A patient reports to the nurse that last night she had difficulty falling sleep after a social evening with friends, during which she consumed several alcoholic drinks

Question

When unable to fall sleep after half an hour in bed, she brewed herself two cups of herbal tea containing valerian. In the morning, she awakened feeling very groggy and with a severe headache. The nurse should explain that: a. valerian should be taken at least 1 hour after any alcohol to avoid side effects.
b. the "side effects" are really a hangover from her excessive alcohol use.
c. valerian may worsen the sedation from other central nervous system depressants.
d. herbal teas usually cause nervous system side effects such as headaches.

Answer 1

C
Valerian has sedative properties that are potentiated when used in combination with other central nervous system depressants, and headaches are another possible side effect of this herbal medicine. The nurse should advise caution in ingesting alcohol and valerian for these reasons. Taking valerian an hour after alcohol will not prevent these interactions, and it is likely that the valerian played a role in her feeling perhaps worse than usual after this episode of drinking. Herbal teas cause headaches in some cases, but it is not characteristic of this group of herbal remedies.