My Working Day:Dr Dílis Clare, GP and herbalist, gets great satisfaction from teaching people about Western herbal medicine.
My working days vary according to the day of the week. On Mondays and Thursdays, I see patients in my complementary health clinic, Health and Herbs, in Galway city. Fridays and Wednesdays are taken up with administration and I work in the clinic on Tuesday afternoons.
I worked as a GP and medical herbalist in London for 12 years and when I came back to Ireland in 1999, I wasn't sure if people would come for treatment to a herbalist but the practice took off straight away. People come to me with asthma, eczema, arthritis, irritable bowel syndrome, hormonal and muscular-skeletal problems.
Sometimes, I work with a physiotherapist, a massage therapist or an acupuncturist to treat a patient. Most people have been referred to me by word of mouth and they know that they will have to change something in their life as well as take herbs.
I see people of all ages, from tiny babies to people in their 90s. Some people come to me because they haven't found a solution using pharmaceutical drugs; others can't tolerate pharmaceutical drugs; and others want to try something more natural.
Herbs have powerful influences on our physiological systems and there are strong, moderate and mild herbs. For instance, I use the Californian poppy in the treatment of insomnia but the poppy family includes morphine which is the most effective pain killer you can get. Generally, herbalists will use a range of mild and moderate herbs so that the body can learn to revert to normal function itself.
As chairwoman of the Irish Institute of Medical Herbalists (IIMH), I have been involved with the formation of the first Irish degree in herbal sciences at the Cork Institute of Technology. The reason for setting up this externally accredited course was to set a high academic standard and to begin to provide an infrastructure for the herbal industry because at present, we import all our natural medicines.
The IIMH is planning a two-year taught masters in clinical herbal medicine and is also in discussion with Vivas to have treatment by a medical herbalist covered by its health insurance schemes.
I have my own herb garden. Earlier this month, I held my annual open day and about 400 people came to learn about herbs. I get great satisfaction from teaching people about Western herbal medicine.