Chamomile and warfarin a possible lethal mix

[DinahS]

Read this today and found it interesting. Thought I would share.

May 05 2006 at 10:54AM

By Megan Rauscher

New York - People taking warfarin to prevent blood clots should stay away from chamomile products, Canadian doctors caution.

They describe the case of a 70-year-old woman, while being treated with warfarin, who developed severe internal bleeding after drinking chamomile tea to soothe a sore throat and applying chamomile lotion to relieve chest congestion and reduce foot swelling.

This case makes clear the potential dangers of mixing herbal or other natural remedies with physician-prescribed drugs, report Doctors Robert Segal and Louise Pilote from McGill University Health Centre in Montreal in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

Warfarin thins the blood, thereby reducing the chances of blood clots and stroke
"Warfarin," Pilote told Reuters Health, "can interact with both prescribed medications and natural remedies."

While warfarin is known to interact with garlic, onion, and ginger, this is believed to be the first documented case of a drug-herb interaction between warfarin and chamomile. In the US, warfarin is sold under the trade name Coumadin.

Warfarin is derived from coumarin - a naturally occurring chemical compound with anti-clotting properties found in many plants, including chamomile. It's believed that the chamomile tea and lotion acted in concert with the warfarin in this case to cause bleeding.

Warfarin thins the blood, thereby reducing the chances of blood clots and stroke. It is widely used in patients with a variety of heart conditions. In the present case, the woman had received a mechanical heart valve implant and was taking warfarin to reduce the risk of blood clots.

Many people drink chamomile tea to soothe a range of ailments including toothache, sore throat and digestive problems. Because it acts as a mild sedative, many people who have trouble sleeping drink chamomile tea at night.

Chamomile creams are often used to soothe insect bites and treat skin conditions such as psoriasis, eczema and acne.

Pilote advised patients "to make their physicians and pharmacists aware of what prescribed and herbal products they consume so that potentially harmful interactions can be identified."

 

[PJmomrunner]

I love this website for checking drug interactions:

http://www.drugdigest.org/DD/Intera...705&cD=4054&cD=705&dN="Chamomile"+"Warfarin"+

 

[Ross]

http://warfarinfo.com/chamomile.htm

I love journalism. They always fail to paint the whole picture with all the possible things that contributed to this womans death.

Al there is that word again, "Thin" it "thins" the blood...............

 

[Guest]

The laws governing herbals do not require that there be any of the named product actually in the bottle. My guess is that there was some kind of a contaminant in the bottle. Chamomile often contains arsenic, lead and other heavy metals used as pesticides. Not that these interact with warfarin. My point is that just because the product had a label that said chamomile on it does not mean that this is what was actually taken. The news media will never point this out, however.

 

[Superbob]

Not the Right Cup of Tea for Warfarin Users?

Not the Right Cup of Tea for Warfarin Users?

I've tried this kind of herbal tea to reduce ringing in the ears, one of its touted benefits (haven't noticed any effect yet).

I thought the purported danger of interaction with Coumadin would be of interest to many on vr.com, so I am passing along the link to this article. Don't know anything about the science behind the study. Maybe others will.

http://heart.healthcentersonline.co...swarfarinapotentiallymix.cfm?general=NL_HEART

 

[CCRN]

?

?

I wonder what her INR was BEFORE she drank the tea. I mean, do they know whether she was therapeutic or not? She could have just been really high on the scale ("thin" before she drank the tea) and that could be the cause of her problem.

 

[Ross]

I wonder what her INR was BEFORE she drank the tea. I mean, do they know whether she was therapeutic or not? She could have just been really high on the scale ("thin" before she drank the tea) and that could be the cause of her problem.

That is what I love about media reports. They leave out vital information and center on a result.

 

[Marge]

Manzanilla tea

Manzanilla tea

I drink manzanilla tea when I'm in Mexico. It is, I think, a form of chamomile. First time I had it, it was given to me by the owner at the place we were staying to soothe an attack of stomach cramps & diarrhea -- worked like a charm. Now whenever we're in Mexico I have it for breakfast instead of coffee and it usually keeps the dreaded turista at bay. Funny thing is, I hate chamomile tea (horrible sickly taste) & always have ... but I really like manzanilla. And so far it has not, apparently, affected my INR. We're going back to Mexico later this year. I think I'd have to know more before cutting the manzanilla out.

 

[lance]

chamomile, ginger, onion, garlic?

chamomile, ginger, onion, garlic?

In the case of the person drinking tea it's assumed her INR rose dramatically causing a bleed and it's unknown whether her INR was already in the desired range. Too bad the article didn't clarify how much and how long she had been drinking tea or how much and how long she had been applying chamomile containing lotion.

This article could lead us to assume that when our INR levels are low drinking chamomile tea and applying chamomile containing lotions to our skin will help bring us into range much like additional intakes of greens would similarly lower it.

This level of medical intervention reminds me of three witches stirring a cauldron.

That article raises a lot of questions and very few answers.