Many people with hepatitis use complementary or alternative therapies, either as a treatment for their liver disease or to help relieve the symptoms or treatment side-effects.

As Chinese medicine becomes increasingly popular in the UK, more people with liver disease use herbal treatments such as milk thistle. It’s important to be cautious. The use of complementary and alternative medicines can involve risks. Always inform your HIV/hepatitis doctor and pharmacist of  what other treatments you are taking.

There is no evidence from clinical trials to show that complementary and alternative treatments work. Some popular herbal treatments, such as the herbal antidepressant St John’s Wort can stop anti-HIV drugs working properly. Large doses of garlic supplements stop the protease inhibitors saquinavir working properly and large doses of vitamin C have the same effect on the protease inhibitor indinavir (Crixivan).