HERBAL REMEDIES Where to Start

The popularity and understanding of herbal remedies is growing everyday and is evident by the number of mainstream and specialty retail outlets who carry a variety of herbs aimed at addressing a many health issues in a natural way. There are numerous benefits of using herbs to treat particular medical conditions or improve well-being. It can be quite confusing at first to understand the overall picture of herbal remedies and this hub is written for the 'newbies', who are new to the whole area of herbal remedies and looking for a professional to help.

The first and most important item you must understand is that herbal remedies are effective and often viable treatments for a variety of health concerns but you must become an informed consumer and have a professional guide and supervise your use of all herbal remedies. Just think how absurd it would be if all of our current medical prescription medications were available without a prescription from a qualified doctor or pharmacist. If we could just show up at the local drug store, look up and down the shelves of products and pick and choose what we might try to feel better or prevent an illness or condition from occurring. Of course, we would needlessly suffer side-effects, drug interactions and perhaps worse a serious or fatal outcome from picking our own drugs. You must give all herbal remedies the same respect - they are medicines albeit natural ones but that does not mean we can consume them in a haphazard way without proper supervision.

There are a variety of accredited professionals, specifically trained to help you learn and benefit from the use of herbal remedies. They have trained for years, just like doctors, nurses and pharmacists do in mainstream medicine to fully understand when to use specific remedies, in what dose and for specific conditions. It may be overwhelming at first to sort out all the new information that you are exposed to but with the right help you will soon become familiar and comfortable.

A number of professionals are available to you and some of the common titles are naturopath, herbalist, Homeopath, Osteopath, Traditional Medicine practitioner (Chinese/Tibetan) or Ayurvedic professional. We highly recommend you talk to your family and friends to see if anyone is currently under the care of a professional specializing in the use of natural remedies can provide a referral for you to consider. This is often the best way to find someone who will help you begin your journey into alternative care. But, remember, even if your friend or cousin 'loves' this person, they may not be right for you so before you make a final decision ensure you are comfortable seeing and communicating with who ever you choose - it's up to you. You can also search your local state or province to find a list of qualified professionals.

It is best if you can have your family doctor work with your natural health provider, remember herbal remedies are potent and do interact with other drugs. Unfortunately for many people wanting to incorporate alternative healing options, the experience trying to have their mainstream doctor come on board is not always a positive one. Too many doctors balk at the use of herbal remedies, citing they are not effective, not researched well and basically dismiss their value. However, there are other family doctors and specialists who will work with you so make sure you discuss this with your doctor. Even if they are not supportive, it is very important they are aware of other types of healing you are using so that your overall safety and well-being is looked after. This applies to your natural health care professional too. They must know what types of drugs your doctor is prescribing for you and how often you take them.

It is important to go to your first visit with your new practitioner prepared. You want to have a list of questions such as 1) What are the benefits for me and my specific condition or well-being goal of including herbal remedies? 2) What are the possible risks or side-effects? 3) Are any of my daily activities or responsibilities affected by the use of a herbal remedy? 4) If I am also using conventional treatments, are there additional risks or things to know about?

Ideally having a friend or family member attend this first meeting with you is a great idea. It is difficult for us to hear and remember a lot of what is said and having someone there with us will help to know and recall all the important details.

Other things to check out on your first visit (or by telephone as a pre-screening to setting an appointment) include what we like to call the business part of getting started. You will want to know about your providers education, training and licensing standards for your country, state, province etc. You can get some background information on the Internet about the licensing requirements and then make sure your providers meets such standards. It is also very important to know about any particular area of specialty. As conventional doctors have specialties so do natural remedy professionals. For example, if you are looking for added relief in treating your arthritis find someone who has both the training and experience in using herbal remedies in that area.

Cost

Many herbal remedy professionals are not covered under most health care plans (or if they are you may be required to pay up front). Despite the excellent benefit of treatment it may be expensive so ask about all costs: individual sessions, cost of herbal remedies, fee for a missed or canceled appointment are absolute questions to ask.

Before you decide to have any one particular provider work with you and supervise your use of herbal remedies ask yourself a few important questions after your first visit:

Did I feel comfortable at their office and with the person specifically?

Did they listen to me?

Did they also ask me questions to learn about me and my health status?

Did they have specific knowledge about the conditions I would like to address through the use of herbal remedies?

Did they encourage me to follow-up with a phone call or another visit if I have additional questions after I left?

Did I feel like their advice about my treatment was reasonable and made sense to me?

Am I able to pay for the costs and did the costs of their appointments and remedies appear reasonable?

Do they have payment options that I can use?

....and overall, did I leave the appointment feeling good about adding this person to my health care team?

For many people adding natural remedies to their health regime and finding the right provider takes time and effort to do it well but is very effective in treating many health conditions. Take your time and make sure you are comfortable with who ever you choose. Of course, the use of herbal remedies is very easy to do on our own but we highly discourage this practice. Be your own health advocate and take the time to incorporate herbal remedies safely and effectively for your overall health and well-being.

Here are some additional resources for you....

Alternative Medicine Foundation: http://www.amfoundation.org/about.htm

Herbal Medicine, Medline Plus: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/herbalmedicine.html

Natural Herbs Guide: http://www.naturalherbsguide.com/

Herbal Remedies Advice: http://www.herbalremedyinfo.com/ar/benefits-of-herbal-remedies.php