Q: I need an effective treatment for inflammation and soreness of joints. What can you recommend? Will it Work?

A: Inflammation of joints accompanied in consequence by soreness is usually a symptom of arthritis. This is the purpose for which Tabritis Tablets were created about 45 years ago. I recommend a trial in the full dose of six tablets per day for four to six weeks. This herbal treatment works in the majority of cases, but there are a few types of arthritis which the formula doesn't touch.

Q: How does Potter's Elixir of Echinacea work?

A: This remarkable medicine provides the non-specific immune stimulant properties that have been established for good Echinacea Root products. The herb therefore stimulates the body to fight off infection in the widest of situations, but especially, in our modern world, those in the respiratory tract. The earlier you take it the better it works. The product contains Wild Indigo Extract which adds to the Echinacea activity making the product more effective than Echinacea alone. For forty years the product was specially recommended for skin problems, notably acne. The Fumitory Extract in it helps particularly in this area.

Q: I suffer from a wheat allergy. Are there any food products that you could recommend?

A: Rice Cakes, Rye Bread and Ryvita.

Q. How do herbal medicines differ from normal medicines?

A: Herbal medicines are medicines whose active ingredients are taken from plants. All or any bit of the plant may be used depending on its 'medicinal activity'. Sometimes the plant itself is included in the medicine, e.g. Senna leaf, or it may just be an extract e.g. seeping the leaf in water and using the resultant liquor. The active ingredients of 'normal' medicines tend to be chemicals produced in a chemical plant.

Q. Are herbal medicines real medicines?

A: The answer is 'yes' - they can prevent or cure medical conditions (illnesses) or relieve the symptoms which is the definition of a medicine. It is an 'approved' medicine if it has been issued with a Product Licence - on the side of the pack it must have a PL Number. The product licence is only issued if the authorities have agreed that the product is safe, is manufactured to an acceptable quality standard and works. Both British and European law support herbal medicines as an effective and viable contribution to healthcare. There are many herbal remedies on the market but not all have a product licence - they may or may not be effective.

Q. Are herbal medicines available on prescription, if so which ones?

A. Yes. Your GP can prescribe a herbal medicine in exactly the same way as a pharmaceutical drug, and your pharmacist will supply the product in the normal manner. More and more GP's are prescribing herbal medicines now; they know that while these treatments are effective they are often gentler on the patient, particularly where the medicine may be taken over a long period of time.

Q. I have re-occurring cystitis, I have taken antibiotics but the symptoms keep returning, is there anything for long term effectiveness?

A. Whereas antibiotics are good for clearing up acute cystitis, in many women there is a tendency for it to return. In these cases, turning to a herbal remedy is effective and is probably preferable to constantly returning to antibiotics. Our advice would be to take a course of a product such as 'Antitis', starting it as soon as the course of antibiotics is finished.

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