Complementary and alternative products are popular with women going through the menopause, but care needs to be taken as there is some uncertainty over how safe and effective they are. The most widely available include:

• Black cohosh €“ a herbal remedy that studies have found can help with night sweats and hot flushes, although not as much as prescription treatments.
• St John's wort €“ another herbal remedy that has been shown to help relieve symptoms, such as hot flushes.
• Phytoestrogens €“ hormones that naturally occur in plants such as red clover and can help reduce anxiety, albeit on a temporary basis only. They are also known as isoflavones.

All of the above can interact with other medicines, in some cases very significantly, so anyone wanting to buy such a product should be referred to the pharmacist.