Herbs may be harmful to children By Trudy Simpson,
Staff Reporter
FOR AS long as she can remember, 15-year-old Juliehas been given herbs ("bush tea" ). "I have been given things like marigold (and) fever grass from I was three because they say it's good for me, for my health you know," said Julie, who is now a fan of herb teas. "I still drink some. It's good for your blood." But local health officials are worried that caregivers are introducing common herbs such as ginger, peppermint and cerasee into the diets of infants too early and this may be harmful to them. A study published in last year's West Indian Medical Journal showed that children under six months old were being given an average of two to three different herbs on a regular basis by mostly rural caregivers, identified as being more likely to resort to herbal remedies than buy more modern medicines. The study, entitled, "The use of herbal teas and remedies in Jamaica" interviewed caregivers in rural and urban areas, over 90 per cent of whom had used herbs as tea and to treat illnesses on at least one occasion. Many of those who had been in charge of children under six years old admitted that children had been exposed early to some of the "bush teas" they used such as leaf of life, sweet orange, search-me-heart, bees bush, chamber bitters, donkey weed, fasten-pon-coat and ram-goat dashalong. Speaking with The Gleaner yesterday, Dr. Julie Meeks Gardner, who carried out the study along with Donovan Grant, Sharmaine Hutchinson and Professor Rainford Wilks, Director of the Tropical Medicine Research Institute, said that although five years have passed since the study was done, it was likely that the situation remained the same because dietary patterns changed slowly. She recommended that children under six years old, not be given even mint tea because all herbs are potentially harmful, especially to the liver, the organ which removes toxins from the body. Director of the Ministry of Health's Standards and Regulations division, Dr. Grace Allen-Young, agreed, stating that there have been cases where children given certain bush teas including white back, king of the forest and crotalocia developed veno-occlusive disease (VOD), a severe disease of the liver, which could end up killing affected children. She pointed out that effective health education programmes had prevented the use of the "bush teas" in question but admitted that "it was likely that sporadic instances of ill effects of some herbs are not identified or reported." In addition, children should not ingest herbs because their stomach, liver, bowels and other organs used to absorb and process food and eliminate waste were not as highly developed as older people's, she said. Meanwhile, Dr. Allen-Young said that the Ministry is taking steps to regulate the industry by the end of the 2001/2002 financial year. An amendment to the Food and Drug Regulations is pending and drafting instructions have been sent to the Chief Parliamentary Counsel. In addition, the government had identified and developed requirements for use for six new categories, namely: health foods, herbal materials, finished herbal products, herbal remedies and over-the-counter (OTC) products. Street vendors will also not be left out, she said. "The street roots/herbs will be covered by the legislation. Vendors will be required to have a food handlers permit and the contents and recommended directions for use will have to be stated on the container." This was welcome news for Dr. Meeks Gardner, who is also worried that herbs will also negatively affect medication prescribed by doctors because patients neglect to mention that they are using herbs. " (Name changed on request).
|
