The Connection Between Paul Offit and Jenny McCarthy

When I was creating a wish list for Christmas, I thought about including this new fitness program for the Nintendo Wii that features Jenny McCarthy. That got me thinking about other things she is known for, like speaking out about autism since her son has it. This then reminded me of Paul Offit, a doctor I have mentioned before on this blog.

Unlike Jenny McCarthy however, Paul Offit believes that vaccines do not cause autism and has a new book developing this idea. Sometimes my mom is concerned about the link between autism and vaccines since she works with children as part of her career, but I assure her that medical professionals like Paul Offit are researching all they can to determine more about autism and those who have it.

Paul Offit's Vaccine Research

When I was a child, I dreaded going to the doctor to get my vaccinations. Even though I was really young, I still remember some of them- where I was, what the doctor looked like, and how much my arm hurt. I’m glad there are nice doctors like Paul Offit out there who are trying to research and make vaccines more understandable.

I know that kids must have them in order to go to school, but the dread of having a needle going into your arm is just terrifying. Paul Offit is doing a lot of research to find more effective vaccines. Who knows, maybe someday Paul Offit will figure out a vaccine that you only have to have once- without any boosters as you get older.

Anti-Antibiotics

There is so much to learn about vaccines and what they can do to protect us. It is amazing to think that some people (like Paul Offit) have dedicated their entire lives to making sure that children and adults have the vaccines we need in order to be protected from infectious diseases.

Paul Offit has written many books, most notably (from my point of view), ‘Breaking the Antibiotic Habit’. In college, whenever I would have a cold, or a sinus infection, I would go to our college’s free health care clinic and they barely examined me before shoving a prescription for amoxicillin in my hand. But antibiotics don’t heal everything, and can in fact make your immune system worse. So, this last time I had a cold, about a week ago, I didn’t take any prescription medicine for it- only Sudafed. My cold was gone in 6 days, and now I feel great. What’s more, my immune system knows how to deal with that type of cold, and hopefully will be able to fight it off before it totally takes over my body!