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View Full Version : Echinacea does not work....



Starloans
07-29-2005, 02:41 PM
I never thought it did.
By Alicia Chang
ASSOCIATED PRESS
2:46 p.m. July 27, 2005
Being sick with a cold is nothing to sneeze at, but new research finds that taking the popular herbal remedy echinacea does nothing to treat or prevent it.
The federally funded study was what fans and foes of such substances say they have long needed – rigorous, scientific testing. It found that patients who took an echinacea plant extract fared no better than those who took a dummy treatment.
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"Our study ... adds to the accumulating evidence that suggests that the burden of proof should lie with those who advocate this treatment," wrote Dr. Ronald Turner of the University of Virginia School of Medicine, who led the study, which appeared in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine.
Echinacea, or purple coneflower, is sold over-the-counter in pills, drops and lozenges. With reported annual sales of more than $300 million, echinacea is one of the most popular medicinal herbs used by people to treat colds.
Several animal studies and small human trials have pointed to the possible benefit of the herb in preventing respiratory infections. However, one of largest studies – involving 407 children in 2003 – found that echinacea failed to alleviate cold symptoms and even caused mild skin rashes in some cases.
In the newest experiment, researchers recruited 399 healthy patients who got one of three laboratory-made echinacea plant extracts or a dummy preparation. The patients were then exposed to the cold virus and their symptoms were evaluated.
Scientists found no difference in infection rates between the groups who received the herb or placebo. About 90 percent in both groups wound up becoming infected. Symptoms like sneezing, runny noses and sore throat were also about the same, with more than half in both groups showing classic signs of a clinical cold.
The study was funded by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, part of the federal National Institutes of Health. Turner, the lead researcher, has consulted for various antibiotic makers.
In an accompanying editorial, Dr. Wallace Sampson, an emeritus clinical professor of medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine, questioned why the government is wasting tax dollars on funding alternative medicine studies, some of which have turned out to be nothing but snake oil.
"Research into implausible remedies rarely produces useful information," wrote Sampson, who was not connected to the study.
But Mark Blumenthal, executive director of the American Botanical Council, an independent group that studies herbs, said people should not dismiss echinacea as a cold remedy. Blumenthal pointed out that the extract used in the latest study was prepared in the lab and not sold in stores. He also added that the herb might work better if higher doses were used.
"This is not a definitive trial on the efficacy of echinacea, nor should the results be generalized to echinacea preparations widely available," he said.

*!Ken's Wife!*
07-29-2005, 02:44 PM
Thats interresting!! I've taken it and it cut the length of my cold in half!

Starloans
07-29-2005, 02:45 PM
Thats interresting!! I've taken it and it cut the length of my cold in half!
How do you know your cold would have only lasted that long anyway?

*!Ken's Wife!*
07-29-2005, 02:49 PM
How do you know your cold would have only lasted that long anyway?
Because when I get sick......no matter if it's a cold or flu they ALWAYS last longer than any normal one would, and I actually did have less symtoms and felt better, but I'm not really the person who should be talking about it anyway. I happen to believe that you create your own illnesses. And I havn't been sick in I don't know how long. Thank you for the info though I will tell my sisters not to use it! LOL

HOOTER SLED-
07-29-2005, 02:52 PM
I have a special something that works. :devil:

Starloans
07-29-2005, 02:55 PM
Because when I get sick......no matter if it's a cold or flu they ALWAYS last longer than any normal one would, and I actually did have less symtoms and felt better, but I'm not really the person who should be talking about it anyway. I happen to believe that you create your own illnesses. And I havn't been sick in I don't know how long. Thank you for the info though I will tell my sisters not to use it! LOL
Hey don't get me wrong, It is a very popular herb, second only to ...well never mind. :jawdrop: :D
I've always gotten sick easy (upper respretory infections). I'm no expert but I usually get 2-3 colds a year and I've never thought it helped. Lots of people swear by it. Some of the pharmasist say that Zinc tablets help more than echinacea.

*!Ken's Wife!*
07-29-2005, 02:55 PM
I have a special something that works. :devil:
Shots of PENIScillin DON"T work either J!!!!

Mrs. casean
07-29-2005, 03:22 PM
I saw this on the news! I guess I'll throw away my bottle :D Like you all, by the time start to take it, I'm sick and it's doesn't make it go away any faster :hammer2: I was just told to use it??? O-well.

HOOTER SLED-
07-29-2005, 03:25 PM
Shots of PENIScillin DON"T work either J!!!!
You must be currently getting a weak dosage. :D

barbigrl
07-29-2005, 03:29 PM
I have never bought into that stuff.....just another myth herbalist started to make more money!

Mrs. casean
07-29-2005, 03:49 PM
I have never bought into that stuff.....just another myth herbalist started to make more money!
You got that right! :idea: :hammer2:

ahhell
07-29-2005, 03:54 PM
I work in a hospital full of sick peolple, and some of the office girls swear by "air borne" for shortening or preventing colds and shit....its like an alka seltzer tablet :confused:
I tried it once and it seemed to help

Ziggy
07-29-2005, 03:57 PM
Hey don't get me wrong, It is a very popular herb, second only to ...well never mind. :jawdrop: :D
I've always gotten sick easy (upper respretory infections). I'm no expert but I usually get 2-3 colds a year and I've never thought it helped. Lots of people swear by it. Some of the pharmasist say that Zinc tablets help more than echinacea.
My brother is a Pharmacist and says Zinc is probably the best when it comes to "masking" the syptoms allowing you to function..I've used Zicam tablets or they also have a spray that tastes like poopoo occording to the wife. :D
This year I've used AireBorne with great results....any cold I've felt has been either knocked out by this stuff or made me feel almost completely normal...even was skiing in 0 degrees on that stuff when I probably could/should have stayed in bed. Another that seems to have helped me(similar to aireborne) is called Emergen"C"...

Ultra5150
07-29-2005, 04:02 PM
Airborne kicks ass...

wanna B V
07-29-2005, 04:18 PM
that stuff is a mind over matter pill....if you dont have a mind, it dont matter :crossx: