Ebola has gotten everyones attention. Even in my small town, people are talking about it and feeling scared. Here is a wonderful post by my colleague, Bevin Clare, that pretty much sums up the situation and what we really need to be worrying about. Well written, Bevin Clare, thanks! Herbal Medicines and Ebola In the past few days I have come across a few posts about using herbal medicines to prevent or treat the ebola virus. Its hard to not treat these ideas with disdain for a number of reasons. The primary reason being that traditional systems of medicine would have been utilized if they were at all effective. Traditional cultures, as well as front-line infectious disease workers, are typically early adopters of anything that works. In these remote and typically poorly-supplied areas if there is something which might help, anything, it will be utilized. In this vein, herbal products such as artemisinin have been used since the 1970s to the best of their ability and practical applicability (PMCID: PMC4122781) and prior to that other botanical antilmalarials have been used and continue to be. Ebola, by the way, is super scary if you havent noticed. But its not the thing which should be scaring you, reader of the internet. Its risk of transmission is very low -- it isnt airborne or vector borne, it shows up fairly quickly, and only spread by direct contact with the secretions from someone who is showing signs of infection (cdc.gov/media/releases/2014/t0728-ebola.html) meaning you cant get it until they are sick. IF we had adequate healthcare facilities, workers, sanitation, and medical products in the are this whole thing would be over in a jiffy. Its not a coincidence that this outbreak is happening in one of the most under-developed tropical areas in the world ripe with public health and general safety concerns. And while I find ebola scary, it isnt what keeps me up at night. Its the epidemics of heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. Its the state of the environment and of the water and the air and the children in the developing world. For almost all of you who read this, its heart disease, cancer, or something of the like which will visit you in the end. And surprise! We have herbs which work, well, perhaps almost better than anything other than the fundamentals of good health, to prevent these massive epidemics. Ebola should be quaking in its boots when it sees the havoc these conditions wreak. We dont even have a conventional treatment beyond purely palliative care, so its hard to imagine that botanicals could reasonably offer anything in the way of treatment. What is really needed is new infrastructure, adequate healthcare systems, a vaccine (possible with this virus and already tested in animals), a whole giant unimaginably large mound of disposable plastic medical supplies, and while we are at it safe housing, adequate food and nutrition, and a few other things like more doctors and nurses. Just a short list. But that doesnt mean that herbal medicines couldnt be involved in this terrible situation. Front line treatment? No. But I would love to dish out some supporting adaptogens to the men and women risking their lives for countless hours every day to help those infected. Id love to help soothe their chapped, cracked skin from washing too much and constantly wearing gloves and masks with some soothing comfrey salve. Id love to get some giant crockpots of medicinal and immune supporting chai from Renée Davis for all of the family members, healthcare workers, and supportive military to sip on all day long. And I would make an educated guess that infected individuals who have adequate nutrition, coping skills, lack of significant co-infections, and overall good health will have higher chances of survival. Sure, herbs could help there if we could reach them waaaay over there and support their overall well-being for a year before they were exposed. But at this point, IMHO, I would prefer to appreciate those who are working so hard, and often so selflessly, to save one more life. I understand the limitations of the medicines I love, and I would prefer that in crisis we can present ourselves as part of a community which depicts themselves as a working part of a greater whole - understanding that many types of interventions are needed to solve what plagues us. CDC Press Conference on laboratory quality and safety after recent lab incidents CDC.GOV
Posted on: Wed, 24 Sep 2014 20:58:43 +0000
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