In Ireland, herbal medicine is often referred to as ‘alternative’ or ‘complementary’ but it is actually the Irish medical tradition that flourished up to the seventeenth century. The therapeutic approach of an Irish Institute of Medical Herbalists member is founded and based on this tradition. It is a plant based/ botanical medicine which includes nutritional/ and lifestyle advice.
Plants produce compounds that are beneficial to health. The herbalist uses whole plant medicine so as to avail of all the compounds in the plant. They can be given as teas, tinctures, capsules and tablets.
So what happens when you visit a medical herbalist?
Herbal medicine treatment centres around 3 things
1) A consultation
The consultation is central to the therapeutic approach of the herbalist and centers on establishing the dominant constitutional type of the patient. It is essential that this is known so as to achieve a therapeutic strategy that is beneficial in the long term and will bring the patient’s health back into balance. This does not mean that the presenting patology is ignored but that it is seen as a manifestation of imbalance in the entire system. The initial consultation take approx an hour to an hour and a half and will also address the presenting signs and symptons of the illness.
2) A physical exam
Standard medical examinations (Blood pressure, pulse) plus tongue diagnosis are completed at every consultation. Additional examinations to differentiate the presenting pathology include respiratory, genito/urinary, cardiovascular , and muscloskeletal examinations etc.
Many of the members of the IIMH work within integrative GP practices with cross referral.
3) Dispensing of medicine
Herbs are prescribed and dispensed at the clinic. This herbal/ nutritional prescription is specific to the patient’s needs and takes into account the patient’s humoral constitution, diet and lifestyle.
Training
Training is central to the ability of Medical Herbalists to treat patients competently within their scope of practice. To this end the IIMH has developed together with the Cork Institute of Technology an honours degree course in Herbal Science. An MSc in Clinical Herbal Medicine is currently being developed to ensure the highest possible standard of training for Medical Herbalists.
How do herbs work & what do they treat?
Herbs work at various levels. They can work symptomatically and locally as with Cranberry for a urinary tract infection, St John’s wort for depression and Echinacea to limit the severity of colds and ‘flu. However, herbs also treat systemically with st. John’s wort being a strong anti viral and Echinacea affecting white blood cells.
The range of conditions presented by patients to a Medical Herbalist are similar to that of a Medical Doctor. Medical Herbalists understand however when a condition needs modern allopathic medicine and will refer accordingly to the medical profession.
Your Hibernian Aviva Health cover
We’re delighted to announce that we have added cover for medical herbalists on our day-to-day plans. As part of our alternative and complementary practitioner benefit we exclusively give our members up to €30 back for 3 visits per year under Hibernian Aviva Health day-to-day a. Our members on day-to-day 50 can get 50% back up to €25 for each of 8 visits to a medical herbalist.