Garlic
- Case
- Knowing your interest in herbs, a friend of yours asks what he should do about his nephew, a 15-year-old boy with a family history of hypercholesterolemia who has been taking high doses of garlic. The boy is scheduled for surgery next week to have Herrington rods placed for scoliosis.
Is there any danger that garlic will interfere with anesthetic agents or impair clotting?
Garlic supplements lower blood pressure by an average of 5-7% and lower elevated cholesterol levels by about 10% in adults. Studies in children and adolescents have not consistently documented a positive effect on hypercholesterolemia.
Many kinds of folk medicine recommend garlic preparations to treat infections. Garlic is an effective antimicrobial in vitro, but there are no studies evaluating its effectiveness in treating bacterial infections< such as otitis media, sinusitis or pneumonia in children.
Its major side effect is halitosis and body odor; it can also cause an upset stomach in persons unaccustomed to it.
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FOR MORE INFORMATION
ABOUT GARLIC
- Our Garlic page has:
- An in-depth monograph
with references
A summary for clinicians
A handout for patients
Links to garlic information on other websites
Click here
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Last Updated: September
4, 2001
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