Sharon Kleyne Hour

The practice of medicine is now at a crossroad. Countless patients are being treated simultaneously with both Western and Oriental medicine. It is quite common for a patient to seek herbal treatments while taking several prescription medications. According to Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA), an estimated 15 million adults in the United States (representing 18.4% of all prescription pharmaceutical users) took prescription drugs concurrently with herbal remedies and/or vitamins in 1997. In 2017, more than 170 million Americans (76%) take dietary supplements, according to the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN). Consumers spent more than 338 billion dollars in prescription drugs, and $36 billion dollars on vitamins, minerals and herbal supplements in 2017. In this talk show, some commonly and higher risk of herb and drug interactions will be discussed. This will help to minimize potential conflicts and risk of potentially dangerous herb and drug interactions.