Talk:List of herbs with known adverse effects

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Let's draw a line[edit]

What herbs are we talking about here? I'm assuming it's medicinal herbs that are still used, right? So we can leave out culinary ones? SophieWilder 18:13, 6 January 2013 (UTC)

Yeah, it's for medicinal herbs, but I guess including culinary herbs with side effects could work too.--KreJ (talk) 18:25, 6 January 2013 (UTC)
Shouldn't this be "List of herbs with known effects."--Bob"I thought this was supposed to be "Rational" Wiki?." 20:51, 31 January 2013 (UTC)
^This. A side effect is defined in relation to an intended effect; & only about half the items on this list state what you might be wanting to use the herb for. Plus there's waaaaay too much dramatic bold text. At most, bold should be used for the name of each herb only, not every possible bodily symptom. WeaseloidWeaselly.jpgMethinks it is a Weasel 23:59, 31 January 2013 (UTC)
How about "adverse effects"? That's what Wikipedia uses.--Krejtalk 00:47, 1 February 2013 (UTC)
The point is that there is not much point in talking about "side effects" or "adverse effects" unless you make the point in conjunction with some reference to the intended affect. In the absence of this you are just talking about "effects".--Bob"I thought this was supposed to be "Rational" Wiki?." 18:09, 1 February 2013 (UTC)

The majority of the side effects listed in the article are not backed by any clinical trial (defintion of medical woo). So if the author pretended to come forward as more rational than supporters of herbal medicine, then she's creating the opposite impression about herself. --Putin2.jpg Brasov 19:11, 1 February 2013 (UTC)

Anyway, WebMD, the University of Maryland, and the American Cancer Society do cite studies, but I suppose I should start citing the studies directly instead of proxy sites.--Krejtalk 19:19, 1 February 2013 (UTC)
-I should start citing the studies directly instead of proxy sites. Anything else would be an ad autoritatem act of faith. Don't forget to read them too before citing them, as the data may not support the proxy's interpretations or even the author's. --Putin2.jpg Brasov 19:50, 1 February 2013 (UTC)

Dubious title[edit]

I can find several issues with this title, I'll try and summarise them:

  • It doesn't distinguish between herbs which are highly toxic, and those which have mild side effects. Or some people might just have an allergy to.
  • Just because a herb has some adverse effects doesn't mean that these outweigh the beneficial effects. (The same can be said of numerous artificial medicines.)
  • There is no mention of quantity or moderation, which are surely important. Reading this you'd think parsley was evil, but I can't say I've noticed that much negative effect.
  • Tea is listed, but brown tea has some nasty side effects as well. Ditto Coffee and Mate.

The second one is quite important. You should see the lists of side effects on certain prescribed medicines, quite scary.--Albannach (talk) 17:23, 5 March 2013 (UTC)

The point is to show that just because drugs have huge side effect lists doesn't mean they're automatically toxic poisons which nobody should ever take under any circumstances.--Krejtalk 17:29, 5 March 2013 (UTC)
See this.--Krejtalk 17:30, 5 March 2013 (UTC)
I smell a category error. The fact that some plants are toxic is hardly in doubt. Although I'm perfectly happy with certain traditional herbal remedies, no one in their right mind would use unprocessed digitalis/foxglove.--Albannach (talk) 17:43, 5 March 2013 (UTC)
So what do you suggest?.--Krejtalk 18:21, 5 March 2013 (UTC)
This page would be nice if it used a table of some kind. I'm currently trying to think of some other alternatives.--Albannach (talk) 18:39, 5 March 2013 (UTC)

Tincture[edit]

WebMD lists the side effects for eyebright "tincture". Is tincture oral or topical?--Krejtalk 02:13, 8 March 2013 (UTC)

It's used as an eye wash. SophieWilder 09:31, 8 March 2013 (UTC)
I've seen an eyebright tincture bottle, and it said to ingest a few drops of it, so I think the side effects are for oral eyebright,--Krejtalk 19:43, 8 March 2013 (UTC)

Merge?[edit]

Duplicates a lot of this. Would be more efficient to have it all under one roof. When Roosevelt came to the land of the hummingbird, shouts of welcome were heard!. 15:17, 15 March 2013 (UTC)

Funny, I was thinking the same thing. Must be telepathy. Anyway, +1--Krejtalk 15:24, 15 March 2013 (UTC)