Ginseng, Ginko, other herbal dangers

[Guest guest]

Few doctors know anything about herb dangers, so it must be OUR responsibility

to know.

Before taking ANY herbal supplements, always look them up and learn possib;le

dangers, side-effects, and interactions. Some are serious.

Sandy r

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Many Don't Know That Some Herbal Supplements Before Surgery Raise Risk of

Bleeding

By Salynn Boyles

WebMD Health News

Reviewed By Louise Chang, MD

April 16, 2009 -- Most patients facing elective surgery still don't tell their

surgeons or anesthesiologists about herbal supplements they are taking; many

doctors still don't ask, and the failure to communicate can have a big impact on

surgical risk.

Even though they might say " natural " or " herbal " on the bottle, commonly used

herbal remedies such as ginkgo biloba, ginseng, garlic, or echinacea can be

dangerous when used in the days before surgery, plastic surgeon J Rowe,

MD, writes in the latest issue of the Aesthetic Surgery Journal.

Yet studies suggest as many as 70% of patients don't tell their doctors they are

taking herbal supplements, he tells WebMD.

" There are a lot of reasons for this, " he says. " Patients may think their

doctors don't know anything about herbal supplements or they might believe their

doctors will consider the use of these products 'quack' therapy. "

It is important that patients tell their doctors about all the medications they

are taking, including herbal supplements, before surgery. And doctors should

provide patients with a list of supplements to avoid, Rowe says.

In a survey of plastic surgery patients published in February 2006, 55% reported

taking at least one herbal supplement on a daily basis.

The most popular herbal remedies were the joint supplements chondroitin and

glucosamine; the banned stimulant ephedra; and the cold remedy echinacea.

Surgery Risks of Herbal Supplements

In his newly published analysis, Rowe lists the herbal supplements that he tells

patients to stop taking two weeks before surgery.

Supplements that are known or suspected to increase bleeding risk include:

Gingko biloba

Garlic

Ginseng

Fish oil

Dong quai

Feverfew

Supplements associated with cardiovascular risk include:

Ephedra

Garlic

Supplements with sedating effects that may prolong the effects of anesthesia

include:

Kava

St. 's wort

Valerian root

Supplements can also interact with other drugs. Rowe includes a list of some

herbal medications that pose such a risk:

Licorice

St 's wort

Kava

Valerian

Echinacea

Goldenseal

In addition, St. 's wort and dong quai increase photosensitivity, which can

be especially problematic for patients having laser skin procedures, Rowe says.

In July 2001, herbal supplement researcher Chun-Su Yuan, MD, PhD, and colleagues

examined the impact of herbal supplement use on surgical outcomes in a review

published in TheJournal of the American Medical Association.

In that review, Yuan and colleagues called on doctors to ask about current and

past herbal use prior to surgery.

" Although there has been initiation of herbal medicine into medical school

curricula at several institutions, many practicing physicians remain unaware of

potential perioperative complications of herbal medication use, " they write.

Yuan tells WebMD that there has not been a lot of progress since the review was

published. Yuan is the director of the Tang Center for Herbal Medicine Research

at the University of Chicago.

" Awareness has not increased that much, " he says. " Some surgeons and

anesthesiologists are asking, but many are not. "

Since most patients who have elective surgery don't see their anesthesiologist

until a few days before their procedure, Yuan says it may not be practical to

expect them to know to stop taking herbal supplements two weeks ahead of time.

" Even stopping for a few days is better than not stopping at all, " he says.

SOURCES: Rowe, D.J. Aesthetic Surgery Journal, March/April 2009; vol 29: pp

150-157. J. Rowe, MD, MS, assistant professor, department of plastic

surgery, University Hospitals Case Medical Center, Lyndhurst, Ohio. Chun-Su

Yuan, MD, PhD, director, Tang Center for Herbal Medicine Research, Pritzker

School of Medicine, University of Chicago. Heller, J. Plastic and Reconstructive

Surgery, February 2006; vol 118: pp 436-445.