If you take some time to scroll back through my blog posts over time, or if you’ve been a follower of my blog from the beginning, you’ll note that I am highly concerned about the dangerous toxins and chemicals that have become an increasingly common part of our environment. I’m passionate about finding ways to limit our exposures where we can, especially when it comes to young children, infants and pregnant women. Our most susceptible population deserves a healthy, less-toxic future.

Around this time every year the flu shot is one concern that flares on my radar because all of the pharmacies are pushing it…right alongside many doctors, pediatricians, grocery store chains and even friends and family members. Just this weekend a well-meaning extended family member asked me (after I told her that I was battling a cold) if we had gotten our flu shots. We’ve had this discussion before. In fact, we’ve had this discussion several years in a row (every fall); she just doesn’t seem to remember.

In my immediate family, we do not get the flu shot every fall. While we used to line up each and every October or November to take the shots as advised, the more I have learned about them over the past few years, the less comfortable I feel about them. Read what I wrote about the flu shot last fall when writing about the dangers of Mercury HERE. While the flu shot is often talked about and thrown around lightly in conversations as a harmless and necessary protection against the flu, I see it very differently.

First, the flu shot is not a risk-free protective health measure. Even though there are nurses set up all around our community (at tables lining the exit of our local warehouse stores for instance), this “protective measure” is not something as innocuous as taking a Vitamin C or Multi-Vitamin. Anyone who spends a little time reading the literature that comes packaged with these shots will see that there are numerous ill side-effects connected with the vaccinations. But, how often do the nurses delivering the shots offer such literature to the flu shot recepient? In my experience, they don’t offer it before, nor do they offer it after the shot has been administered. Do you trust that perfect stranger at Sam’s Club or Costco to make such an important health decision for you? To weigh the risks v. benefits of a vaccine with potential adverse reactions? I don't. They don't live in my house. They don't have to deal with any adverse events if they should occur.

Second, the flu shot is at its best an imprecise vaccine. Each year the flu vaccine makers take their best guess at which virus strains will be the most common and create the vaccine based on an educated guess. Some years predictions are more accurate than others. So, by utilizing a flu vaccine, not only are you putting your health (or the health of your infant or child) at risk, you’re also doing it for something that may or may not even work!

Third, studies show that implementing some very basic but additional precautions during flu season, (like washing your hands more frequently, getting adequate rest, drinking plenty of water, ensuring proper nutrition and supplementing your diet – or your infant/child’s diet – with additional Vitamin D-3 and Vitamin C) are MORE effective than a flu shot that does work properly. I recommend this short video from the NVIC (National Vaccine Information Center) about preventing the flu and other illnesses (like colds, viruses and bacterial illnesses) and healing quickly if you (or your child) get sick.

Finally, most people are not aware that the majority of flu shots on the market contain a preservative called Thimerisol which is 49% mercury. If you’re asking yourself, “Mercury, you mean the one that is a potent neurotoxin?” Yep, that’s the one! By blindly consenting to a flu shot, you’re allowing a neurotoxin to be injected into your bloodstream (or your infant, child or unborn baby)…and there’s no guarantee it will even work!

When it comes to pregnant women and the flu shot, I strongly encourage mothers to very carefully consider whether or not a flu shot is advisable. Click HERE to watch a short video from SafeMinds. Some thoughts to consider: Did you know that left-over mercury-containing flu shots (the very same ones recommended for pregnant women) must be disposed of as “Hazardous Waste”? Further, did you know that the safety and effectiveness of flu vaccines for pregnant women has never been established? Did you know that, according to the EPA, 1 in 6 women of childbearing age may already have mercury blood levels that put their unborn child at risk for neurological injury (like: speech delay, tics, sensory impairment, decrease in IQ, loss of coordination and more)? Considering that 1 in 6 children today lives with a Neuro-Developmental disorder, I think this information is of monumental importance and should factor into any mother’s decision to consent to flu shots during pregnancy.

Click to read more information about the ingredients and side effects associated with flu shots, from Dr. Amber Brooks’ recent posts. As Dr. Brooks states, each one of us detoxifies differently and has a different threshold for toxic burden.

I sincerely wish I had had all of this information years ago. We watched Ethan have a significant social regression when he was in preschool after a “routine” flu shot. I encourage you to share this post with important information, thoughts and questions with your friends and loved ones as we are all being bombarded by numerous advertising ploys by pharmacies and pharmaceutical companies to get out and get a flu shot!

If you or your child had an adverse reaction to a flu shot, we welcome your thoughts and comments below.

Wishing each of you and your families a healthy, happy fall and winter!

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Leigh Attaway Wilcox is Editor in Charge of the internationally acclaimed AutismSpot.com and her work can be found on many of the pLDNetworks sites. Leigh is the author of ALL BETTER: A Touch-and-Heal Book published by Piggy Toes Press in 2007 (now available for digital download via Moving Picture Books). Leigh lives in North Texas with her husband and young son who loves reading, LEGOs, Mario Bros. and also happens to live with Asperger's Syndrome, an Autism Spectrum Disorder.