Abstract

Background and Objective: Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) use for chronic dermatological conditions is common. However, such usage data in the South Indian population is lacking. The study aimed to investigate the frequency and types of CAM users among patients with chronic dermatological conditions in a tertiary care South Indian hospital. Materials and Methods: A prospective, cross-sectional study was conducted in 205 patients with chronic dermatological conditions. Results: About 16.1% of the patients used CAM therapies. Most of the CAM users were found to be in the upper-lower class. The most commonly used CAM treatment was Ayurveda medicines followed by herbal medicine. Among the 33 CAM users, 22 patients (66.7%) discussed their CAM therapy management with their dermatologists. Of the 22 cases discussed, 12 patients (54.5%) reported that their dermatologists did not encourage CAM usage. Conclusion: The usage of CAM therapy by the study patients was less when compared to other studies. Ayurveda and herbals were frequently used CAM. Further studies are needed to evaluate the clinical outcomes of the potential drug-CAM interactions.