SOME patients turn to medicinal herb shops for remedies in a bid to heal allergies or raise and renew the body vitality. This they do, despite the fact that authorities in the Kingdom have warned against using such remedies.
Academic professors in the field of medicine and herbal experts have also warned against taking any traditional herb as a medicine without consulting the doctor first, Al-Riyadh daily reported. However, despite the awareness of the risk involved and the lack of credible veracity of the strength of the herbs, there has been an increase in the number of people in taking these herbs. The number of these shops has over the past years increased due to the large demand on their products, some of which might pose great health risks, including death, to consumers. Concerned authorities need to intensify inspection visits to these shops, most of which are run by expatriate workers who do not have any idea about the principles of traditional medicine. Al-Riyadh visited several shops in the capital and noticed that most customers were elderly people who were looking for remedies for chronic conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, rheumatism, high cholesterol, etc. as well as hair loss.
Alternative medicine Ayman Makki, medicinal herb expert, said medicinal herb falls under alternative medicine, which has been passed down from one generation to another, noting that selling herbs does not make the person an expert on their medicinal benefits. Muhammad Al-Thebaiti, owner of such a shop, agreed with Makki and added that some salesmen take advantage of the people who suffer from infertility, loss of sexual potency, kidney failure, and other chronic conditions and sell them fake remedies for high prices. Muhammad Amir, herbalist, said one of the fundamentals qualities of any good herbalist is the long experience and extensive reading in the field. “A herbalist should be knowledgeable about modern medicine and constantly keep in touch with doctors. He should also read a lot about medicine. Public awareness should be raised so that people don't fall victims to fake herbalists who sell them fake or harmful materials,” Amir said. Poisonous materials Prof. Jaber Al-Qahtani, pharmacology professor and medicinal herb expert, said, “Medicinal herb shops can give us effective herbal recipes and can as well sell fake ones. Of course, the materials they sell are supposed to be poison-free and their ingredients should be clear to authorities and customers alike.” Role of authorities A medicinal herb salesman should be Saudi or of Arab origin; this is a basic necessity, Al-Qahtani said. He should also have experience in the field and how to combine different herbs, and know what the side effects are.
Al-Qahtani suggested that the ministries of Health or Municipal and Rural Affairs should train salesmen at these shops. The Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs carries out inspection visits to the shops to ensure they have a license to practice this trade while the Health Ministry monitors the medicines sold at the shops. Al-Qahtani criticized the rapid spread of medicinal herb shops over the past few years. Death cases A salesman sells herbs that he is not aware of their dangers. Many people have died as a result of this mistake, Al-Qahtani said. A consumer can sometimes pay the price of the salesman's lack of knowledge of herbs. “The death cases I came to know of made me write a book on them to educate the public about taking the wrong herbs. Some died after buying herbs from street hawkers,” he said, urging authorities to clamp down on street vendors who sell such materials in malls, near mosques, and at traffic lights. Even if these materials hawkers sell are not harmful, they are surely no longer effective because of exposure to sunlight. The real problem lies in the fact that some of the hawkers are female who sell this stuff door-to-door. Families should report those female vendors to authorities and should not use or consume the herbs sold to them, he added. Al-Qahtani urged consumers not to buy any ground mixtures because it is difficult to know the substances used in such mixtures, which might prove to be poisonous. He stressed that only mixtures that have the label of ingredients on them should be bought.
