[Use of natural medicines in women referred to specialists]

The aim was to examine how often women referred to office gynaecologists were using self-medication of "natural medicines". By interview-questionnaires 62 gynaecologists asked 5.664 women about their age, name of used natural medicine and how the user felt it helped her. One thousand six hundred and sixty-four used natural medicine with 91 different names. About 75% percent of the users registered one or more effects, characterized as "good for everything", "enhances their wellbeing" "gives more energy", "relieves hot flushes and sweatings", "relieves rheumatic pain", or "is diuretic". The effects seem to be a universal stimulation of the general condition, effectuated either by vitamins and minerals or by placebo-effect. One third of the users of "melbrosia" registered a good effect on climacteric discomfort. It was not possible by laboratory analyses to find any sex-steroids in melbrosia. Nor was it possible to demonstrate biological oestrogenic effect on animals (mice and rats) of this drug in a trial done by Niels Einer-Jensen et al (personal communication).