A woman attending a contraception clinic mentions she is also seeing a traditional healer who has prescribed her a herbal remedy. She does not know wh...

Question

A woman attending a contraception clinic mentions she is also seeing a traditional healer who has prescribed her a herbal remedy. She does not know what it contains. What should the clinician do regarding her contraception?

Accepted Answer

Advise her that some herbal remedies (particularly St John's Wort) are enzyme inducers and can reduce the efficacy of hormonal contraception. She should try to identify the ingredients and discuss them

Answer

Herbal remedies never interact with contraception

Answer

She must stop all herbal remedies immediately

Answer

Only Chinese herbal medicine interacts with contraception

Answer

Herbal remedies only interact with IUC

uk-dfsrh MCQ (SBA): Herbal Remedies St John's Wort Interaction Warning

A woman attending a contraception clinic mentions she is also seeing a traditional healer who has prescribed her a herbal remedy. She does not know what it contains. What should the clinician do regarding her contraception?