‘He was having dialysis then decided to take herbal medicine someone offered him and after few months he passed away”. It has been years since my brother told me this frightening story but it always comes to mind each time I hear people claim about the safety and efficacy of herbal medicines. We live in a world where there is a continuous epidemic caused by evolution and the never ending deterioration of our environment and so what worked yesterday may not work tomorrow. Healthy living will always be a concern but the strategies will not always be the same. There is a need to embrace some changes.
When it comes to healthy living, herbal medicines are significant but synthetic drug products are significant too. What people fear the most are the side effects and adverse reactions, no known synthetic drug do not have any side effect. It is most unlikely that there will be no drug-drug interaction when taking multiple drugs at the same time and some could be fatal. However, do the noted side effects of synthetic drugs make the herbal medicines more safe and effective? One of the things people fear is damaging their kidneys and liver from synthetic drugs thus resort to herbal medicines.
This could be true with paracetamol/acetaminopen, an over the counter drug where in overdose of this drug is one of the leading causes of liver failure however when it comes to totally stopping your heart medications and opt to herbal medications instead, it could harm your kidney more. Losartan for example, is an antihypertensive drug which helps in future heart attacks, strokes, and kidney problems related to diabetes. Do not just stop your medications, you have to be open to your health care practitioner because what you think is a bad effect could be otherwise or they will adjust the dosage of your prescribed medication if it is safe to take it with herbal medicine or you don’t have any underlying condition where taking that herbal medicine could have serious side effects.
When you use or decoct herbal plants for example, are you well knowledgeable about doing it or using it? There is proper decoction of herbal plants for you to achieve its potency and efficacy. When using such herbal plants you need to have proper knowledge about the plant. It might do you more harm when you don’t have enough knowledge about the extraction procedure and dosage because some plants are highly toxic. The lack of information about herbal medicines is being taken for granted and some just think it is 100% safe because it is natural.
Before a new synthetic drug product will be out in the market it will undergo 15-20 years or more of study which includes clinical trials on both animals and humans. After the safety and efficacy has been established well then it will be fully approved by the FDA and even if these products are already approved, there will still be continuous monitoring of the drug product, thus you may have heard that some drug products have been recalled in the market.
Unlike synthetic medicines herbal medicines are not required to undergo rigorous scientific research and study using clinical trials to establish the safety of the drug. There are some that have undergone clinical trials but not all herbal medicines went through the process. I have seen some people who are against synthetic drug products and post on social media platforms encouraging others to always read the drug inserts of drug products which will prove to them that vaccines or synthetic drugs are not safe because of the listed side effects. Studies on the safety of vaccine schedules are constantly conducted! (but wait! you better click and read this if you believe the stupid rumor).......
It is true, it is always best to read drug inserts especially those of over the counter drugs since 90-95% of the information you need to know are already there, those inserts are there to help the public. However it doesn’t mean that because most of the herbal medicines don’t have drug inserts which indicates the side effects, it is already safe and effective. It may be a safer alternative to pharmaceutical drugs on some health conditions like colds, arthritis and cough but there are so many health conditions where it has no therapeutic effect at all and only synthetic medicine can do the work.
It is true, it is always best to read drug inserts especially those of over the counter drugs since 90-95% of the information you need to know are already there, those inserts are there to help the public. However it doesn’t mean that because most of the herbal medicines don’t have drug inserts which indicates the side effects, it is already safe and effective. It may be a safer alternative to pharmaceutical drugs on some health conditions like colds, arthritis and cough but there are so many health conditions where it has no therapeutic effect at all and only synthetic medicine can do the work.
Ironically, people in some networking companies especially in developing countries selling herbal medicines with “No Approved Therapeutic Claims” written on the boxes would pitch those medicines could cure serious diseases. Herbal medicines that have no therapeutic claims are excellent supplements and help in the prevention of diseases however these could not treat serious diseases such as life threatening diseases. It is unethical to interfere someone’s medical treatment that was advised by a physician or health care practitioner and tell them to use herbal medicines instead. An expert practitioner in the field of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) will never tell you to abandon your conventional medical treatment prescribed by a physician and use herbal or natural products instead.
The proper use of complementary and alternative medicine; and conventional medicine are all essential in healthy living. Complementary and alternative medicines are used to prevent diseases and should not be used alone to treat serious or life threatening illnesses. You cannot just give a dose of herbal medicine to someone who is having a heart attack for example however; herbal medicine can improve heart health and prevent the occurrence of heart attack.
Though high quality herbal medicines are known to treat some health conditions, one should still consult a physician or a practitioner in the field before using herbal medicines together with pharmaceutical products or before refusing conventional medicine and opting to herbal treatment especially if you have multiple illnesses. For example, one of the uses of garlic is to lower cholesterol level however it is not recommended to use this together with antithrombotic drugs because it could increase bleeding. That is why this is not recommended to people who are scheduled to have a surgery because it might prolong bleeding same with people who have bleeding disorders. These is just one of the things one should know when taking garlic but there are more one needs to know.
Though high quality herbal medicines are known to treat some health conditions, one should still consult a physician or a practitioner in the field before using herbal medicines together with pharmaceutical products or before refusing conventional medicine and opting to herbal treatment especially if you have multiple illnesses. For example, one of the uses of garlic is to lower cholesterol level however it is not recommended to use this together with antithrombotic drugs because it could increase bleeding. That is why this is not recommended to people who are scheduled to have a surgery because it might prolong bleeding same with people who have bleeding disorders. These is just one of the things one should know when taking garlic but there are more one needs to know.
If we are to study healthy living, complementary and alternative medicines are one of the strategies including herbal medicines however the claim of some that this is 100% effective and safe is too good to be true. Herbal medicine can be a safe alternative and can be as effective or more effective than other synthetic medicine on some health conditions only.
The integration of complementary medicine and conventional medicine are being integrated recently which is called integrative medicine. More studies and researches are being done in this field on the integration of both practices in various health conditions. After all, balance is what we need.
The integration of complementary medicine and conventional medicine are being integrated recently which is called integrative medicine. More studies and researches are being done in this field on the integration of both practices in various health conditions. After all, balance is what we need.
