Using Herbal Medicine
Suggested lead: Treating yourself with herbal medicine might be just what the doctor ordered, but you need to make sure your physician knows what you're doing. Tom Britt has more.
Herbal medicines can be helpful in treating various illnesses, but just as with prescription medicines, patients need to be cautious. Dr. Muralli Doraiswamy is the director for clinical trials at Duke University Medical Center. He cautions that many of the herbal medicines you find at health food stores have never been clinically tested, and some may contain contaminates that you might not want in your body. Dr. Doraiswamy says even if you are satisfied with the purity of the product, some self-control is needed.
"Patients need to use common sense, take things in moderation, don't take anything for long periods of time, and certainly if you're trying to treat a specific illness, it's always a good thing to communicate this with your doctor and make sure that you're not ignoring an underlying condition that could be better treated by something else."
Dr. Doraiswamy also says it's important to let your doctor know if you are using herbal medicines, in case of potential interactions with any prescription medications the physician might be considering for you. I'm Tom Britt.
Doraiswamy says modern medicine owes a great deal to herbal medicines.
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"At least 25 to 30 percent of all medicines we use now, we can trace their origins to herbal products and natural medicine. In fact, the word 'physician' means 'nature.' So, I think there's a lot of good we can harness from herbal products."