Double Nn Photo by Marisa Harris on Unsplash
In the context of herbal medicine, when the whole person is considered in providing a client the correct herbs and dosages, herbs are mostly safe compared to modern medicine. All drugs have side effects including over-the-counter medicine (Morelli, 2022). Around 100,00 people die yearly in the U.S. from side effects from pharmaceutical drugs (Karimi et al., 2015). 8% of all hospitalizations in the country result from medications.
However, herbal medicine rarely results in hospitalizations or death (Karimi et al., 2015). In consequence, there is no data regarding negative side effects of herbs on people through the National Poison Control Centers of the United States. Though herbs can result in side effects, they are seldom adverse enough for concern compared to medications. One big difference is that herbs contain chemicals that develop in nature, whereas modern medicine contains chemicals that are made or combined through human manipulation (Reeser, 2013). These synthetic chemicals may not be naturally occurring and the long-term effects on the human body might not be fully understood.
Ultimately, herbs have been administered in traditional medicines throughout the world for thousands of years. Many herbs have extensive testimonies and historical documentations of how they are employed for healing (Karimi et al., 2015). In comparison, modern medicine is a recent creation and is constantly changing as new research is conducted. Often a drug will be recalled because of serious side effects, but medicinal herbs are still being given safely throughout the world.
References
Karimi, A., Majlesi, M., & Rafieian-Kopaei, M. (2015). Herbal versus synthetic drugs; beliefs and facts. Journal of Nephropharmacology, 4(1), 27–30.
Morelli, J. (2022, March 7). Drug Side Effects Explained. WebMD. Retrieved January 10, 2023, from https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/drug-side-effects-explained
Reeser, D. (2013, April 10). Natural versus Synthetic Chemicals Is a Gray Matter. Scientific American Blog Network. Retrieved January 10, 2023, from https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/natural-vs-synthetic-chemicals-is-a-gray-matter/
