[Alternative medicine and chronic skin disease. Use of alternative treatments among patients with atopic eczema and psoriasis].

In a questionnaire study at a university hospital in Norway, 227 of 444 patients with atopic dermatitis (51.1%) and 215 of 506 patients with psoriasis (42.5%) reported previous or current use of one or more form of alternative medicine. Most used were homoeopathy, health food preparations and herbal remedies. The use was related to the disease duration and severity of the disease and, among the atopic dermatitis patients, lack of effective treatment by physicians, as judged by the patients. The patients also reported on their motivation for alternative medicine, their source of information on such, and its effect. The use of alternative medicine is commonplace and should be of concern to all physicians. The study emphasizes the need for documentation of the effects of alternative therapies.