Warning of cancer link to certain herbs

[Ian David]

Warning of cancer link to certain herbs

The consumption of popular Chinese herbal products containing aristolochic acid is associated with an increased risk of urinary tract cancer, a study in Taiwan has found.

Aristolochic acid, known as Mu Tong in Chinese, is found naturally in some herbs that are used in Chinese herbal products to treat hepatitis, urinary tract infection, rhinitis, dysmenorrhea and eczema.

While studies in the past have linked urothelial cancer to the use of aristolochic acid, this is the first study to see if the same association can be made between cancer and herbal products containing aristolochic acid.

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"Finally, patients with a history of aristolochic acid nephropathy or consumption of Mu Tong or Fangchi before they were banned should be monitored regularly for urinary cancer."

More:
http://tvnz.co.nz/health-news/warning-cancer-link-certain-herbs-3316737



"Ancient Chinese secret, huh?"


What is a cystoscopy?

A cystoscopy is an examination of the inside of the bladder and urethra, the tube that carries urine from the bladder to the outside of the body. In men, the urethra is the tube that runs through the penis. The doctor performing the examination uses a cystoscope—a long, thin instrument with an eyepiece on the external end and a tiny lens and a light on the end that is inserted into the bladder. The doctor inserts the cystoscope into the patient’s urethra, and the small lens magnifies the inner lining of the urethra and bladder, allowing the doctor to see inside the hollow bladder. Many cystoscopes have extra channels within the sheath to insert other small instruments that can be used to treat or diagnose urinary problems.

More:
http://kidney.niddk.nih.gov/kudiseases/pubs/cystoscopy/

[MineralMan]

1. Wait....what? I thought that herbal medicine was all

sweetness and light. Hmph!

[Ian David]

2. There's a light at the end of the cystoscope. Does that count? Here's what it looks like inside...

[MineralMan]

3. That guy is a cancer in the bladder of the world, I'm pretty sure.

Some Vitamin D and a few hundred doses of Cantharus 12X oughta clear that right up. Yeah...that's the ticket...

[LeftishBrit]

4. Anything powerful enough to treat you effectively is also powerful enough to have dangers

All medicines need to be respected, not popped like sweets, and monitored for their side effects. And this applies to herbal as well as 'conventional' medicines.

[Ian David]

5. "If it can hurt you, it must be doing SOMETHING."

This is why there's always a rush on a product right before it looks like it's going to be pulled off the market.

If only the woo-woos thought the same way about vaccines and the harm they imagine they do.

"If the vaccines can hurt you, it must be doing SOMETHING... better rush out and vaccinate my filthy, infectious little brood as many times as I can!"

[LeftishBrit]

6. Of course one counterexample to that is homeopathy

The good news there is that it can't really hurt you. The bad news is that it can't do anything else either.

[Ian David]

7. Unless the stuff is contaminated. IIRC, that killed a bunch of people in Australia.

Also, sometimes things are labeled Homeopathic, when they in fact contain actual ingredients that can permanently rob you of your sense of smell, like Zicam does.

[Confusious]

8. Did we need the picture?

ouch ouch ouch ouch