This can be very tricky, and something extremely important to know is that you should NEVER self diagnose. For minor problems such as nausea or itchy skin, that don't appear to be linked to any more serious health issue, it shouldn't be a problem. However if you believe you might have something severe like diabetes, heart disease, or cancer, it is of the utmost importance you go to your doctor first, and do NOT try to treat the possibly severe disease or illness yourself.
If you have already been diagnosed with a disease or ailment then talk to your doctor before using any herbal treatments to see if it will interact with any medications or the illness itself. If you are taking it for that particular illness, then make sure your doctor has approved, they may have you only take it under their supervision.
Always tell your doctor if you start taking any kind of supplement, as it may react negatively with any treatment you are currently going through or could go through in the future.
Now that that's out of the way. I have created a page to help you with the common ailments and illnesses as well as their herbal treatments.
← Check it out to the left.
Herbalism has been used long before modern medicine for a multitude of different illnesses and is still used to this day to treat many different problems.
The more common ones such as Cranberry for UTIs, Witch Hazel for skin problems, and Willow Bark for arthritis have been told over and over again.
While many of these are effective, still many more have either been proven ineffective for what they are said to treat or have no research to back up they have any effect for treating that illness.
Ginkgo for example was rather recently shown to have absolutely no effect for treating Alzheimer's or Dementia. The study was done by giving patients with these two diseases ginkgo daily, using a typical dosage and monitored their progress against a control group for the length of the study. What they found was absolutely no improvement.
Ginkgo does however improve blood flow throughout the body, which while makes it a bleeding risk, can make it a good alternative for people with clotting problems or men with Erectile Dysfunction.
Many herbs such as Comfrey and Aloe vera that are commonly used to treat burns, scrapes, and other various skin problems should not be ingested as they can cause damage to the liver and are potentially toxic to the body. So it is best to use them only topically if possible.
Do not ingest Essential Oil, it is not meant to be taken internally and should stay for topical use or aromatherapy. Certain oils can even cause contact dermatitis, so it is important to do a skin test first, by applying a little bit to a small patch of skin and monitoring it for 24 hrs to see if any reaction arises. If so, do not use that essential oil. This is the same process that should be used for all herbal treatments, as there can always be an allergic reaction.
I am so strongly emphasizing safety, because no "Natural" or "Alternative" Treatment or cure is worth bad side effects or severe allergic reaction. Stay safe, especially when making your own preparations and administering them yourself.
~Lindsey Shemwell (The Budding Botanist)
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