Australian consumers are being reminded to tell their pharmacists about any complementary medicines they are taking, when picking up their prescription medicines.
NPS MedicineWise says with almost 7 million Australians taking some form of complementary medicine every day, people need to remember they should be treated like other medicines. Complementary medicines may interact with prescription and over-the-counter medicines causing harm, the independent not-for-profit organisation added.
“For example, St John’s Wort, which some people take to help with depression, may make some epilepsy medicines and blood thinners less effective,” said NPS MedicineWise’s medical advisor, general practitioner Dr Jill Thistlethwaite, adding it might also interact with some prescribed antidepressant medicines increasing the risk of side effects. “Other examples include gingko and milk thistle which may both interact with anti-diabetes medicines, changing blood glucose levels”
An NPS MedicineWise survey found only 20% of Australians never take a complementary medicine and around 8 million Australians take two or more forms of complementary medicines in a typical week. It also found the majority (59%) of people taking complementary medicines every day also take prescription medicine daily.
In Australia most complementary medicines are listed with the Therapeutic Goods Administration (marked with AUST L on the packaging) rather than registered (AUST R). This means, that while they are assessed for safety and quality, they are not assessed for whether or not they are effective.
