Author Archives: skeptvet

Introduction As regular readers will know, herbal medicine is the area within complementary and alternative medicine I am most sympathetic to. Plants obviously contain chemical compounds that can have significant physiologic effects, for good or ill. And many conventional medicine … Continue reading →

I originally wrote about the Chinese herbal product Yunnan Baiyao in 2010, concluding at that time that the evidence supporting its use to reduce bleeding was poor and largely anecdotal: So we have a treatment with uncertain and unregulated ingredients, … Continue reading →

One of the recurring subjects I have covered on this blog is the contention that cranberry supplements can help prevent or treat urinary tract infections. Each time I address the subject, the evidence points to pretty much the same general … Continue reading →

I have addressed the question of medical marijuana and the use of other cannabis-derived medicinal products twice before. My conclusion in 2013 was this: The current research evidence supports a couple of uses in humans, including treatment of nausea and … Continue reading →

There are an enormous number of unregulated over-the-counter remedies marketed to pet owners, often for serious health problems, and most of them have never been scientifically tested to see if they are safe or effective. It is difficult to evaluate … Continue reading →