The Side Effects of Angelica or Dong Quai

The Chinese, American and the European counterparts of the herb called ‘angelica’ are three different plants; but they eventually boil down to the same variety. Each of them is slightly different from the others; but truth of the matter is that they perform very similarly.

The Chinese variety, called Dong Quai, is said to be the most extensively researched and used variety amongst the three. The other two have also been used for a long time now, claim records that date back to centuries ago.

Angelica is said to have an immense amount of power over a woman’s reproductive system. It is used to promote menstruation; and is also seen to terminate pregnancy if used by someone who has the knowledge of harvesting it ‘terminator’ qualities.

If menstruation is seen to be no more than 2 weeks overdue, the apt usage of angelica will bring it on in almost 60% of the cases.

Who shouldn’t be using Angelica?

You might want to give this herb a miss if you fall into one of these categories –

• Women who tend to have heavy bleeding during their normal menstrual period; or women who do not experience too much of clotting. They must avoid all of the angelica species. If you’re on blood thinning drugs then using Dong Quai could even turn out to be pretty dangerous. It may impair the ability to clot and might result in an eventual hemorrhage.
• If you have been diagnosed with fibroids and/or endometriosis.
• If you have been experiencing congestion in the abdomen or any sort of bloating, then you might want to skip using Dong Quai.
• Diabetics should keep off the drug because it is known to elevate blood sugar levels.
• If you’ve had a history with cancer or if you’re at a risk for heart attacks, you might not want to grapple with this herb.
• If you’re pregnant and want to remain pregnant, avoid using any variety of this herb.

Some possible side effects of the herb

One of its main side effects is that it has a tendency to increase bleeding. If women who have heavy bleeding during their normal menstrual period indulge in Dong Quai, it may make things worse for them. This fact, in turn, raises questions about the safety of using Dong Quai to end a pregnancy. This would mean that it would put the woman at a risk for hemorrhage.

If you do decide to put this herb to the test, first check for how much you normally tend to bleed.

Other more common side effects of this herb would include the urge to urinate a lot, irritation; and in some cases, an allergic reaction.