Can Echinacea tablets be taken at the same time as prescribed medication for flu?

Yes, Echinacea can be used together with conventional cold and flu medicines that are readily available in high street pharmacies and supermarkets. This class of medicines usually contain a pain-killer, such as paracetamol, aspirin or ibuprofen and work by reducing the symptoms experienced, such as muscle and joint pain or headaches. In addition, paracetamol is useful if you have a fever.

A clinical trial carried out in Cardiff a few years ago showed that people using Echinacea were less likely to use these cold remedies containing pain-killers – which is a good thing as there have been reports of unintentional overdose with this type of medicine.

In addition, Echinacea can be used if you have had the flu jab. This can be useful as the flu vaccine each year only protects you against 3 or 4 types of influenza viruses, but not the other cold or flu viruses which may lurk around.