Medicinal Plant/Herbal User’s Guide

 
Medicinal plants or herbal remedies should be taken only when you need them. If you lack experience in the use of medicinal plants, here are some points to bear in mind:

Be careful of your sources.
Medicinal plants or herbs are not subject to the same government scrutiny as pharmaceutical drugs; there’s no independent guarantee of purity or potency. Therefore, it’s up to you to select reputable brands.

Choose the most reliable forms.
Tinctures and freeze-dried medicinal plants or herb products are prepared using techniques for preventing spoilage and loss of potency. Dried herbs, which are sold in bulk, powdered or encapsulated, may lose potency rapidly because of their exposure to air.

More in not better.
When taking medicinal plant the recommended dosages at the suggested intervals. As with pharmaceuticals, overdosing with medicinal plants or herbs can have ill effects.

Monitor your reactions.
At the first sign of an allergic reaction, stop the medication. Or, if the medicinal plant or herb doesn’t seem to be working, discontinue it; not all remedies work for everyone.

Take no risk.
Never attempt self-medication for serious ailments or injuries; see a doctor or go to a hospital emergency room. Pregnant or lactating women, the very young or old, and people who are taking medication should not use medicinal or herbal remedies without their physician’s approval.
 

Warning on the Use of Herbs

Adverse reactions are seldom seen if herbal remedies are used in the proper way. Problems may arise if a herb is overused, like if the dosage is too high or if the herb is given contionously for a long period of time. Even if herbs are beneficial for certain conditions, it is not usually recommended that a herbal remedy be given on an ongoing basis, but rather be used for set periods of time, or alternated with another remedy. For questions about the use of a particular herb, consult a qualified herbalist or healthcare professional.
 

Herbals and Traditional Medicines


While enormous quantities of modern medicines (known as allopathic medicines) are consumed worldwide, there are certainly much greater quantities of herbals (and traditional medicines and modern phytotherapeutic and homeopathic medicines) being taken by large numbers of people in every country.
In many developing countries there are far more traditional practitioners than medically qualified doctors. In these countries the great majority of the population rely largely on traditional remedies, since they are relatively cheap and readily available.

In developed countries, where medical services are comparatively comprehensive, the popularity of non-allopathic remedies has soared in recent years.

 

Why Monitor Herbals?

Few traditional remedies are today subject to any regulation, inspection or quality-control in their collection, production or distribution.

The ingredients of traditional remedies are sometimes uncertain, the UMC is taking a major role in serious work being done to make it possible to classify their sources and standardize references to plant names and parts.

Traditional practitioners learn their profession through apprentice systems and not through textbooks. Little is known about the interactions between allopathic and herbal-based medicines whether traditional or modern.

Monitoring herbals in the same way as allopathic remedies is beneficial both to the populations of developing countries that depend on traditional remedies for their health care, and to developed countries where herbal remedies are a more and more important element of modern life.

Another aim of promoting the monitoring of herbals it to make the two sciences more mutually understood and accepted.

 

ALL About Liquid Medicines

 

• Liquid preparations are oral medicines combined with preservatives, flavors, colors, and other ingredients. These oral medicines are preferred when a patient is unable to swallow tablets or capsules. There are three important points to consider:

• Follow the “Shake Well” instruction on the label. This will mix the medicine evenly in the liquid base, thus ensuring a correctly measured dose.

• Use only the measuring spoon to get the correct dose, unless otherwise directed by the doctor or pharmacist.

• Follow all instructions written on the label, including those for storage. Some liquids undergo physical and chemical changes when not properly stored.