Complementary Medicine

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There is no proven cure for hepatitis B in this or any other area of medicine, but this is not to say these therapies are ineffective. One problem is due to the lack of research in these areas and controlled studies are uncommon. Due to this lack of double blind studies with reasonable to large groups of people it is difficult to attribute "cures" as the infection may have resolve spontaneously as occurs in between 2%-5% of people each year or due to the complementary medicine.

However there are treatments available where it is believed that damage due to hepatitis may be limited, cause relief of symptoms, help with interferon side effects etc And there are many reports of a reduction in LFT's and loss of the "e" antigen in those taking these complimentary medicines. And my own opinion is that some of the items mentioned here can be beneficial and deserve closer attention from the general medical community as there appear to be data to support some of claims made, their low toxicity and low cost. In particular: Milk Thistle as it may prevent liver damage; Licorice as it may help due to it's antiviral properties; N-Acetyl-Cysteine due to antiviral properties and the chance that it my enhance the probability of a response to interferon Hepatitis B V4.1-Interferon.

A note of caution, some herbs and minerals given to people can have been found to cause liver damage and some herbs increase liver enzymes and so mask the results of conventional treatment/ongoing disease. Some in only in a small percentage of people, some in all and some may be dosage dependent, I therefore advise you to research any herbs and minerals you decide to take and discuss them with your medical practitioner and make an informed decision.

This is a large topic and information is taken from various sources and is provided on an as is basis. Unfortunately the scientific rigor of controlled studies, double blind trials and confirmation of results rarely occurs with complementary therapy and sometimes outrageous claims are made. Similarly often useful treatments are ignored by conventional medicine. So please treat the information here as a pointer to your own research.

A Liver Detoxing Tea

Acetyl-L-Carnitine (ALC)

Artichoke (Cynara Scolymus, Caffeic Acid

Dandelion

Dandelion Root

Kombucha Tea

Liquorice root

Milk Thistle

N-Acetyl-Cysteine (NAC)

Phylanthus Amarus/Nituri/Nirruri

Reishi Mushrooms

Schizandra

Thymus Extracts

Tumeric

Vitamin E and Selenium

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