These days it's hard for a mother to know what is best for her child. The modern medical machine has its ideas, and it will tell you what is best, but can you trust it? There are many who argue that you cannot, that the drugs and vaccines that are pushed on you are not necessarily in the best interests of your children. So how do you find out what to do? How do you know who to trust?
( more )

Word coined by Jenner from latin for cow
( 4 types: live attenuated, inactivated/whole cell killed, toxoid and component vaccines. And recombinant, as a way of obtaining a component for a vaccine. )

PNEUMONIA = acute infx of alveolar spaces and/or interstitial tissue, lobar, lobular or broncho-pneumonia. 50% of viral, bacterial more common in folks younger than 3 (esp young kids) or elderly, immune compromised. DIAGNOSIS: distinguish between bacterial viral and mycoplasma infx. With any pneumo, get CBC and chest xray, followup daily during acute, and repeat labs 4-6 weeks later to see if fully resolved.
( from Dr Thom's notes on the types of pneumonia )

--the GI tract has 400 square meters of surface area and over 500 species of bacteria
--less TLR's on macrophages and DC's in gut
--some enteric microbes no longer bind TLR's (bifidus)
--food in lumen crosses mucosa to peyers patches, mesenteric lymph nodes
--peyers patches and mesenteric lymph nodes constitute 80% of a person's immune system
--always active
--eating oil with food causes it to be absorbed lower in the tract, increasing the odds of allergy because there are more allergens down there
--TGFbeta is the 2nd signal to shut down T cells ???
--M cells are between peyers patch and lumen
--M cells transport food via endosome to PP
--epithelial cells also take in food, have MHC-I
( notes, not very clear yet )

The case is called "A Red Eardrum followed by a Red Eye"
The questions I am to answer for this case:
What is hay fever and how might that be related to the development of otitis media? What health conditions might increase the risk of developing recurrent or chronic otitis media? What environmental factors may serve to increase the risk for the development of otitis media?
( the answers )

GENERAL
--affects the skin and joints
--we have 25 square feet of skin, weighing approximately 9 pounds, with 32 million bacteria per square inch on it, 20 feet of blood vessels and 72 feet of nerves (per square inch, still)
--red scaly patches on skin = psoriatic plaques = inflammation and excessive skin production --> silvery-white appearance
--common locations: skin of elbows and knees, palms of hands and soles of feet, on the scalp, inside ears, butt crack, etc.
--not contagious
--can be INSANELY ITCHY!!!
--chronic recurring condition
--fingernails and toenails frequently affected
--10-15% of people with psoriasis have psoriatic arthritis
--often associated with food intolerances and multiple chemical sensitivities that are often the result of dysbiosis or an imbalance of intestinal flora that causes yeast overgrowth --> systemic effects
--clinically associated with a deficiency of zinc, magnesium, essential fatty acids
--indicates a high degree of toxicity in the body
--associated with cardiovascular disease
--Annual treatment cost exceeds $3 billion, in 1993 was btw 2-3 billion
( long )

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2007/08/01/genetically-modified-organisms-are-a-looming-threat.aspx

I haven't been overly worried about GM foods myself, but Mercola has educated me yet again. In 1998 the occurrence of allergic reactions to soybeans in the UK increased by 50%. GM soy products entered the US market late in 1996. The issue seems to be that they're putting genes from peanuts and other common allergens into soy.

But the interesting thing is that the genes can cross from the soy into bacteria---this article considers the possibility that the allergen genes are entering our normal stomach bacteria and causing long term effects such as irritable bowel syndrome.

So you could be having an allergic reaction to a food that you didn't even eat. That food could have become part of your natural gut flora.

Time to rev up our gardens. This is getting out of hand.