ARTHRITIS IRELAND has urged sufferers to consult their doctor before taking traditional herbal medicines.
A new regime for such medicines came into force across Europe on Sunday. From now on all herbal medicinal products on the Irish market will need to have a certificate of traditional use registration.
The regulations have been brought into force because of concerns about the effects of such remedies.
A traditional medicine needs to have been in use for at least 15 years in the European Union and 30 years globally. Only herbal medications that are licensed, well established or prescribed by a registered herbal practitioner are allowed to be sold.
The move would appear to have the support of the Irish public. According to a survey of 1,000 consumers carried out by the Irish Medicines Board, 77 per cent of people support it.
Arthritis is one of the most common illnesses in Ireland for those who use traditional medicines. A statement from Arthritis Ireland said a new food supplement or remedy was touted “on a weekly basis” as the best thing for arthritis when there was no indicator to “separate the genuinely helpful products from the duds”.
The organisation also pointed out that traditional remedies can have an effect on conventional medicine and doctors need to be informed if patients are taking both.
An international study of arthritis sufferers found twice as many of them report ill-health in comparison with the rest of the population. A total of 27 per cent of sufferers reported ill-health in comparison with 12 per cent of those without arthritis, according to the report conducted by the School of Public Health at the University of Illinois.
It also found that arthritis sufferers have twice as many days when they feel physically and mentally ill as those without the condition and four times as many days when their activity is limited.
Arthritis Ireland is urging people suffering from arthritis to raise awareness by signing up to the “Get Your Joints in Motion” walk, designed especially for those with the condition, in the Phoenix Park, Dublin, on May 7th. See arthritisireland.ie.
