The immune system involves a highly complicated interaction between millions of cells as well as chemicals and organs. These immune soldiers know exactly how, when and where their action is needed to defeat invading substances, without harming other cells of the body.
Unlike the immune system, drugs work for one specific purpose – to stimulate the immune system or suppress it. However, in doing this, drugs can cause side effects that are sometimes more dangerous than the conditions they are attempting to treat!
Antibiotics are one such danger. Researchers have repeatedly warned that misusing antibiotics can affect acquired immunity and lead to potentially dangerous bacterial resistance.
For example, when your child takes an antibiotic for a Strep throat, the antibiotic takes the place of immune cells to stop the infection. As her immune cells have not fought the bacteria, they will not acquire immunity against the same bacteria if it infects her again. This can lead to recurring Strep throats. When your child is given the same antibiotic to treat the second infection, it is possible that the bacteria have already become resistant to this antibiotic. So, in some cases, it is advised to let our body fight the infection on its own.
Steroids are widely used to treat allergies, autoimmune disease and to avoid organ rejection by the body after a transplant. Hydrocortisone, dexamethosone, prednisone and triamcinolone are some types of steroids.
Steroids are immunosuppressive drugs and also anti-inflammatory agents. They work by weakening immune responses, and as such, they lower a person’s resistance to infection and make infections harder to treat.
Some reported side effects of steroids are cataracts, diabetes, osteoporosis, stomach ulcers, menstrual changes, muscle wasting, hypertension, elevated triglyceride levels and growth retardation in children. It has also been report that between 6-8% of kidney transplant recipients develop cancer as a complication of immunosuppressive drugs.
For many years, scientists have cautioned that drugs, including antibiotics, steroids and other immunosuppressive drug, can cause toxic damage to the kidney and liver. Eg. steroid can cause water retention and bloating. This is a sign of kidney and liver malfunction. Some antibiotics cause bone marrow toxicity.
Chemicals prepared to imitate our natural immune chemicals could also lead to harmful side effects. British medical journal, The Lancet, reports cases of serious toxicity when multiple sclerosis patients are injected with interferon. The international Oncology Study Group reports that even mild doses of interferon cause influenza like symptoms in98% of patients.
Interferon is a chemical naturally produced by the body for a variety of immune responses. Our cells know exactly how much interferon is needed to combat an infrection, where it is needed and when to stop producing it. When injecting interferon, it is only possible to estimate the appropriate dosage.
(extracted from The Excellence Magazine Volume 5)
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