Do I need to prepare anything prior to the consultation?
Please bring a list of your current medications/supplements and any relevant test results. 

Does herbal medicine interact with pharmaceutical medicines prescribed by my Doctor?
Any medicines you are taking are carefully considered.  Qualified herbalists are trained to recognise any potential interactions and prescribe accordingly.  Therefore you can safely take your practitioner-prescribed herbal remedy alongside your current medication.  It is important that you do not stop taking your existing medication or change the dose without seeking your doctor’s advice.  Your practitioner is happy to discuss your treatment with your GP at any time. 

How long will my treatment last?
Length of treatment is highly individual but a traditional herbal rule of thumb is 3 months for a condition lasting 1 year and 1 month for every year thereafter.  Herbal mixtures are usually adjusted over the course of treatment as your needs change.  Herbs work gently to bring the body back into balance but often achieve a more lasting effect.  In some cases patients decide to take herbs after the original problem has resolved to maintain optimum health or periodically to prepare their body for times of stress such as winter, the hayfever season or exams.

Can herbal medicine cure long-term conditions?
In cases of long-term chronic illness herbal medicine cannot provide a magic cure but can ease symptoms, help reduce the side effects of pharmaceutical dugs and improve quality of life.  The herbal emphasis is to support your existing treatment programme and any dose reductions of pharmaceutical medications are always done in conjunction with your GP or specialist.

Is Western herbal medicine the same as Chinese herbal medicine?
No.  Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) uses a completely different system of diagnosis and different herbs.  TCM practitioners tend to prescribe large numbers of herbs as standard ‘formulas’ in combination with acupuncture and treatments such as cupping.  However some Chinese herbs may be used in Western herbal medicine, such as ginseng, astragalus and ephedra.  Ayurvedic (Indian) herbs such as ashwaganda may also be used in selected cases

What is the difference between herbal medicine and homeopathy?
Herbal medicine uses pharmacological doses of plant constituents.  Like conventional medicines, the biological response is proportional to the dose or concentration of medicine taken. 

Homeopathy is based on the philosophy of ‘like cures like’.  That is substances that produce symptoms of sickness in healthy people will have a curative effect when given in minute quantities to sick people who exhibit those same symptoms.  Homeopathic remedies consist of plants, metals and other inorganic materials that are prepared by repeated dilution and ‘succussion’ (forceful striking) under the assumption that this increases the potency and stimulates the body’s own healing process.  Dilution often continues until none of the original substance remains.

Matricaria recutita – German Chamomile
Anti-inflammatory, Spasmolytic, Carminative, Mild Sedative