Herbal Drugs - Consequences

Consequences

The main risks of herbal drug use involve dosage errors. Sometimes the boundary between an effective dose and a fatally poisonous one is dangerously slim. Users uneducated in the finer points of herbal dosing may jeopardize their health.

Shunning conventional treatments for serious illnesses can have serious negative consequences. Patients who use herbs and other alternative treatments are less likely to take advantage of conventional medical treatments. Kuhn and her coauthors caution that "while many effective medicines derive from herbal sources, many ineffective ones do as well." One case in point involves patients with early-stage cancer who decide to treat themselves with herbal drugs rather than undergo conventional cancer treatments such as chemotherapy. With diseases like cancer, early treatment is the key to survival. Treating cancer with herbal remedies may allow cancerous growths to progress to a more deadly stage, reducing the chances for successful chemotherapy and radiation treatment later.

In addition, doctors warn that people who take herbals may be more likely to continue unhealthy behavior, such as smoking or drinking large amounts of alcohol. They may have the mistaken belief that their herbal remedies will protect them from the health risks.