Side-effects of complementary and alternative medicine.

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Date: Sun, 03 Aug 2003 03:37:21 +0100

Subject: INFO:   Side-effects of complementary and alternative medicine.

Allergy. 2003 Aug;58(8):707-16.

Side-effects of complementary and alternative medicine.

Niggemann B, Gruber C.

Department of Pediatric Pneumology and Immunology, University Children's

Hospital Charite, Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany.

Complementary and alternative medicine are increasingly used to diagnose or

treat allergic diseases, and numerous studies have reported benefits of

this type of medicine. This article presents a review of the literature on

risks of these methods. The potential sensitizing capacity of numerous

herbal remedies may lead to allergic contact dermatitis and more rarely to

IgE-mediated clinical symptoms. Mechanical injuries may be observed

following acupuncture leading to pneumothorax, cardiac tamponade or spinal

injury. Infectious complications after acupuncture include hepatitis and

bacterial endocariditis. Organ toxicity has been observed associated with

various herbal preparations involving the liver, kidneys, and the heart.

Some herbs may have cancerogenic properties. Severe nutritional

deficiencies can occur in infants and small children given strict

alternative diets, resembling 'kwashiorkor'. Finally, among other

miscellaneous adverse effects, adulteration with steroids, and herbal and

drug interactions are discussed. The pattern of side-effects is similar to

that observed by the use of conventional medicine. Therefore, caution may

be justified using both conventional and unconventional methods. Only if

the benefit is proven and the side-effects are established, should a given

method be chosen.

PMID: 12859546 [PubMed - in process]

Later,

Liz