Herpes Simplex Keratitis

Efficacy of Alternative and Other Treatments According to GRADE* Ranking:

Thuja (Eastern White Cedar, Thuja Occidentalis) [1, 15, 16, 17]:

Please note, this management does NOT treat the condition itself. It may mildly help with some of the symptoms, and even then has insufficient evidence to back up this claim at present. Little is known about the full effects of Thuja, so it is not recommended for medicinal use. Thuja can be poisonous if ingested in large amounts.

Recommendation: no recommendation (There is insufficient evidence to support claims that Thuja helps to treat herpes)

Grade of Evidence: very low quality of evidence

Gotu Kola (Centella Asiatica, Hydrocotyle Asiatica)[1, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14]:

Please note, this management does NOT treat the condition itself. It may mildly help with some of the symptoms, and even then has insufficient evidence to back up this claim at present.

Recommendation: no recommendation (There is insufficient evidence to support claims that Gotu Kola helps in the treatment of herpes in any way. More research is needed.)

Grade of Evidence: low quality of evidence

Goldenseal (Hydrastis Canadensis) [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8]:

Please note, this management does NOT treat the condition itself. It may mildly help with some of the symptoms, and even then has insufficient evidence to back up this claim at present.

Recommendation: Weakly against (There is insufficient evidence to support claims that Goldenseal helps to treat herpes. More studies are needed. Goldenseal may produce toxic effects, including depression, constipation, rapid heartbeat, stomach pain, mouth ulcers and vomiting.)

Grade of Evidence: low quality of evidence

* www.gradeworkinggroup.org

Summary References

Treatments:

1. Ades T, Alteri R, Gansler T, Yeargin P, "Complete Guide to Complimentary & Alternative Cancer Therapies", American Cancer Society, Atlanta USA, 2009

2. http://www.cancer.org/Treatment/TreatmentsandSideEffects/ComplementaryandAlternativeMedicine/HerbsVitaminsandMinerals/goldenseal

3. http://nccam.nih.gov/health/goldenseal/

4. Tierra Michael (1998): The Way of Herbs. New York, Pocket Books

5. Grieve M. (1971): A Modern Herbal. New York, Dover Publications, Inc

6. Mills S. and Bone K. (2000): Principles and Practice of Phytotherapy. Philadelphia, Churchill Livingstone

7. Tice Raymond (1997): Goldenseal and Two of its constituent alkaloids: berberine and hydrastine Research Triangle Park, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, in Seiger E: Review of Toxilogical Literature

8. http://www.henriettesherbal.com/eclectic/ellingwood/hydrastis.html

9. Winston, D., Maimes, S., Adaptogens: Herbs For Strength, Stamina, and Stress Relief, 2007, pp. 226-7

10. "A Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study on the Effects of Gotu Kola (Centella asiatica) on Acoustic Startle Response in Healthy Subjects". Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology. 20(6):680-684, December 2000. Bradwejn, Jacques MD, FRCPC *; Zhou, Yueping MD, PhD ++; Koszycki, Diana PhD *; Shlik, Jakov MD, PhD

11.  B. M. Hausen (1993) "Centella asiatica (Indian pennywort), an effective therapeutic but a weak sensitizer." Contact Dermatitis 29 (4), 175–179 doi:10.1111/j.1600-0536.1993.tb03532.x

12. Cataldo, A., Gasbarro, V., et al., "Effectiveness of the Combination of Alpha Tocopherol, Rutin, Melilotus, and Centella asiatica in The Treatment of Patients With Chronic Venous Insufficiency", Minerva Cardioangiology, 2001, Apr; 49(2):159-63

13. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gotu_kola#Medicinal_effects

14. http://www.cancer.org/Treatment/TreatmentsandSideEffects/ComplementaryandAlternativeMedicine/HerbsVitaminsandMinerals/gotu-kola

15. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002769.htm

16. http://plants.usda.gov/plantguide/pdf/cs_thoc2.pdf

17. http://vsearch.nlm.nih.gov/vivisimo/cgi-bin/query-meta?v%3Aproject=medlineplus&query=thuja&x=0&y=0