Herbal Medicine Going Mainstream
More doctors are beginning to prescribe herbal medicine to their patients, though there are a number of things each doctor must look at before telling a patient to purchase a salve or capsule at the local health food store.
Every doctor wants to provide good medicine to patients. This means a substance that provides benefits without any of the unwanted side effects. Herbal medicine commonly follows various treatment patterns and practitioners need to understand this to be able to diagnose and treat effectively.
Internal medicine is commonly used to treat chronic pain. While some doctors are actually recommending acupuncture, the best solutions on the market are still medicine that is taken orally – though it can be herbal medicine being digested, not prescriptions. Even those getting regular treatments of acupuncture are being given herbal treatments to provide the necessary backup.
Most doctors, when dispensing herbs, only do so for three to four days. This amounts to between 12 and 24 capsules with a maximum of 500 milligrams containing various powdered extracts. These will typically be at a 10:1 extract ratio. The patient, their size and their condition will also determine what is being prescribed.
Doctors will need to determine dosage based upon it being able to show effects, require the patient to return in a timely manner and allow for a revision of the patient’s patterns. It will also lower the patient’s cost in comparison to buying an entire bottle of herbal medication.
While herbal medicine is going more mainstream, doctors are still learning how they will prescribe and dispense the medication. They are also learning how the medication interacts with any other medication a patient may be taking for other health conditions. This means that patients will see more herbal medication being given out at the doctor’s office and more doctors attending herbal medicine seminars and conventions around the world.
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