Lisa Barger's Alternative Medicine

Most of us who include herbs and herbal supplements in our daily routines do so in an effort to maximize our health and, when appropriate, reduce our dependency on pharmaceutical drugs. But a new study of asthma patients finds that for many people, their herbal use actually encourages them to misuse their potentially life-saving medications.

For this study researchers talked to 326 asthma patients receiving care at “inner city” clinics and interviewed them about their herb use and their adherence to their prescribed drug schedules. What the researchers found was that the patients who used herbs to self-treat their asthma were less likely to take their asthma medications on a regular basis.

Now, up to this point, no one is going to be surprised. Asthma medications have long-term risks and the folks who take them have that pounded into their heads by their doctors. And worry about side-effects and long-term risks is the number one reason the people in this survey turned to herbal supplements in the first place.

What’s really troubling here is that the herb users didn’t achieve better results with herbs. This study found that herb users didn’t just use herbs to augment their prescriptions; they used herbs to replace them. And the results were that these folks had far less control over their asthma than the people who used mainstream asthma medications only.

Source:

Roy, A., et al. (2010). Use of herbal remedies and adherence to inhaled corticosteroids among inner-city asthmatic patients. Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology.