The 5 Most Repeated Health Myths That Medical Doctors Have No Intention on Abandoning

[IzzyPop]

Off topic: What does PRATTs mean? I've seen it a few times, and I don't know. :\

Point Refuted A Thousand Times

 

[Rion]

Anyone else disappointed this didn't link to a cracked.com article?

That was why I clicked on the thread.

 

[trunks2k]

Yes, Smallpox is a victory...or is it?
Smallpox - Vaccination, Eradication and Terrorism - Biology

If everyone had natural immunity to smallpox, it would not be a potential devastating weapon of mass destruction.

I don't think anybody has claimed that we all now have a natural immunity to smallpox. Rather, the vaccine program worked so well that it no longer exists in the wild. The only places small pox is known to exist is in highly secured laboratories. Yes, if someone got a hold of it, and grew enough of it that they managed to weaponize it, it would be devastating until ramped up production and started vaccinating everyone against it again.

 

[Belk]

Show me an alternative medicine neurologists.

 

[Psudopod]

If everyone had natural immunity to smallpox, it would not be a potential devastating weapon of mass destruction.

But in order to get a natural immunity to smallpox, you'd have to catch it first.

Also there is a small number of people that get the illness even after getting the vaccine, be it failed vaccine, failed reaction to the vaccine in the person,or some other reason.

True, no vaccine is perfectly effective, but if everyone who can vaccinate, does, then the herd immunity is enough to stop disease spreading through communities.

Of course, I am not recommending stopping of any vaccine being offered today. Each person must decide for themselves what is right for them.(or their children) But it should be an educated decision, not just a medical professional telling them they need to get it.

The person best equiped to make that educated decision is more likely to be the medical proffessional.

 

[IanCG]

Didn't even have to look past the ad on the top of the page (magentic sleep pads) to know the site was going to be full of bull.

Same.

 

[DaisyDay]

I think none of those are myths, except for preventing death. That just looks kind of silly.

The best you can do is postpone it - that's gone up by a good thirty years in countries that have modern medicine readily available to the masses.

 

[DaisyDay]

But in order to get a natural immunity to smallpox, you'd have to catch it first.

Not all together, remember the milkmaids and cowpox? That is what lead to vaccines (and the name "vaccine"). Of course, we can't all be milkmaids and I don't know if cows these days get cowpox.

True, no vaccine is perfectly effective, but if everyone who can vaccinate, does, then the herd immunity is enough to stop disease spreading through communities.

The person best equiped to make that educated decision is more likely to be the medical proffessional.

Can't argue with any of that.-

 

[Halossellar]

I was only able to get to point number 2 as my non-lack of intelligence kicked in. It had already warned me once when I was reading Paul Ryan's convention speech. If I do anything else stupid today, my brain makes me go to the library.

 

[Genersis]

I hope not too many people buy into this.

 

[Psudopod]

Not all together, remember the milkmaids and cowpox? That is what lead to vaccines (and the name "vaccine"). Of course, we can't all be milkmaids and I don't know if cows these days get cowpox.

That is true, but does that count as "natural" immunity? When I see people using it, it tends to mean immunity gained after catching the disease.

 

[Museveni]

That is true, but does that count as "natural" immunity? When I see people using it, it tends to mean immunity gained after catching the disease.

Thats is how vaccines work. They "give you" the disease but have alot of suppresing elements in you so that you dont actully get the disease but your body thinks you did and develops the natural immunity.

The put it simply vaccines makes your body develop natural immunity to a disease without you having to get the disease in the first place. The is no difference betwen being immune to something by getting it naturally or through a vaccine.

 

[Matelot]

Thats is how vaccines work. They "give you" the disease but have alot of suppresing elements in you so that you dont actully get the disease but your body thinks you did and develops the natural immunity.

The put it simply vaccines makes your body develop natural immunity to a disease without you having to get the disease in the first place. The is no difference betwen being immune to something by getting it naturally or through a vaccine.

I thought a vaccine was like a weakened version of the disease which isn't strong enough to make you seriously ill, but is just enough for your body to fight it off and build immunities to successfully fend off a serious version later.

 

[metherion]

I thought a vaccine was like a weakened version of the disease which isn't strong enough to make you seriously ill, but is just enough for your body to fight it off and build immunities to successfully fend off a serious version later.

It depends. Some vaccines are dead pathogens, some are severely weakened or suppressed or what-have-you.

Metherion

 

[Fenny the Fox]

Thats is how vaccines work. They "give you" the disease but have alot of suppresing elements in you so that you dont actully get the disease but your body thinks you did and develops the natural immunity.

The put it simply vaccines makes your body develop natural immunity to a disease without you having to get the disease in the first place. The is no difference betwen being immune to something by getting it naturally or through a vaccine.

This depends. A "live" or "attenuated" vaccine, such as is often used in flu vaccines, is this way. (The kind they spray in your sinuses, not the shot.) In that case, the pathogens are too weakened to infect, but provide a very good reaction from the immune system, allowing a more effective and efficient antibody development.

But most are killed pathogen cells (or dismantled viruses, in the case of influenza or such) - they provide the antigens that allow the immune system to react and form antibodies, but have no possibility to infect. This is what is used in most all vaccines - MMR, most flu (all the injection type are this way), tetanus, etc etc etc.

 

[DaisyDay]

That is true, but does that count as "natural" immunity? When I see people using it, it tends to mean immunity gained after catching the disease.

In the case of cow pox conferring immunity to small pox, the diseases are similar enough that immunity gained from having one gotten naturally, not by injection, gives immunity to the other.

But, come to think of it, "natural" immunity may be as opposed to "acquired" immunity - whether by surviving the disease or being vaccinated against it. I'm not sure.

 

[Trogool]

But, come to think of it, "natural" immunity may be as opposed to "acquired" immunity - whether by surviving the disease or being vaccinated against it. I'm not sure.

Yes. And the anti-medicine crowd makes a big deal over that, not understanding that they are functionally exactly the same.

 

[dbcsf]

I don't think anybody has claimed that we all now have a natural immunity to smallpox. Rather, the vaccine program worked so well that it no longer exists in the wild. The only places small pox is known to exist is in highly secured laboratories. Yes, if someone got a hold of it, and grew enough of it that they managed to weaponize it, it would be devastating until ramped up production and started vaccinating everyone against it again.

Just as an aside, Edward Jenner started the vaccination for small pox business with cow pox. If someone ever lets it out of the lab, find a cow and start milking, fast!

From my understanding, there may be a small, natural resistance to smallpox for Europeans and Asians. I am unsure of Africans. The idea is that smallpox was an old world disease, since it had been around for a long time, genetic selection may have made Europeans a little hardier than native Americans to the disease.

A "little hardier" is not the same thing as vaccination. It was still pretty devastating and/or deadly, even for the "hardier" Europeans. Their survival rates were better than the native Americans, but not at all acceptable. Many survivors, of course, ended up blind, for example. Consequently, Europeans were still extremely eager to get vaccinated to prevent it when offered.

Fortunately for me, after 9/11 they wanted volunteers to join a volunteer emergency services team in case of small pox attack, so I joined up and was vaccinated back then. It will probably be good for a few more years, anyway.

 

[Psudopod]

Thats is how vaccines work. They "give you" the disease but have alot of suppresing elements in you so that you dont actully get the disease but your body thinks you did and develops the natural immunity.

The put it simply vaccines makes your body develop natural immunity to a disease without you having to get the disease in the first place. The is no difference betwen being immune to something by getting it naturally or through a vaccine.

I understand how vaccines work, I was just querying whether this would be covered by the term "natural" as used by poster I was quoting.The term tends to be used by anti-vaccers because most people who understand will simply use immunity in both cases because they understand its the same.

 

[Dale]

Thats is how vaccines work. They "give you" the disease but have alot of suppresing elements in you so that you dont actully get the disease but your body thinks you did and develops the natural immunity.

The put it simply vaccines makes your body develop natural immunity to a disease without you having to get the disease in the first place. The is no difference betwen being immune to something by getting it naturally or through a vaccine.

You're more likely to live through the vaccine.


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