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| warnings include: not to be used for progressive systemic diseases such as tuberculosis, leukosis, collagenosis, multiple sclerosis. For E. pallida, the warnings also include AIDS, HIV infection and other autoimmune diseases. The warnings also state that injectable preparations of echinacea should not be used in people prone to allergies, especially allergies to members of the composite family (Asteraceae), or in pregnancy, and caution against the use of injectable preparations in diabetes. |
| The Commission E monograph also states that echinacea preparations should not be used for longer than eight weeks. This recommendation is partly based on research which suggests that echinacea loses much of its effectiveness after eight weeks as the body becomes desensitized to it and partly due to the fact that if symptoms are still prevalent after eight weeks, then echinacea therapy is likely not working. |
| In 15 years of using and recommending echinacea, I have seen only two negative reactions. One was a mild case of hives which I attributed to an individual allergic reaction; the hives went away as soon as the echinacea was discontinued. The other was in a woman who ingested an alcohol preparation made from the leaf, seed and root straight from the eyedropper. Immediately her throat closed almost completely; this lasted for only a few minutes, leaving her physically fine but scared. She had used echinacea often in the past but had always mixed it with water or juice or had taken it in capsule or tablet form. The reaction had never occurred when the extract was diluted in water, or when taking capsules or tablets. I experienced a similar reaction, but very mildly, when I squirted a dropperful of an extract into my mouth and inhaled at the same time. I got a very fleeting feeling |
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