The use of herbal medicines and conventional drugs by individuals with cerebral palsy and the risk of interactions

•Invite people with cerebral palsy and their caregivers to participate in this study, using inclusion and exclusion criteria.•Apply the questionnaire about herbal medicines and conventional drugs.•Evaluation of herb-drug interaction.•Show the results, following the literature.•Discussion demonstrates the possible pharmacokinetic interaction involving herbal medicines and conventional drugs cited by the participants.•Encourage researchers and health professional, the importance of conducting more researches in clinical evidence, observational and longitudinal studies, which should be investigating herb-drug interactions.•This study also recommend the implementation of a public educational campaign with herb-drug interactions, involving health professionals and patients who use conventional drugs associated to herbal medicines. The use of herbal medicine has been increasing in many parts of the world, despite safety issues. Cerebral palsy (CP) is traditionally considered a group of disorders, which include cognitive, communicative and epilepsy symptoms. Individuals with CP use conventional drugs in addition to herbal medicines, with the expectation of alleviating side effects. However, improper use of herbs may lead to treatment failure or pharmacokinetic interactions. This research investigated herbal medicines and conventional drugs; used by individuals with CP. In addition, individual assessments for each participant of this study was used to gather information in order to improve quality of life. This is a descriptive and qualitative study, in which twelve individuals with CP completed a questionnaire about their use of herbal medicine and conventional drugs. Individuals with CP reported ten herbal medicines and twelve conventional drugs; pharmacokinetic interactions were described in detail. Fortunately, none of the participants reported clinical evidence related to the interaction, but it is not possible to conclude that the risks, in general, are over-estimated. Therefore, we recommend the implementation of a public education campaign with herb-drug interactions, involving health professionals and patients, in order to avoid future problems.