<p> New Year 'detox' may do more harm than good, warn doctors after a woman in the UK who was drinking lots of fluids and taking various herbal remedies developed a potentially life-threatening complication.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Doctors from Milton Keynes Hospital in the UK said that patients should be advised of the potential harm of undertaking a New Year 'detox', especially if it involves consuming excessive amounts of fluid or alternative remedies.<br /><br />The previously fit and well 47-year-old woman had been consuming more fluids and herbal medicines than usual, including valerian root, over the New Year period.<br /><br />She was admitted to hospital following a brief period of confusion and repetitive behaviour, such as teeth grinding, which lasted for an hour. She then collapsed and suffered a seizure.<br /><br />Her family said that she had increased thirst over the past few days and had been drinking more water and tea as a result, but they did not note this to be excessive.<br /><br />She had also been taking herbal remedies for various minor symptoms and was regularly consuming milk thistle, molkosan, l-theanine, glutamine, vitamin B compound, vervain, sage tea, green tea and valerian root.<br /><br />The patient reported that she had more recently been under increased stress and suffering with low mood and had been increasingly taking them all together.<br /><br />The doctors say her initial confusion and seizures were caused by hyponatraemia - a condition where there is an abnormally low level of sodium in the blood. However, they were uncertain what the cause of the condition was.<br /><br />After researching the herbal remedies used by the patient, the doctors discovered one case of a man with a history of anxiety who had seizures due to severe hyponatraemia.<br /><br />His symptoms developed after consuming a large amount of herbal remedy that contained valerian root, along with lemon balm, passion flower, hops and chamomile.<br />The doctors said that in both patients, the fluid intake did not seem to be excessive enough to cause such a low sodium level, which requires consumption of more than 10 litres per day for someone with healthy kidneys.<br /><br />They explain it may well be that the valerian root altered this threshold, and enabled hyponatraemia to develop at an earlier stage.<br /><br />"Valerian root has been suspected in two cases associated with severe, life-threatening hyponatraemia and healthcare professionals should be vigilant to this," they said.<br /><br />"The concept of the New Year 'detox' with all-natural products is appealing to those less concerned with evidence-based medicine and more with complementary medicine," the doctors said.<br /><br />"Excessive water intake as a way of 'purifying and cleansing' the body is also a popular regime with the belief that harmful waste products can thus be washed from the body."<br /><br />However, they warn that "despite marketing suggesting otherwise, all-natural products are not without side effects."<br /><br />The findings were published in the journal BMJ Case Reports. <br /></p>
<p> New Year 'detox' may do more harm than good, warn doctors after a woman in the UK who was drinking lots of fluids and taking various herbal remedies developed a potentially life-threatening complication.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Doctors from Milton Keynes Hospital in the UK said that patients should be advised of the potential harm of undertaking a New Year 'detox', especially if it involves consuming excessive amounts of fluid or alternative remedies.<br /><br />The previously fit and well 47-year-old woman had been consuming more fluids and herbal medicines than usual, including valerian root, over the New Year period.<br /><br />She was admitted to hospital following a brief period of confusion and repetitive behaviour, such as teeth grinding, which lasted for an hour. She then collapsed and suffered a seizure.<br /><br />Her family said that she had increased thirst over the past few days and had been drinking more water and tea as a result, but they did not note this to be excessive.<br /><br />She had also been taking herbal remedies for various minor symptoms and was regularly consuming milk thistle, molkosan, l-theanine, glutamine, vitamin B compound, vervain, sage tea, green tea and valerian root.<br /><br />The patient reported that she had more recently been under increased stress and suffering with low mood and had been increasingly taking them all together.<br /><br />The doctors say her initial confusion and seizures were caused by hyponatraemia - a condition where there is an abnormally low level of sodium in the blood. However, they were uncertain what the cause of the condition was.<br /><br />After researching the herbal remedies used by the patient, the doctors discovered one case of a man with a history of anxiety who had seizures due to severe hyponatraemia.<br /><br />His symptoms developed after consuming a large amount of herbal remedy that contained valerian root, along with lemon balm, passion flower, hops and chamomile.<br />The doctors said that in both patients, the fluid intake did not seem to be excessive enough to cause such a low sodium level, which requires consumption of more than 10 litres per day for someone with healthy kidneys.<br /><br />They explain it may well be that the valerian root altered this threshold, and enabled hyponatraemia to develop at an earlier stage.<br /><br />"Valerian root has been suspected in two cases associated with severe, life-threatening hyponatraemia and healthcare professionals should be vigilant to this," they said.<br /><br />"The concept of the New Year 'detox' with all-natural products is appealing to those less concerned with evidence-based medicine and more with complementary medicine," the doctors said.<br /><br />"Excessive water intake as a way of 'purifying and cleansing' the body is also a popular regime with the belief that harmful waste products can thus be washed from the body."<br /><br />However, they warn that "despite marketing suggesting otherwise, all-natural products are not without side effects."<br /><br />The findings were published in the journal BMJ Case Reports. <br /></p>