Other Medical Uses -
Feverfew has a long history of use. The ancient Greeks used it to reduce inflammation, and for menstrual cramps. Dioscorides (Greek herbalist, ca. 60 CE) may have used feverfew to treat arthritis.
Feverfew has recently been recognized by various countries as official.
Canada's Health Protection Branch, recently allowed the herb to be recognized as an over-the-counter drug, for the prevention of migraines. The product must be standardized to contain a minimum of 0.2% parthenolide.
The United States has not made feverfew official. It was listed (1928) in the U.S. Dispensatory, 21st edition (a supplemental work), but no uses were given.
One of the contradictions of this herb is with a name like feverfew you would expect it to lower fevers. There is some possibility of action, but generally it has not had much success in reducing fever. In fact, it has been suggested that feverfew lost it's standing among herbalists because it did not work as a febrifuge (fever reducer). Only with its use in migraine headaches has it made a return.
Feverfew has been used, at various times, for a number of conditions -
Antiseptic action - used as a rinse for wounds.
Anti-spasmodic - The herb does contain chemicals that may allow it to act to relieve spasms.
Bitter - a stimulant for the stomach, liver, and gall bladder.
Bruises - applied as a tincture (alcohol extraction).
Burns - used as a poultice of leaves.
Carminative (expels wind), for colic, as a warm infusion or tea.
Coughs - a decoction with sugar or honey (the honey may be doing part of the work as it is a demulcent and can be used for coughs this way), sore throats, colds, wheezing, difficult breathing, Feverfew may act as an expectorant, thinning phlem, increasing the fluidity of lung and bronchial tube mucus.
Dizziness, tinnitus (ringing of the ears).
DT's - Alcoholic delirium tremens.
Freckles and age spots.
Hypertension - feverfew lowers blood pressure by relaxing the smooth muscle in the walls of blood vessels.
Insect bites - a tincture (alcohol solution) of feverfew is applied immediately to the bite or sting.
Nervousness.
Pain - ear ache, facial ache related to migraine. The flowers are used by steeping in boiling water and letting it cool. and drinking it.
Psoriasis.
Purgative - the flowers have this action. (causing free evacuation of the bowels.) The leaf can act as a laxative, but do not use either the leaves or flowers on a regular basis for this action. The intestine will loose its ability to move wastes.
Sedative.
Swollen feet - a foot bath using an infusion of feverfew.
Toothache - In infants that are teething, a tea has been used. As a rinse it reduces swelling from tooth extraction.
Worms.
Other interesting affects of feverfew -
In some studies, parthenolide has shown anti-tumor activity.
Chinese Medicine -
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, other species related to feverfew are used. They are used to clear heat from the body and thus used to reduce inflammation.
The species, Chrysanthemum morifolium, is used as a sedative, to cool headaches, and in influenza.
Chrysanthemum sinense is used as an emmenagogue.
Contraindications -
Allergy to feverfew. Do not use any form of the herb. If you are allergic to any other plant in the compositae family - sunflowers, asters. daisies, chamomile, ragweed, yarrow, be careful in taking feverfew. Do not take feverfew by mouth if it causes a rash upon touching it. The symptoms of tightness or constriction of the throat or chest; breathing problems; chest pain; hives; rash; itchy, swollen skin; stomach or abdominal pain - may be an allergic reaction to the herb.
Pregnant women - Do not take feverfew as it may cause miscarriage.
Nursing women, it may increase the baby's heart rate.
Children under 2 years old should not take feverfew.
Those with severe kidney or liver disease - the safety of feverfew has not been established.
Precautions -
If you have gall stones or gall bladder problems, feverfew may cause gastric pain. Feverfew acts as a bitter tonic which stimulates the gall bladder to empty. The herb also increases the acid in the stomach. For those people with hyperacidity, ulcers or esophageal reflux (GERD), the increase in acid can create more problems.
Do not use feverfew for migraines resulting from weak, deficiency conditions. You would be covering up a symptom without taking care of the real problem.
In my research on feverfew, I did come across a precaution related to the relaxation of smooth muscles by feverfew. It was suggested that feverfew may permanently affect the ability of smooth muscles to contract and relax. These are very recent studies.
There have been no long term studies of feverfew. We do not know the effects of lengthy use of the herb.
Other than the above situations, there does not appear to be any serious toxicity with feverfew.
Blood and urine tests remained the same when feverfew was used.
No changes in chromosomes have been found in the studies of feverfew..
Eating the leaves of feverfew may cause mouth sores, loss of taste, and swelling of the lips and mouth. This occurs in about 10% of the people eating the leaves. See Dosages (below) for methods to prevent this.
There are few actual side effects to feverfew -
abdominal pain, indigestion, flatulence, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting.
Feverfew may upset the menstrual cycle.
Discontinuation Syndrome -
There is a possibility of rebound headaches, if you suddenly discontinue taking feverfew. Sleeplessness, muscle stiffness, joint pain, drowsiness, nervousness and tension may result from discontinuing feverfew abruptly.
It is suggested that you do not use feverfew for longer than 4 months unless advised by your health care practitioner.
Remember, as stated before under the medicinal use of feverfew - proper diagnosis of your headaches is needed. Migraine-type headaches may be a symptom of some other serious condition. If you start having migraines when you have never had them before, or if the severity or the feel of the headache changes significantly - check with your physician.
Drug Interactions with Feverfew -
Coumadin (warfarin), heparin, aspirin - Feverfew increases the blood-thinning action of these drugs. Feverfew reduces the clumping of platelets in the blood that helps clotting. Notify you health care practioner of any increase in bruises, bleeding, length of bleeding, Be tested for your prothombin time.
Notify your physician and your surgeon that you are taking feverfew and do this in plenty of time before surgery. The half-life of feverfew is not known.
Dalteparin Sodium and Enoxaparin Sodium Injection (Lovenox) - used to prevent deep vein clots. Feverfew intensifies the blood-thinning effect of dalteparin and enoxaparin. Excessive bleeding may result. Use with caution.
Aspirin, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) - (ibuprofen naproxen, Daypro, Vioxx, Celebrex) - The use of feverfew can increase the stomach problems caused by these drugs. It could possibly interfere with the actions of these drugs as some of the same receptor sites in the body are used by both the herb and the drugs.
You should always advise your physician of all over-the-counter medications you are taking. This includes all vitamins, minerals, supplements and herbs.
Feverfew is available in tinctures, powdered dry leaves, whole leaves, and capsules.
A course of taking feverfew for about 3 months is needed to know if it will work for your migraines.
Whole feaf of feverfew - Fresh or frozen - 1 to 3 leaves chewed daily. (50 to 200 mg of raw herb) These leaves are bitter tasting and can cause mouth sores.. Some people make a bread and butter sandwich containing the leaves or take a piece of soft bread and roll it around the leaves to make a small ball or pill.
Some suggest adding the leaves to other food, or even saute them. However, I am not sure, as are others, that heat will not affect the action of the herb. I would not cook the leaves.
One reference suggested the green leafed feverfew is more effective than the golden leaf. (It may be that the gold leafed feverfew is a different species)
If you use leaves , store them in the refrigerator.
Dried leaf extract - 25 to 75 mg twice a day, with a maximum dose of 125mg daily.
Teas - Boiling the tea may reduce the activity of the herb. Steeping has been found to be better.
Cold infusion - 1 oz of herb in 1 pint boiling (hot) water, allow to cool, Dose is 1/2 tsp.
Another recipe - 2 tsp of dried herb or 1 leaf of fresh herb in 1 cup of hot water. Steep 10 to 25 minutes. Take 2 to 3 times a day.
Tea for mouthwash - 4 tsp of dried powder in 1 cup of hot water. Steep 25 minutes.
External Wash - 4 tsp of dried powder in 1 cup of hot water applied to wound once to three times a day as needed.
fluid extract - 1 or 2 teaspoonfuls
fluid extract 1:1 - 1 to 2 ml twice a day
tincture 1:5 - 5 to 20 drops in water up to 3 times a day.
For alcoholic DT - 15 to 40 drops, as often as required.
Powdered whole feverfew leaf - 80 to 100 mg once or twice daily.
Recommended dose considering uncertainty of parthenolide action
freeze dried powder - 50 to 120 mg/day
There is now a question whether parthenolide is the main active ingredient in feverfew. Some recent studies have cast doubt on this being the only chemical that is acting to relieve migraines. Most of your feverfew products have been standardized to contain 0.2% parthenolide for 125mg of powdered leaf. Using 80 to 100 mg of the powdered whole leaf can be used. (The daily dosage must be sufficient to provide the Feverfew leaf equivalent of 250 µg to 1000 µg of parthenolide)
To treat and prevent migraine - standardized feverfew extract (minimum 250 mcg to 400 mcg parthenolide) two times daily. The range in dosage of the powdered leaf is 125mg up to 500 mg of feverfew capsule once or twice a day. It is suggested to start with the low dose of 125 mg daily at first. Be sure to check the recommended dosage on the manufacturer's bottle.
Pediatric Dosage - approximately 1/3 the adult dose.
For a migraine already in progress, the optimum dose is not known. A migraine headache is harder to stop once it is established. It is suggested that you take 1 capsule at the first sign of the headache (onset of aura is best). Then take a second capsule in 30 minutes. If this is helping, a third capsule can be taken in 3 or 4 hours. However, if there has been no relief to the headache, do not take more feverfew.
It has been suggested that you take the herb for a couple of weeks and then stop for a week.
Feverfew pg.3 - Other Uses, Magickal Uses
Feverfew pg.1 - General info on Feverfew, Medicinal Use
