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This new study is good news to my ears. I’m always worried about the possible combinations between the drugs I prescribe, but feel really uneasy sometimes with the various herbs, especially is someon is taking coumadin (warfarin) or other medications that often interact with other substances.

Even though this study is good news, one still needs to remain cautious.

• Always treat herbs with the same respect that you treat prescription medications. Remember…they are drugs too.
• Always notify your health care provider and pharmacists of the over-the-counter medicaitons and supplments you are taking.I
• If you are taking a medication such as coumadin(warfarin), please research the supplment first - before you take it. It does not take much for the INR levels to get out of wack (If you take this…you’ll know what this means).
• Write out a list of everything you take (including the dosages and how many times per day), and keep it with you. You never know when you will need it.

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May 25, 2006 St. Johns wort, ginkgo biloba, black cohosh. Just a decade ago most Americans would not have known these names. Today, these and other herbal medications are not only familiar, but the products are fixtures on drugstore shelves.

Herbal remedies are not just for health food stores anymore. The medications have gone mainstream, and as sales continue to rise, so do concerns about their interactions with prescription and more traditional over-the-counter drugs.

But new research suggests that potentially dangerous interactions may occur less often than are widely believed. Investigators reviewed the drugs taken by 7,652, mostly older Canadians, and found very few instances of such interactions.

You can read the rest of this report there - Herb-Drug Interactions Uncommon

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