RI H1N1 Swine Flu Resources
Rhode Island Holistic Flu Care Providers
The following holistic healthcare providers are prepared to help those suffering from
the flu, and are following
recommended safety protocols to reduce the risk of client-to-client
infection:
Whole Health Solutions LLC, Karlo Berger, and any
distributor of this listing makes no endorsement of any practitioner,
business, or therapy linked to below. The information below is not
intended to be a substitute for medical advice. We urge you to
contact your physician and/or health team before trying any new therapy
or healthcare product. If you do decide to seek treatment from any
practitioner listed, please notify your physician and/or health team to
that you and all those caring for your health may work together in
harmony.
Acupressure: Karlo Berger Shiatsu Therapy, 144 Waterman Street, Providence, 401-383-0661, makes housecalls in Providence area, email Karlo@KarloBerger.com
Acupuncture: Center of Balance 234 Main Street, East Greenwich, 401-886-7636, email Patricia@centerofbalanceri.com
Acupuncture: Providence Community Acupuncture, 144 Waterman Street, Providence, 401-272-2288, email acupunctureisaffordable@gmail.com.
Chiropractic: Barrington Chiropractic Clinic, 282 County Road, Barrington, 401-245-7010, email DrCliveBri@aol.com
Chiropractic: Twin River Chiropractic, 305 Farnum Pike, Smithfield, 401-233-2211, email twinriverchiropractic@verizon.net
Herbal Medicine: Farmacy Herbs, 28 Cemetery Street, Providence, 401-270-5223, email mblue@riseup.net. Free student clinic on Fridays, sliding scale on Sundays, Mondays, Thursdays. Does housecalls in RI and phone consultations.
Homeopathy/Integrative Medicine: Ocean State Holistic Medical Collaborative, 182 Gano Street, Providence, email: john.mcgonigle@hsc.stonybrook.edu
Governmental Resources
US Government Pandemic Flu Information
www.flu.gov
Rhode Island Department of Health
www.health.state.ri.us
For caregivers: Influenza Season Triage Algorithm for
Adults
http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/clinicians/pdf/adultalgorithm.pdf
Acupuncture/Acupressure
A guide to useful pressure points for treating colds and flu:
http://www.acupuncturetoday.com/mpacms/at/article.php?id=28457
Herbal Medicine and Vitamin Supplementation
Herbal flu care/prevention protocol at Farmacy Herbs (scroll to bottom):
http://farmacyherbs.com/whatshappening.html
Dr. Weil on astragalus herb for H1N1:
www.associatedcontent.com/article/2163091/astragalus_vs_h1n1_swine_flu_virus.html
Website of MIchael Tierra, OMD, medicinal herbalist and H1N1
vaccination critic:
www.planetherbs.com/index.php
Homeopathy
National Center for Homeopathy Swine Flu updates
http://nationalcenterforhomeopathy.org/articles/view,323
Homeopathy and the Flu by the Randall Neustaedter, OMD
www.cure-guide.com/Flu/Homeopathy_and_the_Flu/homeopathy_and_the_flu.html
Naturopathic Medicine
Prepare Yourself for the Flu Season Naturally, by
Catherine Clinton, ND
http://naturopathic.org/content.asp?pl=11&contentid=250
Other Resources
Dr. Sears on the H1N1 vaccine for kids and pregnant moms:
www.askdrsears.com/thevaccinebook/2009/09/four-swine-flu-vaccines-approved-by-fda.asp
Effect Measure (progressive public health blog)
http://scienceblogs.com/effectmeasure
Google Flu Trends data
www.google.org/flutrends
Flu Wiki Forum: a gathering point for flu news and views
http://www.newfluwiki2.com/frontPage.do
"Should I get vaccinated? Should I vaccinate my
children?"
I have been asked this question often. I recommend that you consider these five
questions in order to come to the right decision:
1. How concerned are you about you (or your children) spreading the
flu if you (or they) are not immunized? For example, do you
(or they) interact with high-risk groups such as pregnant women,
newborns, or those with medical conditions such asthma, diabetes, heart
disease, kidney disease, muscle or nerve conditions that affect their
breathing, or weakened immune systems? If so, are these
people vaccinated? Bear in mind that for the first 24 hours that people have the flu
and are shedding the flu virus, they do not exhibit flu symptoms. If you are
against annual flu vaccination, do you think that getting vaccinated
against H1N1 is different because it is a
pandemic flu and people aged 10 to 45 are catching and possibly
spreading it more easily than seasonal flu (bear in mind that its severity is reportedly about the same
as seasonal flu for most people, although flu-related hospitalizations
and child/adult deaths are higher this year)?
2. How concerned are you about you (or you children) catching the flu? How healthy are you (or your children)? Are you (or your children) immunocomprised in any way? If you are reasonably healthy and not pregnant, are you willing to accept the possibility of you (or your children) staying home sick and exhausted for days (with a rare chance of more serious illness and an extremely rare chance of death)? Are you willing to accept the possible financial or work consequences of staying at home sick (you should not go to work if you have the flu), or caring for a sick child? If you are against annual flu vaccination, do think that getting vaccinated against H1N1 is different because it is a pandemic flu and people aged 10 to 45 are catching it more easily than seasonal flu (bear in mind that its severity is reportedly about the same as seasonal flu for most people, although flu-related hospitalizations and child/adult deaths are higher this year)?
3. How concerned are you about the long-term consequences of annual flu vaccination? No one knows whether there are any long-term health consequences of years of annual flu vaccination from childhood onward, since this is a relatively new phenomenon. Perhaps there are no consequences, only time will tell. We do know that the chances of a serious adverse reaction to flu vaccination are very small, and we know that most people do not suffer seriously when they catch the flu; but we also know that the flu (and associated pneumonia) is a significant cause of death among the elderly and those who are already seriously ill. If you are against annual flu vaccination, do you think that getting vaccinated against H1N1 is different because it is a pandemic flu and our bodies theoretically have less resistance to this particular strain?
4. If you choose to opt out of vaccination, how comfortable would you be about the fact that many Americans are deciding to get vaccinated and that this reduces the risk of all of us catching the flu? In other words, those choosing to get vaccinated are all accepting a small but ultimately unknown risk of negative consequences from vaccination. If you do not get vaccinated, you are benefiting from the reduced prevalence of flu in your community without bearing the vaccination risk--thus getting somewhat of a free ride. Are you OK with that? If you are against annual flu vaccination, do think that getting vaccinated against H1N1 is different because it is a pandemic flu and there is a national campaign afoot to get Americans vaccinated?
5. Are you comfortable with the increased medicalization of our society, of which annual flu vaccination is a part? What kind of a future would you like to see for our public health system and how we ideally should respond to epidemics and the flu? Should we move in the direction of annual, universal flu vaccination? Or should we as a nation direct our nation's flu prevention efforts more towards non-pharmacological (but in ways less efficient) means, such as hand-washing, guaranteed paid leave when sick, a healthy lifestyle, and building natural immunity? If you are resistant to the idea of annual flu vaccination for all, should pandemic flu years like this one be the exception due to their increased severity and uncertainty? Whether or not you choose flu vaccination this year or any year does in some small part influence the future role that pharmaceuticals like vaccines will play in our public health system and our very culture.
Karlo Berger
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Thanks to Hannah Burr, Kristin Granli, and Jim Kelly.