Many people believe that because herbal medicine is natural and mostly unregulated that it is completely safe. However, many herbs contain powerful compounds that can produce a wide variety of unwanted and even dangerous side effects if taken for too long or in high doses. Recently, the scientific community has published studies that document cases where herbal supplement have resulted in toxic reactions and in some cases, potentially life-threatening side effects.
History
Herbal medicine is by far the oldest system of medicine on earth. In most traditional communities, herbs were administered by elect individuals who specialized in studying the effects of herbs on the human body and who could administer them with varying degrees of guidance. In the modern age, and with the advent of the Internet, herbal medications are at most people's fingertips, and there are potentially millions of people self-medicating with little or no professional oversight.
Cancer
Although herbal treatments for cancer are becoming very popular and many herbs have been studied and determined to have activity against cancer, some herbs could have the opposite effect. An article published on June 8, 2000, in the New England Journal of Medicine documents the case of several patients who developed urothelial carcinomas by consuming an herbal weight-loss supplement that mistakenly contained the herb Aristolochia fangchi.
Hepatitis
Since the liver is the organ responsible for filtering out toxins from the blood stream, liver complications are a common side effect of the misuse of medications, whether herbal or pharmaceutical. In an article published on November 15, 1994, in the Annals of Internal Medicine, researchers found that seven people experienced liver injury and hepatitis from consuming Lycopodium serratum in a Chinese herbal formula.
Eye problems
The eyes are delicate organs and are often subject to acute side effects from toxic substances that enter our body. In a review of cases of ocular side effects of herbal medicine, taken from the World Health Organization (WHO), researchers found that several herbs, including chamomile, licorice, datura and echinacea are all associated with ocular side effects. The study was published in the American Journal of Ophthalmology in October 2004
Considerations
Herbal medicine has been practiced for thousands of years and in most cases presents a lower risk of side effects when compared with pharmaceutical drugs. However, the range of quantity and quality of herbal medicines available to the public has never been as large as it is today, and without the safeguard of the doctor's prescription that comes with pharmaceutical drugs, herbal medication is potentially dangerous to the user.
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