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new article on herbal side effects

We routinely tell patients to stop taking gingo biloba and ginseng a week prior to surgery. It affects platelet function and can cause excessive and unpredictable bleeding in the peri-operative period.

-Dr. Imago
 
I read about this a while (months) ago. It's a reminder that herbal medicines are not merely placebos, but do have possibly adverse effects.
 
I had a rant about this on my radio show today. It doesn't surprise me, although is still a sad reflection of social attitudes towards natural remedies.

Athon
 
Jorghnassen said:
I read about this a while (months) ago. It's a reminder that herbal medicines are not merely placebos, but do have possibly adverse effects.
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Well, the paper I mentioned was published this week, so probably was one of the other ones. ;)

The "it's natural, ergo safe" thing happens all the time with people wanting to go organic in their garden. Drives me crazy.
 
Gord_in_Toronto said:
No thanks. I'll just have a nice salad of potato greens and rhubarb leaves. :jaw-dropp
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:cool: Well, that would probably make you sick, perhaps enough to send you to the hospital. But put just 15 grams or so (about 1/2 of the head of an average sized specimin of the two mushrooms that I mentioned) and your trip could well end up in the morgue ... although the Wikipedia articles I read indicate that the fatality rate is below 20%, primarily because treatment methods are available.

I heard of a case within the last three years where a Canadian actor died from the effects of a poisonous mushroom. The account I read indicated he was out hiking with friends. He brushed his finger along the underside of the mushroom and then licked that finger. He died less than two weeks later. Now that's toxic!
 
Blue Mountain said:
:cool: Well, that would probably make you sick, perhaps enough to send you to the hospital. But put just 15 grams or so (about 1/2 of the head of an average sized specimin of the two mushrooms that I mentioned) and your trip could well end up in the morgue ... although the Wikipedia articles I read indicate that the fatality rate is below 20%, primarily because treatment methods are available.

I heard of a case within the last three years where a Canadian actor died from the effects of a poisonous mushroom. The account I read indicated he was out hiking with friends. He brushed his finger along the underside of the mushroom and then licked that finger. He died less than two weeks later. Now that's toxic!
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I'm not sure, but that may be the same case as the nature nut who went galooping through the forests of New Brunswick tasting everything in sight because "it's all natural" until he tried that unusual looking mushroom. Or, maybe it was someone else. :boggled:
 
Blue Mountain said:
I heard of a case within the last three years where a Canadian actor died from the effects of a poisonous mushroom. The account I read indicated he was out hiking with friends. He brushed his finger along the underside of the mushroom and then licked that finger. He died less than two weeks later. Now that's toxic!
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Blue Mountain, could you please give me a link to that story? I tried to find it on Google but nothing relevant came up. I'm an amateur mycologist and I can find no reference to a mushroom toxin that strong. However I would like to learn more about this incident, and see where the problem lies - do I need to get different reference books (I thought I had the best ones but perhaps not) or was there more to the story? Thanks...... :)
 
Oh yes, and "natural" does not equal good - I completly agree. After all, hemlock is natural. Heck, it is growing in the neighbor's yard. I don't know if they realize just how dangerous it is.
 
Amapola said:
Blue Mountain, could you please give me a link to that story? I tried to find it on Google but nothing relevant came up. I'm an amateur mycologist and I can find no reference to a mushroom toxin that strong. However I would like to learn more about this incident, and see where the problem lies - do I need to get different reference books (I thought I had the best ones but perhaps not) or was there more to the story? Thanks...... :)
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I'll see what I can dig up. The story was in a print edition of a local LGBT magazine; it was newsworthy for them because the actor was gay. The back issues are here. I'd search them myself right now but I'm on a slow connection. Tomorrow I can grab the back issues to 2004 and look through them.
 
Thanks Blue Mountain - I looked through your link but could not find it, so when you can find it please point me in the right direction. I'll keep checking so I can find out more about this.
 
bug_girl said:
Well, the paper I mentioned was published this week, so probably was one of the other ones. ;)
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I meant my local newspaper had an article about interactions between herbal (and other so-called natural) remedies and prescription drugs some months ago (that is, there can be harm in "complementing" the latter with the former, or just treating separate problems with separate medicines without telling your doctor). It was not about side effects of just taking herbal remedies (or the underreporting of such effects). I should have made that clear, sorry. Still, both issues are important.
 
amanitin mushroom
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I don't know about licking it, but eating it will kill you.

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2007/05/31/4223228.html

Deaths from eating mushrooms are rare. In September 2004, a man in Quebec died after eating a toxic mushroom, and a woman in Toronto died the year before from the same cause.
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http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2006/10/05/mushroom-toxic.html

People should keep in mind that anything that has an effect also has side effects. If it's not clear what the effect is, then most side effects won't be known either.

It's great that we are now finding out what side effects supplements have, but it also reinforces to people that the perceived effects are real too, even if they aren't proven. Thing is, I've seen more side effects from herbal supplements than anything of a beneficial effect.

Also, cyanide and mercury are quite natural, but I won't be downing any great quantities of either any time soon.
 
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