In the News – Man Dies After Replacing Real Medication with Herbals

From the article:

A Chinese man who received a face transplant in 2006 has died, highlighting the risks of a recent groundbreaking US operation.

Li Guoxing, 32, died at his rural home in rugged southwestern China after forsaking immune-system drugs in favour of herbal medicine, his surgeon Guo Shuzhong said.

“His death was not caused by the surgery. Our operation was a success. But we cannot rule out a connection with the immune system drugs,” said Dr Guo, a surgeon with Xijing Hospital in the northern city of Xian who operated on Li in April 2006.

Read the full text — Chinese face transplant Li Guoxing dies

Granted, this is not about hair loss or hair transplantation, but it highlights that many of these herbal remedies are not replacements for proven medications. I found it interesting and definitely worth a read! Treatments to control the rejection process is a science that requires careful monitoring. Switching to herbals either as an adjunct or a replacement for drugs that prevent rejection of transplanted organs, can not produce a good outcome.

I’m not suggesting that using herbal treatments to prevent hair loss or regrow hair will lead to death — far from it. You will eventually lose the hair you’re so desperately trying to keep if you make the switch from a known and proven drug like finasteride to a fancy shampoo or lotion you can buy at your local salon/grocery store/online store, though.