Many people do not realize that our primary defense against germs and disease is not provided by healthcare professionals. It is provided by our own body’s immune system. The stronger our immune systems, the better our capabilities to combating foreign invaders (germs.) To demonstrate how strong our immune systems are, think about how many days out of a year our bodies are sick.The average person is sick an average of 6-9 days annually. This equates to an average of 2.4% to 2.5%. This means our immune systems effectively protect us from all sorts of diseases 97.5% to 97.6% of the time.
The two largest segments of the population that get sick are the young and the elderly. The young have not had the time to build and strengthen their immune systems, and the elderly are more inclined to lose it as a result of a combination of poor lifestyle decisions and over utilization of medication. The young need natural exposure to the environment and its germs to provide the natural response of the immune system to strengthen it as it matures. This natural repetitive exposure provides the most effective long-term immunity.
A child that gets exposed to a bacterial or viral infection whooping cough or chicken pox for example will typically generate an immune response (rising fever is a good example) creating a hostile environment for the infection regardless of whether vaccination took place or not. Our immune systems are so intelligent that the fever in most cases will only elevate to the point of damaging the invading germ leaving the healthy cells unharmed. If we abstain from intentionally lowering the fever by using over the counter medication, our bodies will overcome the infection more quickly and efficiently.
Can this process be very uncomfortable to the sick person? Yes. Will this process of allowing our immune systems to perform their job without interference to fight the disease strengthen our immune systems capability to fight future infections? YES! Is this the course most people follow? NO! We are creatures of habit. We take these over the counter or prescription medications to feel better at the expense of our own health. We suppress our immune systems responses to an invading agent and attempt to get well by bypassing its function thus weakening it. Have you ever heard the phrase, “if you don’t use it, you lose it!?” Where is the justification for not trusting our body’s immune system to do its job effectively? With a 97+% success rate throughout the year, why shouldn’t we confidently expect it to perform well and return our bodies to a state of good health naturally? Yes, there are certainly instances where immune compromise requires prescription assistance. These situations are far and few compared to the frequency we utilize medicines today.
Below listed are a few pointers that help us understand how well our immune systems are performing:
Whenever consulting children for acute complaints at our clinics the first thing we ask parents is” How is he/she today as compare to yesterday?” The most common reply is “Doctor today he/she seems much better. He/she is less cranky ani koob masthi karta” The very fact that a sense of wellbeing has returned is the first sign that we got to understand that the immune system is winning in overcoming the acute infection.
A decrease in intensity of symptoms as compare to the previous days is another indication that we can abstain from prescribing, fully trusting the doctor within to finish the job. Patients telling us that the frequency of cough or diarrhea is less today as yesterday are sure short guidelines of improvement.Other than general rehydration advice just relax and watch the immune system at work.
Rashes, mild controlled diarrheas, runny nose are ways by which the immune system tries to eliminate toxins from the body. Wait and watch before taking a pill in panic. As long as it’s coming out don’t worry. We usually notice in our clinics that when lower respiratory tract infections (cough, asthma) get better the upper respiratory tract infections (sneezing, runny nose) get more frequent. We call this exteriorization- cure from within outwards. Rashes in eruptive fevers come when the battle is won and the toxins are being eliminated. More injury is caused when such natural ways of elimination are interfered with, pushing the toxins back again into the interior of the body. Improvement in sleep patterns, activity, energy, appetite, stools are other factors that we should keenly observe before taking a pill.
Are you as a parent willing to open your eyes to trying a new path that potentially offers a better option to your child? If so, why not try utilizing THE DOCTOR WITHIN the body to restore and improve the quality of your child’s health at the first sign of illness? Why not provide it the nutrients and rest it needs to combat disease? A wonderful benefit of following this approach is discovering the beautiful relationship between the doctor within and the better health you child shall experience from this commitment.
Dr. Dorland Martins MD
Dr. Silroy Martins
Consultants at VitaNova clinics
www.vitanovaclinics.com
For queries mail us at :reachus@vitanovaclinics.com
