Traditional herbalists' prescriptions for common clinical conditions: A survey of members of the UK National Institute of Medical Herbalists
✍ Scribed by Joanne Barnes; Edzard Ernst
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 1998
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 62 KB
- Volume
- 12
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0951-418X
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
A postal survey of all members of the UK National Institute of Medical Herbalists (NIMH) was conducted to determine what conditions herbalists treat most frequently, what herbs or combination of herbs herbalists use to treat those conditions, and how herbalists rate the effectiveness and safety of those herbs. Of the 317 questionnaires sent out, 62 were completed and returned (response rate 19.6%). The conditions most commonly listed by respondents as being those that they frequently treat were: premenstrual syndrome/premenstrual tension; irritable bowel syndrome; menopausal symptoms; eczema; 'arthritis'. Several herbs that are often used by herbalists in the treatment of these conditions can be identified. Many of these herbs have been used traditionally and are rated by herbalists as being safe and effective, but lack evidence to support this from controlled clinical trials. These data could be used to generate hypotheses which, in turn, should be tested, e.g. in randomized controlled trials.