It is true that there are no side effects to traditional Chinese medicines?

Doctor's Answer

Hi Jing Ni,

Natural does not always equate to safety. We have heard of poisonous plants and fruits in the nature which can have detrimental effects when consumed.

However, the herbs that a physician prescribes has been used over thousand of years and proven to be safe.

In addition, Chinese proprietary medicines (CPMs) are regulated by the Health Sciences Authority of Singapore (HSA) and manufacturers of medicinal herbs are obliged to ensure they comply with local regulations, free of heavy metals and adulteration with substances under the Poisons Act and/or active synthetic substances.

Dealers are also required by the law to report any adverse drug reaction within 7 days arising from the product which they are dealing. Herbs and/or products that are found to be unsafe will be isolated and barred.

It is therefore, I'd advise you to seek treatment from a professional and licensed TCM practitioner. The next time you purchase a CPM product, look out for the following label, this shows that the product has passed surveillance checks by HSA.

tcm singapore

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