A survey of the availability in Canadian pharmacy chains of over-the-counter natural health products for menopause symptoms

Table 2 Indications and contraindications/warnings for each product

Product	Indications					Contraindications/warnings
	Menopause symptoms	Vasomotor	Sleep	Mood	Other	Pregnancy/breastfeeding	Hormonal gynecological disorders, cancer	Breast cancer	Liver disorder	Allergy to ingredients	Blood thinning medications	HRT/thyroid medications	Other
Products with multiple active ingredients
Swiss Natural HRT® Regular	+	+	-	-	-	+	+	+	+	+	+	+
Swiss Natural HRT® Extra Strength	+	+	-	-	-	+	+	+	+	+	-	+	Diabetes
Swiss Natural HRT® Nightime	+	+	+	-	-	+	-	-	+	+	-	-	Avoid alcohol/sedatives
Estroven®	+	+	-	-	-	+	+	+	+	+	+	+
Estroven® Maximum Strength	+	+	-	-	Bone health	+	+	+	+	+	-	+
Life Brand™ Menopause Relief	+	-	-	-	-	+	-	-	+	+	-	-	Kidney stones
femMED® Menopause Relief	+	+	+	+	-	+	-	-	+	-	-	+
FemmeCalm Menopause Formula	+	+	+	+	-	+	+	+	+	+	+	+
MENOsmart™	+	+	-	-	-	+	-	-	-	-	+	-
Products with single active ingredient
up&up™ Black Cohosh	+	-	-	-		+	-	-	+	-	-	-	’
London Naturals® Black Cohosh	+	-	-	-		+	-	-	+	-	-	-
equate® Black Cohosh	+	-	-	-		+	-	-	+	+	-	-	May cause drowsiness
Holista® Black Cohosh	+	-	-	-		+	-	-	+	-	-	-
Be.better™ Black Cohosh	+	-	-	-		+	-	-	+	-	-	-
Promensil® Regular Strength	+	+	-	-	Bone & heart health	+	+	+	+	+	+	+
Promensil® Double Strength	+	+	+	+	Bone & heart health, vaginal dryness	+	+	+	+	+	+	+
Soy Isoflavone Complex	+	+	-	-	Bone health	-	+	+	+	-	+	+
Menoconfort Forté	+	+	-	-		-	+	+	+	-	+	+
xi-Cool®	+	+	-	-		-	+	+	+	-	+	-
A. Vogel™ Menopause	+	+	-	-		+	-	-	-	+	-	-	Epilepsy

ISSN: 2662-7671