Savon Pharmacy, El Paso, TX, USA ; Foundation Hospital, El Paso, TX, USA.
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2014;2014:251891. doi: 10.1155/2014/251891. Epub 2014 Feb 27.
Many Americans, not completely satisfied with traditional western medicine, have turned to alternative and complementary medicine which explains the increasing popularity of the herbal products and the Chinese herbal medicine. The lack of government regulations and the increasing advertisements by the manufactures have created an impression to the common public that the natural herbal remedies are inherently safer and cheaper than conventional medicine. The skyrocketing rise of healthcare cost and the adverse reaction and side effects incurred from the prescribed drugs have both reinforced such an impression. Herbs in the USA and in many European countries have been prepared as capsules, tablets, teas, lozenges, juice extracts, tincture, and ointments. Most of the herbs are administered as a single herb in the USA and Europe. However, the traditional Chinese herbal medicine contains multiple active ingredients from various herbs and is prepared as concoctions by simmering them for hours to produce pharma-therapeutic properties useful for the treatment of a particular disease. Those prepared concoctions are taken gingerly with specific treatment purposes. In the USA and some European counties, herbs are distributed and labeled as dietary supplements and are taken by many individuals for a long period of time creating some medical and dental complex problems among them, especially in terms of anesthesia-surgery complications. This paper provides insight into basic differences in how herbs are prepared before administration to the patients in China versus a single unprepared herb sold in the USA and Europe. Also addressed are the interdisciplinary issues with health professionals, the proper regulations for better quality control of imported herbs, and the proper warning on the labels of the herbs.
许多美国人对传统的西药并不完全满意，转而寻求替代和补充医学，这解释了草药产品和中草药越来越受欢迎的原因。政府监管的缺乏和制造商日益增加的广告宣传给公众造成了一种印象，即天然草药疗法比传统药物固有地更安全、更便宜。医疗保健费用的飙升，以及处方药带来的不良反应和副作用，都强化了这种印象。在美国和许多欧洲国家，草药被制成胶囊、片剂、茶、含片、果汁提取物、酊剂和软膏。大多数草药在美国和欧洲都作为单一草药使用。然而，传统的中药包含来自各种草药的多种有效成分，并以配方形式煎熬数小时，以产生对特定疾病治疗有用的药物特性。那些准备好的配方被小心翼翼地用于特定的治疗目的。在美国和一些欧洲国家，草药被作为膳食补充剂分发和贴上标签，许多人长期服用，由此引发了一些医疗和牙科方面的复杂问题，尤其是在麻醉手术并发症方面。本文介绍了中国在给患者给药前准备草药的基本方法与美国和欧洲销售的单一未经准备的草药之间的差异。文中还讨论了卫生专业人员的跨学科问题、进口草药更好的质量控制的适当监管，以及草药标签上的适当警告。
