Important: This is not medical advice
This page is for general information only. It is not medical advice and does not diagnose, treat or cure anything. Herbs are complementary support, not replacements for prescribed medicine.
- Talk to your doctor or pharmacist before using any herb, tea or supplement, especially if you take medicine, are pregnant or nursing, have a health condition, or are planning surgery.
- Do not stop or change any prescribed medicine on your own.
- Get emergency care right away (call 911) for serious symptoms such as chest pain, trouble breathing, signs of a stroke, severe allergic reaction, heavy bleeding, confusion, or thoughts of harming yourself.
← Natural Healing: Herbs & Home Remedies (all 15 herbs)
Echinacea
Echinacea purpurea and related species
- Traditional use
- A North American prairie flower traditionally used to try to fend off or shorten colds.
- How people take it
- Tea, tinctures, tablets or capsules made from the flowers, leaves or roots.
- What the evidence shows
- NIH NCCIH says studies on echinacea for preventing or treating colds have had mixed results, partly because products differ so much. Any benefit appears modest at best.
- Cautions and interactions
- People with allergies to ragweed and related plants (daisy family) can have allergic reactions, which can occasionally be serious, and people with asthma should be careful. Because it may act on the immune system, ask your doctor first if you take immune-suppressing medicine or have an autoimmune condition. Long-term use is not well studied.
More herbs
Where to read more
The information here was written for this site as a plain-language overview. For current, detailed and regularly reviewed information, check the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the Mayo Clinic, which both have herb and supplement fact sheets. Your pharmacist can also check your medicines for interactions. Research changes over time, so these sources are always the better place to confirm the latest guidance.
Important: This is not medical advice
This page is for general information only. It is not medical advice and does not diagnose, treat or cure anything. Herbs are complementary support, not replacements for prescribed medicine.
- Talk to your doctor or pharmacist before using any herb, tea or supplement, especially if you take medicine, are pregnant or nursing, have a health condition, or are planning surgery.
- Do not stop or change any prescribed medicine on your own.
- Get emergency care right away (call 911) for serious symptoms such as chest pain, trouble breathing, signs of a stroke, severe allergic reaction, heavy bleeding, confusion, or thoughts of harming yourself.
