Control X for Urinary Incontinence

Q:  Can you please tell me if the following ingredients in Control X for incontinence are safe? Could any cause renal failure?

• Panax ginseng 100 mgm
• Astragalus 100 mgm
• Psoralena corylifolia extract 100 mgm
• Alpinia oxyphylla extract 100 mgm
• Rabus chingP extract 100 mgm
• Rosa laevigata extract 100 mgm
• Cinnamomum cassia extract bark 50 mgm
• Cimici fuga foetida extract 25 mgm
• Zingiber officinate extract 25 mgm

A:  Control X contains several common herbs - ginseng, cinnamon, ginger, black cardamon and black cohosh - which are listed along with their fancy botanical names. The ingredients have been reported as being safe in the literature regarding herbal remedies, but nothing is absolute and proper vigilance should be exercised. Most of the ingredients in Control X are thought to stabilize renal function and regulate water passage. However, not all of these supplements have hard scientific evidence to support such claims.

For further information regarding herbal supplements, you can call a toll free info line at 1-888-644-6226 or check the government web site sponsored by the National Institutes of Health NCCAM (National Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medicine) nccam.nih.gov

"Dear Doctor" is a compilation of patient questions answered by doctors from the Medical College of Wisconsin.