Got a fever? Don’t use Tylenol.

The other day I received a call from Aidan’s day camp to inform me that he had a fever and fell asleep in the middle of circle time. When I arrived, I heard him whimper, “Mommy is here.”  It was so pitiful. He could barely sit up and was on fire when I touched his forehead. When we got home, I checked his temperature and it had reached 102 degrees. So, I drew a cool bath, put him in, and took his temperature again 15 minutes later. It had gone down to 101.4.  Then, I wet a pair of cotton socks, and put them on his feet for 5 minutes (this was all he would tolerate). That brought his temperature down to 100.7.

So why didn’t I just give him Tylenol? Well, I found out for the first time about a year ago that Tylenol depletes glutathione. Glutathione is a crucial antioxidant that defends the body from toxins (mercury, lead!), disease, viruses, pollutants, radiation and oxidative stress. A deficiency in glutathione can cause a lack of coordination, mental disorders, tremors, difficulty maintaining balance, and has been linked to several degenerative disorders (Multiple Sclerosis, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s).

Giving Tylenol after measles-mumps-rubella vaccination has also been associated with a much greater risk of autism. Click (HERE) for a link of the study and (HERE) for an interesting article about the findings.

When I gained this valuable piece of new information, I felt like the wind had been knocked out of me. I (along with tons of other mothers) was a total Tylenol abuser, from Aidan’s infancy through the age of 3. Our pediatrician would recommend we give it to him with EVERY round of vaccines, and every time he got even a mild fever due to teething, I would give Tylenol. I thought that I was being a good Mommy when in reality I was killing Aidan’s chance at building a stronger immune system. I made his immune system vulnerable to any viruses, infections, and heavy metals he would need to fight off in the future. I feel this played a huge role in Aidan ultimately being diagnosed with Autism. 

I need to start a list on this blog called, “The things I would NEVER do the second time around!”

Here is a great presentation from the AutismOne conference on the role of glutathione in Autism and brain injuries

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Here is a short video by Holly Riley (Chapter Co-coordinator of TACA) talking about vaccines and the use of Tylenol. When I watched this video, I nodded my head in agreement the ENTIRE time so I had to share…