I am pleased to announce that as of Nov 1, 2011, I now have a fully stocked raw herbal pharmacy in my clinic. So far the experience has been very good, as I try my best to provide good quality herbs at a reasonable cost. I find the herbal medicines to be an absolute joy to work with and, as you can see from the pictures below, their beauty speaks for themselves.
In 1757, Xu Da Chun advocated for physicians to prepare medicines themselves for several reasons:
- To ensure good quality
- To ensure the proper dosage
- To ensure the proper medicine, i.e. correct species, is used
- To avoid adulteration and contamination
- To keep stock of rare medicines used for particular specialties, like dermatology
We know that the majority of negative side effects associated with Chinese herbal medicines arise from the uneducated use of pre-prepared medicines in the form of patent pills and creams, whereby the patient, or the physician, has no real idea what is actually in them. By having my own pharmacy, whereby I hand make all my own creams, lotions and herbal prescriptions, I know exactly what is going into everything. I am the one in control. I can guarantee that my products are unadulterated. It really doesn’t get much safer, or effective, than this.
Herbal medicines are a powerful tool for healing, but need to be respected as they can also be harmful when used improperly. This is why having a Registered Doctor of Chinese medicine, who is familiar with your particular health concern and is very educated in the different medicines that they prescribe, is best.
Personally I prefer herbal medicines to look like actual products that have come from the earth, i.e. left in their raw state. In their raw form, herbal medicines are much easier to combine into individualized prescriptions, and the end result is much fresher and potent. Too much reliance on pre-prepared medicines is comparable to drinking instant coffee, they just cannot beat the freshly prepared home brewed stuff!
Wishing you health,
Dr. Trevor Erikson
Copyright © 2019 Dr. Trevor Erikson