Natural Remedies Center

Daily News: Dangerous Herbal Remedies Difficult to Identify

A new study published in the January issue of the Journal of Forensic Sciences details the dangers of herbal remedies and the difficulty in identifying these potentially lethal substances in live patients and in autopsies.

Herbal remedies may be laced with toxic chemicals and heavy metals, in addition to naturally occurring organic toxins, states the article’s author, Roger Byard, MD. These substances may cause illness, exacerbate pre-existing conditions or cause death, particularly if taken in excess or in an unusual manner, such as injection, he states.

Lack of regulation of herbal remedies also may allow adulteration with prescription medications, Byard states.

Herbal remedies may be responsible for a range of symptoms that may confuse the clinical presentation of cases, Byard states. Since there may be no history of use of these products noted in a patient’s records, their contribution to death may not be identified in a standard autopsy. It also may be difficult to identify these substances with standard toxicologic screenings, he states.

“As access to such products is largely unrestricted and many people do not tell their doctor they are taking herbal medicines for fear of ridicule, their contribution to death may not be fully appreciated during a standard autopsy,” Byard said in a news release.

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