If you are looking for an herbal pain reliever, you may want to consider willow bark treatment. Willow bark produces natural pain and inflammation eradication substances and is also used to treat other medical conditions. However, willow bark can make your prescription drugs more or less effective, and can cause side effects of its own. Therefore, speak with your doctor about willow bark treatment options before you use the herb in tincture, dried or powder form.
Identification
Willow bark originates from almost 450 species of shrubs and trees indigenous to Asia, Europe and North America. Common types of willow bark include weeping willow, Salix babylonica; crack willow, Salix fragilis; white willow, Salix alba and purple willow, Salix purpurea. Alternative health practitioners use willow bark for various medicinal purposes.
Uses
Willow bark has historically been used to treat pain and inflammation, states the University of Maryland Medical Center, or UMMC. Willow bark is also used to treat menstrual cramps, osteoarthritis, headaches, low back pain, influenza and muscle pain. Willow may also be used to treat bursitis, or inflammation of a bursa, a small sac located in the shoulder; and tendonitis, or inflammation of a tendon, a tissue that connects bone to muscle.
Active Constituents
Willow bark contains salicin, a constituent that is similar to aspirin. Although salicin was used in the 1800s to develop aspirin, willow bark works slower than aspirin, but may alleviate pain longer than aspirin will. However, willow bark also contains fever-reducing, immune-boosting and antiseptic and antioxidant properties, notes the UMMC.
Considerations
Do not take willow bark if you are hypersensitive to aspirin. Avoid willow bark also if you have gout, a liver or kidney condition, asthma or diabetes, or any condition in which you are advised not to take aspirin, warns Drugs.com. Although most willow bark side effects are mild, such as ulcers and stomach upset, the herb may also cause stomach bleeding, and overdoses of the herb at more than 240mg per day may cause ringing in the ears, skin rashes, stomach irritation and nausea and vomiting.
Warning
Do not take willow bark with blood thinning medications such as Warfarin, says Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, as the combination may increase the risk of serious bleeding. Willow bark may also make diuretics, or water pills, less effective, and also lessen the effects of beta blockers such as Toprol, Atenolol and Inderal. However, willow bark may increase the levels of Dilantin, an epilepsy medication, in your blood, which will result in toxic levels, says the UMMC.
Member Comments