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LETTER: Too much can be toxic

My point, most substances taken in excess are toxic.

Jennifer Craig’s letter on November 13,  goes into some detail about formaldehyde and mercury in vaccines.

She refers to formaldehyde as a toxin and she is correct. Industrial exposure to formaldehyde in large quantities, and with continuous exposure such as in smoking, have been scientifically proven to be carcinogenic.

Science has also shown that formaldehyde is naturally occurring in the body and is used to form DNA.

We have enzymes in the body which convert any excess amount of formaldehyde into a form that allows it to be flushed out in the urine. Science also shows that formaldehyde is used to make the antigen (live cells) inactive in the vaccine production  process.

It is then diluted out of the vaccine, leaving only trace amounts behind, which are then expelled via the urine.  Definitely nothing to worry about.

The other toxin she mentions is mercury (thimerosal). Mercury comes in two forms, methyl and ethyl.  Methyl mercury gets stored in the brain, kidneys and liver cells, causing damage over extended time, and is  implicated as a cause of dementia and autisim.

However, ethyl mercury, which is used in the manufacturing of vaccines as a preservative and antibacterial and antifungal, is not stored in the body, but is also expelled with urine.

Again, scientifically proven.

Both mercury and formaldehyde are toxins in the right circumstances. People who take the drug ecstacy get dehydrated and sometimes die because of excessive water intake.

My point, most substances taken in excess are toxic. Thimersol and formaldedhyde are used only in the manufacturing of multidose vaccines such as influenza and hepatitis B to prevent contamination.

Please, Ms. Craig get your science correct and dispense with the hysteria. This does not contribute anything scientific to the debate, but causes an unnecessary fear of all vaccines.

Peter Martyn