by her reviewers, who might have pointed out various instances like those I have cited, that significantly effect the value of the entire presentation and make this volumes intended use as a textbook unsupportable. We are not happy at all to have to write a critical review and it was a very strong consideration to say nothing. However, this is not only a significant issue that can have serious implications for our profession, but is a general social issue affecting a significant public debate. It brings to light that which is valuable, if not critical to society in rational thought and the philosophy of science. Yet it also reveals the startling fact that this is a rather thin veneer over the far more primal and powerful world of superstition, imagination and emotion, so easily and regularly subject to manipulation and distortion. This also has relevance to the great controversies within the homeopathic community that often relate to the character of homeopathic training and the need to instill basic mental disciplines arising from the inductive science of Hahnemann. These issues requires greater consideration by those who run homeopathic training programs for lay students where there may not be the foundational education in the philosophy of science. Addressing these issues at the educational level is important for the students and the profession.

Summer/Fall 2007 Volume XX / SIMILLIMUM