Herbal Medicine: Really No Side Effects?
Along with the development of the discovery of herbal medicines and the widespread use of traditional medicines, it is easier for people to get these medicines on the market. People can buy this drug freely in pharmacies, drug stores, supermarkets or other places. Most people assume that herbal medicines are safe to use because they come from natural ingredients, not like chemical drugs. But is it true that herbal medicine must be efficacious and without side effects?
Herbal medicine from shopsongkhoe.vn is medicine made from natural ingredients, either plant, animal or mineral. The definition of herbal medicine is often confused with traditional medicine. Traditional medicine is an ingredient or ingredient which can be in the form of plant, animal, mineral or a mixture of the three that have been used for generations for treatment. Traditional medicine is definitely herbal medicine, but herbal medicine is not necessarily traditional medicine. Currently, many experts are developing various new herbal medicines, which have not been used for generations, so they cannot be categorized as traditional medicines.
The basic difference between herbal medicine and chemical medicine is that herbal medicine contains a mixture of various chemical substances. These mixtures can synergize with each other or have antagonistic effects between components, which in turn will have an effect on the human body. The synergistic effect for beneficial chemicals is certainly beneficial because it can strengthen the therapeutic effect. However, the antagonist effect can also be beneficial because it may reduce the detrimental effects of certain chemicals in a herbal medicine. Meanwhile, chemical drugs are drugs that contain a single chemical substance that can work alone and cause effects.
Side effects are unwanted events caused by the use of drugs. Side effects can occur due to the drug substance itself, as well as chemical substances that act as carriers (additional components in the drug) in drug preparations. All materials that enter the human body, whether food, drugs, foreign objects, or other chemical substances can cause desired and unwanted effects. This effect can occur in various places, both target organs and other organs. The unwanted effects that occur when using chemical drugs are easier to predict and identify because chemical drugs only contain 1 single active substance with a known effect. If the side effects that arise are not in accordance with the characteristics of the active substance, then the possible cause is the carrier substance. The side effects that arise when using herbal medicines are often difficult to identify the causative chemical because herbal medicines contain various kinds of chemical substances. Therefore, the effects of using herbal medicines are often difficult to predict and can be dangerous in certain cases.
Many people use herbal medicines as additional drugs from chemical drugs that are routinely used. This concomitant use must be done with caution because the two drugs can interact with each other. This interaction can have a beneficial or detrimental effect. Considering the use of herbal medicines, it turns out that there is also a risk of unwanted effects, therefore, before using herbal medicines, patients should first consult with the treating doctor.
