What is Herbal Medicine

Herbal medicine is the use of whole plant remedies in the treatment of disease.
Clinical trials, using the same rigorous methods as pharmaceutical drugs, have proved the effectiveness of herbal medicine in the treatment and management of many conditions, with far fewer side effects than pharmaceutical drugs.

Herbal medicine can be administered in many forms: teas, powders, creams, pessaries and most commonly a mix of tinctures (herbs in liquid form which are easy to swallow and digest).

The benefits of consulting a professional who has studied both orthodox and herbal medicine, are effective and safe treatment.

It is, of course, essential that the correct combination of herbs are utilised. If we take the example of choosing appropriate herbs for a patient experiencing recurrent headaches a qualified herbalist would take the following factors into account:

• The strength, position, character, incidence and pattern of the pain
• The root cause of the pain i.e.
  • Intracranial: e.g. inflammation, cranial blood vessels.
  • Cranial: e.g. sinusitis,
  • Extra cranial: spasms of scalp or neck.

Having decided on the most relevant herbs, professional herbalists have access to a wider range of herbal medicines than can be bought over the counter. My dispensary contains about 110 different herbal tinctures for example.

Other factors also need to be taken into consideration when deciding on appropriate dosage e.g. nature of the disorder, acute or chronic, an individual’s physiology (i.e. chemical sensitivity, liver function, BMI) and lifestyle (e.g. tobacco, alcohol consumption, diet) as well as any concurrent pharmaceutical treatment.

An hour is allocated for initial consultations to establish a full medical picture of the patient to e,g. to avoid allergic responses, complications during pregnancy, interactions with substances used at work or adverse interaction with pharmaceutical medicines. Professional Medical Herbalists understand the chemical constituents, mechanisms of action and metabolism of both systems of medicine.
As responsible and ethical health professionals, we are always happy to work with your doctor. We also know when to treat or help manage an illness or when it is most appropriate to refer back to your GP.

What Conditions can a Medical Herbalist Treat?

Herbal medicine is effective in the treatment or management of many chronic, long-term illnesses. It is particularly suitable for children. Medical herbalists work in a holistic way, which means that we treat not only the symptoms, but also look for and treat the underlying cause of your health problem.

The list below is not exhaustive, but gives an idea of the range of problems that herbal medicine can help:

• Respiratory conditions e.g. Asthma
• Digestive disorders and allergies e.g. Candida infections, IBS, food allergies.
• Gynecological concerns e.g. menopausal hot flushes, heavy or frequent menstruation.
• Insomnia, depression, anxiety and migraine.
• Circulatory conditions e.g. high blood pressure, Raynaud’s disease.
• Skin problems e.g. Eczema, Psoriasis, Molluscum.
• Muscular skeletal pain e.g. osteoarthritis

Due to it’s balancing, restorative nature Herbal Medicine is often effective when other approaches have not been helpful and where no medical cause can be found for illness.

Many of the pharmaceutical drugs used today are based on plant constituents. Drug companies find a single active constituent from a plant and then extract and synthesize it in the laboratory. Herbal drugs are extracts from part of the whole plant (e.g. berries) and contain hundreds of constituents. Herbalists believe that the active constituents are naturally balanced by other substances within a plant.