What are some of the most dangerous alternative medicine <span title="herbs/procedures/treatments?">herbs/procedures/treatmen...</span>

Question

stuff that has major adverse effects, such as colloidal silver causing argyria. preferably more commonly used things

Answer 1

It depends on what you mean.... do you mean interactions with drugs or other medical treatments that make the combination dangerous or do you mean the alternative thing on it&#039;s own?

If you mean the combination, there are many drugs and treatments that have bad reactions with supplements and even everyday foods. Something as simple as taking a blood thinner with Aspirin, Vitamin E and Fish Oil (which are also blood thinners) can cause problems.

If you mean on it&#039;s own, the worst thing most people can do is to take too high of a dose of something (eg. more than the bottle or a doctor recommends). Taking too much of even simple minerals can cause problems (kidney stones, Calcification of the arteries, etc), plus too much of anything (whether it be herb, food, or even water) can hurt you.

However, there are a few herbs that have specific warnings on them not to take more than the recommended dose and one of the worst to ignore the warning on is Echinacea.

If you take Echinacea too long, it actually boosts your immune system so much that your immune system starts fighting against your body. After a while, it starts attacking the beneficial bacteria in your intestines (so you can&#039;t digest things properly as much), and if it&#039;s taken long enough, your immune system can start attacking other parts of your body including your brain. It&#039;s a great example of &quot;too much of a good thing is a bad thing&quot;.

Does that answer your question?

[Edit]:  If you&#039;re referring to Colloidal Silver, that&#039;s actually one of the most commonly misused products. Most people that have problems with it take too high of a dose for them (because they didn&#039;t ask a doctor or anything), and some people have even used it externally (which it shouldn&#039;t be). Both of those misuses are the most common cause of the Argyria.

Answer 2

Not sure which direction to take this...

Any &quot;medicine&quot; is dangerous if used incorrectly. Some examples would be if the symptoms were improperly interpreted so the wrong treatment given; taking the wrong amount of treatment; mixing treatments that duplicate, causing over treatment; or ignoring contraindications. This can happen when people self-diagnose and then self-treat without doing thorough research.

That said, some treatments should only be given with a trained practitioner&#039;s supervision, either because the disorder is life threatening or the treatment is risky.

Some dangerous herbs are Mistletoe, Thuja, Lily of the Valley, Tansy, Datura, Foxglove &amp; Blood Root.

Some herbs that have gotten a bad reputation because of misuse are Comfrey, Sassafras, Ginseng &amp; Ephedra.

Answer 3

black salve is supposed to cure skin cancer. i hear its effective but dangerous.

also have heard that accupuncture can have bad, weird effects on you if it&#039;s done poorly over long periods of time.