Milk Thistle and Hepatitis C (Cont.)

What Are the Possible Risks of Milk Thistle and Hepatitis C?

For people with hepatitis C, milk thistle is generally considered safe to use and has shown few side effects in hepatitis C clinical trials. Milk thistle can have a laxative effect and cause:
 
  • Nausea
  • Diarrhea
  • Fullness, bloating, or pain in the abdomen.
     
Milk thistle can produce allergic reactions, which tend to be more common among people who are allergic to plants in the same family (eg, ragweed, chrysanthemum, marigold, and daisy).
 

Other Considerations for Milk Thistle and Hepatitis C

People with hepatitis C sometimes take herbal medicines, such as milk thistle, to help deal with hepatitis C symptoms, relieve side effects from hepatitis C treatment, or because they did not get a response from their hepatitis C medications. Others take herbal medicines while they are on interferon treatment in order to boost the effects of interferon.
 
A key problem with herbal medicines is that, unlike medications dispensed from licensed pharmacies in the United States, the amount of medication in a pill or other quantity of the medicine is not regulated. So, one preparation can vary in potency by five-, ten-, one hundred-, or one thousand-fold, and the person taking the medicine doesn't know what that factor is.
 
Also, other things can be in the preparation that a person doesn't know about. For example, steroids and other medicines -- which can have powerful effects -- can be added to herbal preparations. Again, a person doesn't know this when they take the herbal product. This is why Western medical doctors tell their patients to be careful with herbal medications -- no one knows what the patient is really getting.
 
If you are currently taking milk thistle or considering it, be sure to let your healthcare provider know. In order to keep you safe, it is important that he or she knows everything that you are taking, including:
 
  • Herbal supplements
  • Dietary supplements
  • Medications (whether prescription or over-the-counter).
     
You can also ask your healthcare provider any other questions you may have about milk thistle and hepatitis C.
 
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Written by/reviewed by: Kristi Monson, PharmD; Arthur Schoenstadt, MD
Last reviewed by: Kristi Monson, PharmD;