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Herbal Medicines
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Herbal medicine is a complementary therapy that uses
plants or plant extracts to treat illness. There are
numerous |
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herbal products available that claim to treat a
wide range of problems, from depression to colds and
flu.
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What is herbal medicine? |
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Many well-established medicines come from plants. For
example morphine comes from poppies, aspirin from willow
bark |
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and digoxin (a treatment for an irregular heart
beat) from foxgloves. |
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Traditional herbal medicine is just one of the many
different approaches to using plants as remedies.
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Like many complementary therapies, herbal medicine aims
to be holistic - it aims to treat the whole person, not
just |
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symptoms, and to encourage the body to heal itself.
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Different parts of the same plant, such as the flowers
or seeds, can have very different actions.
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Do they work? |
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Herbal medicines are effective against
many complaints. for example |
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• St John's wort, for the treatment of mild to moderate
depression, |
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• Black cohosh, for menopausal symptoms, |
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• Echinacea, to reduce the symptoms of colds, |
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• garlic, to reduce blood cholesterol levels and
potentially lower the risk of heart disease, |
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• ginger, to relieve nausea and vomiting, |
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• ginkgo biloba, to improve mental performance in people
with Alzheimer's disease, |
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• hawthorn berries, for mild heart failure, |
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• horse chestnut, for chronic venous insufficiency, |
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• Saw palmetto, for enlarged prostate. |
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Treatment by herbal medicines |
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Treatment may include advice about diet and lifestyle as
well as herbal medicine. The medicines prescribed may
well be |
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made up of several different herbs. |
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They can come in a wide range of formulations -
including syrups, tinctures, lotions, inhalations,
gargles and washes. |
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