Chinese herbal remedies have been getting a bad press recently but practitioners say their medicines are a safe and effective form of treatment.

Sarah Hall and her husband Matthew were thrilled when their first son Alfie was born in 1997.

They were keen to have another child to complete their family but over the next three years Sarah suffered four miscarriages.

She was sent to St Mary's Hospital in Paddington for tests but doctors could find nothing wrong.

They sent her home with the hope the next time things might go to plan but once again she had a miscarriage.

All happened within the first eight to nine weeks.

A close friend recommended Sarah try Chinese medicine and she visited Mazin Al-Khafaji, a doctor of Chinese medicine at the Clinical Centre of Chinese Medicine in Hove.

He treated her for three months and a month afterwards she became pregnant.

This time around the pregnancy lasted and little Jude, now 15 months old, was born.

Sarah, 42, said: "I don't know how it worked but it clearly did something. There was no way you could just put it down to coincidence.

"Whatever the treatment was, it seemed to strengthen my womb and manage to get me through the difficult first few weeks.

"And taking the medicine was difficult because frankly the taste of it was foul but it was a means to an end.

"I would suggest to anyone who has been through similar experiences to mine to consider trying Chinese medicine. It has been tremendous for me at a time when I was beginning to lose hope."

Chinese medicine hit the headlines earlier this month when Jie Zheng was cleared of supplying herbal pills containing traces of the banned substance aristolochia to Sandi Stay.

In court it was not disputed that Sandi's subsequent kidney failure was most likely caused by the pills she had taken. But jurors accepted Jie Zheng had taken steps to ensure the substance was not in her medicines after it was banned in 1999.

Sandi is now calling for the regulation surrounding Chinese to medicines to be stepped up.

Mr Al-Khafaji agrees. He spent several years training in Shanghai and regularly lectures around the world about his work as well as writing extensively on the subject.

He was also involved in the only major clinical trial using Chinese herbal remedies in the UK which tested a remedy on children and adults with severe form of eczema. The results were dramatic with most sufferers showing significant improvement.

The Chinese herbal medicine industry has exploded in the UK in the last decade, with shops springing up in High Streets everywhere.

For Mr Al-Khafaji this is part of the problem as many of the people visiting the shops are given pills and supplies without proper consultation or advice.

Like any type of medicine, Chinese remedies need to be used carefully and respon-sibly and people should be given the right advice.

As the law stands, anyone can set up business as a herbalist without the need for qualifications or belonging to a national organisation. Because of this, Mr Al-Khafaji wants people to only use practitioners who are on the Register of Chinese Herbal Medicine so they know they are getting someone with all the necessary qualifications.

He said: "Chinese herbal medicine has been used for thousands of years and has helped millions. What we do not want to happen is for people to be put off having a consultation with a properly trained herbalist because they are not sure who they can trust."

Mr Al-Khafaji says the Chinese have a truly practical and pragmatic approach to treatments.

He said: "They are willing to look at almost anything to see whether it has potential medicinal value. On their own the ingredients do not do a great deal but when combined with each other in various ways they can achieve the right effect."

Between ten and 12 different ingredients combine to get the right reaction and trigger changes in the body.

According to Mr Al-Khafaji, the only way to take the medicine is to boil them and drink the mixture.

The Chinese approach is different to western medicine. The first thing is to deal with the acute problem (the end result).

Once that is done, the practitioner will shift the focus and create changes to stop the acute problem starting again.

As with any medicine, the levels of treatments and their effect on the body need to be monitored closely.

Mr Al-Khafaji does regular blood tests on his patients to make sure their liver or other organs are not being affected.

He said: "It would be very rare for even a slight change to be recorded but it is a matter of just taking every necessary check and precaution to be safe."

Mr Al-Khafaji gets regular referrals from GPs who have seen good results. Once a doctor in Lewes sent over three of his patients who were successfully treated for thyroid problems.

Mr Al-Khafaji said: "Chinese medicine is extremely popular and can do a lot of good. If I believe western medicine will treat a patient better than Chinese then I will say so and refer them on."

There are more than 400 different types of herbs, roots and remedies at Mr Al-Khafaji's practice.

Included are indigo for psoriasis, tree peony roots for eczema, and clematis which helps with the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Astragalus can be used to boost the immune system and energy while scorpion and centipede can help with migraines.

A list of qualified Chinese medicine practitioners are available from the Register of Chinese Herbal Medicine on 01603 623994.