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Some turn to natural flu remedies

By Laura Forbes - bio | email | Twitter
Posted by Jill Lyman - email

EVANSVILLE, IN (WFIE) - With the H1N1 virus spreading and vaccines in short supply, many are turning to natural, home based remedies, but do they work?      

One glance on the web and you'll find sites with tens of thousands of postings about natural ways to stop the swine flu and other pandemics.

It is hard to separate the self-serving ones that are trying to sell you something versus the ones that are information-based.

Dr. Anne Butsch is an integrative medicine doctor with St. Mary's.

She says there are many other myths about natural remedies, and there is also a lot of sort of "magical thinking."

One post claims placing cut onions throughout your house helps ward off the flu.

With garlic and onions, it is probably a lot like the thing with vampires. It just keeps people away, and therefore you don't get infected in the first place.

She says anything that claims it is certain to keep the flu at bay is likely bad medicine.

While some herbal remedies can cause interactions, generally it isn't going to hurt anything except for their pocketbook.

Butsch says there is one supplement that shows promise in prevention - Vitamin D.

If you are already sick, elderberry has been shown to help those with mild flu cases.

Butsch says the vaccine is safe and recommends it for high-risk patients, but for those who won't or can't get it, she says only a few natural cures are worth a shot.

Butsch says another popular herbal remedy, echinacea, may help prevent some illnesses, but won't do anything for the flu.

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