At the Marc Bony Chiropractic Center in Mataró, we explore how chiropractic can be an ally in the natural treatment of infections, promoting overall health.

There is a Natural Treatment for Infections

Chiropractic Perspectives on Infectious Diseases General Concepts:

• Germ Theory

Most people have an unconscious attitude about “germs” and their relationship with humans. This sometimes approaches an irrational “phobia” or fear of all microbes. This type of fear is unnecessary, since most germs are “harmless” to us, and avoiding germs is really impossible – they are inside us, in us and around us in large numbers, all the time. For example, it is estimated that the total number of bacteria inhabiting the average person’s intestinal tract exceeds the total number of cells in a person’s body! Many of these organisms are even useful, if not vital to our well-being. Even those not in our immediate personal space have a necessary function in nature – they are the original “recyclers.” If it weren’t for the action of bacteria on organic waste, “the food chain,” this cycle that provides the basis for sustaining life would have ceased long ago. Essentially, life as we know it would not exist.

This attitude towards germs dates back to the 19th century when infectious diseases were a very serious problem, as were hygiene, sanitation, and nutrition, factors known today to contribute to the situation.

When the famous Louis Pasteur announced that he had isolated a microbe, he reported on the hypothesis of the cause of a disease in silkworms, the concept that germs could also cause diseases in humans quickly followed. The germ theory of disease, as it has come to be called, has become the basis of much of modern medicine for the treatment of diseases. In the process, advances in food preservation, agriculture, wastewater disposal, and general hygiene and sanitation practices have been virtually ignored, although these things deserve at least as much credit as the drugs developed to combat germs. Natural treatment for infections

It’s not a matter of germs

In light of this, the chiropractic “attitude” is not the denial that germs exist, or that they have nothing to do with human diseases. Chiropractors also do not insist that if one receives regular chiropractic care, infection is impossible, or that people with infections are “cured” by chiropractic adjustments. Simply put, the chiropractic view is that germs alone do not cause infectious diseases (Natural treatment for infections). They can be considered as “the necessary disease for” a particular infection, rather than the cause of the infection. This is not a radical or unscientific position.

In chiropractic, we insist that human resistance is the key factor for infectious diseases.

When we become ill due to the presence of a microbe, it is because we fail to successfully adapt to its presence and not because the germ is present, or that it has “attacked” us. It is the evolution of resistance that makes us susceptible to infection at some times and not others, in some people, and not others. If germs were the only cause of infectious diseases, then no one would be safe during epidemics, and, as B. J. Palmer says, no one would be alive if the germ theory were believed.

The Nervous System is Omnipotent

The chiropractic theory holds that the nervous system is the ultimate controller of the human immune system, as it is the system of the whole body. Furthermore, it is believed that the disruption of the nervous system by complicated subluxations leads to a decrease in the body’s ability to react with maximum effectiveness to the presence of microbes, and therefore can weaken the body’s resistance, making it more susceptible to infection (Natural treatment for infections). This is sometimes referred to as the neuro-dystrophy hypothesis.

Chiropractors are also aware that many other things influence human resistance, including nutritional status, emotional stress, genetic factors, personal hygiene, and sanitation practices in society. These things cannot be dismissed by the chiropractor or other health professionals.

Prevention is more than healing

Therefore, chiropractors prefer to insist that preventing infection is, in the long run, much more practical than treating it after it has occurred. This is true in the case of human diseases. Chiropractors use interventions that improve or enhance resistance, allowing the body to restore and maintain stability using its own resources. Instead of treating people once they become ill, it seems logical that all health professionals should be primarily interested in keeping them from getting sick.

Chiropractors tend to criticize the overuse and misuse of things like antibiotics, mainly because they have often been prescribed for viral infections, in which they may have no beneficial effects. This practice has led to an increase in bacterial resistance to antibiotics; many strains are now difficult to control with virtually any antibiotic. The practice of inappropriate use of antibiotics has also contributed to the common attitude among patients that they and their children cannot heal without antibiotics or other medications. Furthermore, it has been suggested that chronic and/or inappropriate use of antibiotics causes other health problems, such as recurrent otitis media, diarrhea, yeast infections, and childhood asthma.

When allopathic medicine tries to prevent infection, its efforts do not address all the factors that influence human resistance, but instead focus on the immunized area by “artificial” means -the use of vaccines and inoculation.

The chiropractic profession generally does not condemn the intent or theory of immunization through vaccination. Instead, it is critical of relying entirely on this practice, especially in light of its deficiencies in application. Additionally, chiropractors are uncomfortable with the prevailing attitude that all people in society are expected or legally mandated to use this method of infection prevention – there is very little variety in the matter.

A careful examination of statistical data on the efficacy of vaccination reveals that the procedure is not entirely “safe” – there is no such thing as a vaccine that does not have at least some undesirable side effects. Furthermore, the argument that vaccines are responsible for nearly eradicating many diseases is refuted by evidence which clearly shows that the mortality rates of many common infections decreased by at least 90% before vaccines were available. Additionally, very few vaccines have been tested in adequately controlled research trials, the usual method by which something is proven to be effective.

In fact, some vaccines have a very high failure rate, meaning they do nothing to protect a person from disease. For example, in most cases of measles in recent years, they are occurring in vaccinated individuals. They may also lose their effectiveness quickly over time. One example is the Hepatitis B vaccine. There is evidence that 4 to 5 years after vaccination, approximately half of the vaccinated individuals are not protected against the disease. As this vaccine is primarily designed to protect individuals who are sexually active and/or IV drug users, one wonders if vaccinating newborns against the disease offers any real benefit. This vaccine is causing great concern even among medical professionals. Recently, on 7/8/99, the American Association of Physicians and Surgeons recommended the immediate suspension of the Hepatitis B vaccine for school-aged children pending further research on potential negative effects.

What will happen?

Many people, including laypeople, scientists, doctors, and chiropractors, are very concerned about the safety of vaccines currently in use. These concerns include acute reactions, some of which are severe, that can occur after vaccination. In particular, the whooping cough vaccine has been the subject of a great deal of criticism and controversy in the public health arena. Currently, many consider that the risk of serious illness including death from this vaccine is greater than the risk of natural disease for an individual. There are a number of people who believe there is a link between the DPT vaccine, one of the components of which is whooping cough, and some cases of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, or death in the “crib”).

Many long-term safety questions are also raised. In particular, viral vaccines are suspected to be related to genetic damage and autoimmune disorders. Others consider the capacity of a person’s total immune reserve, or the ability to successfully adapt to new antigens (“germs”) throughout life, to be hindered by the use of many vaccines in childhood, leaving an adult without full use of this capacity.

Even if a parent or responsible adult feels concerned enough to reject one or more vaccines for their children or for themselves, social and legal pressures tend to make these desires seem futile. Practically all social and political institutions have committed to enforcing the theory of “herd immunity.” Open and rational debate about the risks and benefits of vaccines is not recommended in this time of compliance “for the good of all.” People can obtain information only if they seek it out themselves. When they do, they discover that, for example, laws requiring vaccination compliance almost always allow exceptions for those who need or desire them.

Conclusion

The only conclusion that can be drawn is that there is absolutely no safe way to eliminate the risk of infectious diseases – all we can do now is reduce the risk to acceptable levels by various means. Many chiropractors insist that patients should remain free to choose how to reduce their risk individually.

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