Calling herbalists, midwives and doctors

[cheeky]

Me again, I'm afraid.

I have terrible hayfever, I have exams coming up and I need relief - now!!

I know you're not meant to use the conventional remedies, what about Luffa complex by Bioforce, it says to seek medical advice if pregnant but I wont be able to get in the doctors for ages

[mears]

Haven't heard of this product. Your local pharmacist should be able to advise you what is safe to take during pregnancy.

[hmb]

Pharmacists will have less information on herbal products than on 'conventional' preparations. There are text books on the safety of herbal preparations both in and out of pregnancy, but there is no legal system that requires the reporting of adverse effects for herbal preparations. Not all pharmacists have an extensive knowledge of herbal preparations. Try your local pharmacy, but you may not get much joy.

[windmill]

Cheeky, Bioforce's remedy is made from Sponge Cucumber and Heartseed and several other herbs, none of which were listed as contra-indicated in pregnancy while I was training.

With aromatherapy, therapists and aromatherapy books give conflicting information on whats suitable in pregnancy and whats not it, but most herbalists I think would say that luffa is not contraindicated.

However, lots of things are described as safe just because they have no known adverse effects, they may not completely safe for everyone but are described as such because no researchers or users have identified any associated problems.

Sorry if this isn't very helpful but remember that we don't know for sure ultrasound is safe for the baby. With one of my scans I received a letter saying they were safe for the mother and as far as they knew they were safe for the baby but more research needed to be done, yet very few of us refuse a scan, even in early pregnancy and until that letter everyone else had insisted they were safe.

Don't forget how many people drink and smoke all the way through pregnancy and lots of people do things they're not meant to in the early weeks before they know they have conceived and still go on to have normal healthy babies. I am not saying you shouldn't worry about taking risks, but that we never know for sure what is safe and what isn't. Luffa is a combination of some of the safest herbs and I would use it if I needed to.

With aromatherapy you do have conflicting advice so its hard to trust any essential oil but I would be surprised if any herbalist was afraid to prescribe Luffa in pregnancy. It would be interesting to see if Baboon agrees with me as she is also a herbalist

[baboon]

Agree with windmill, cheeky. Luffa complex is considered safe in pregnancy and during lactation

[snowqueen]

Just had a look at the bioforce website . It says this:

Are Pollinosan® products safe during pregnancy or lactation?

During pregnancy, according to documented experiences, no risk for the child has been identified. Nevertheless scientific research has not been conducted on this matter. As a precaution, avoid medication during pregnancy or lactation, or consult a health care professional.

Luffa complex is a pollinosan product.

I have seen a couple of sites saying avoid in pregnancy but others saying it is very safe, even in preganncy and children. I think they just have to put it in as a precaution to cover themselves.

Like windmill, I was worried about scans and kept saying I was afraid to have routine ones and kept getting told they were safe and then at a later scan was given a leaflet saying as far as know they are safe. I don't think you can ever be 100% sure that anything is safe

[snowqueen]

There is also a website about a homeopathic product which contains various ingredients including Luffa and it says this remedy is safe in pregnancy; however the amount of Luffa in here is probably too tiny to cause problems anyway because homeopathic remedies are very dilute aren't they?

I still think bioforce's luffa would be fine though

Here's the link