Some users of complementary or alternative medicines are not being told about the dangers of using the treatments, according to new research.
A University of Otago study of parents who use the medicines to treat their sick children shows they see them as inexpensive and with few side-effects.
Parents surveyed at a gastroenterology unit in Sydney in 2008 chose the therapies after getting personal recommendations or seeing advertisements in newspapers and magazines.
The study says advertising and word-of-mouth tends to be biased and does not disclose all the information patients need.
A senior author of the research, Andrew Day, says the rising acceptance of the therapies has led to increasingly widespread use for children. But he says clinicians need to be open to discussing the treatments with patients.
"Some of these medicines do interact with standard therapies, or some of the alternatives are not proven in terms of having side-effects. What is known about them in adults may not be the same as how they may affect children.
"There's a number of things to be aware of - and I don't think those messages necessarily get through.
New Zealand Medical Association chairperson Paul Ockelford says many patients are not willing to speak about using alternative medicines.
"Often the products are innocuous and are unlikely to add any positive benefit, but patients have bought it and made a commitment to take it. They're convinced that it will help and there is no value in trying to dissuade them."
Patients need to tell their doctors when they are using alternative medicines, so they can be alerted to any possible side-effects, he says.
