Abstract
Purpose::
To determine the prevalence, perceived benefits, and motivation for using complementary and alternative medicine use (CAM - vitamins, herbal remedies and dietary supplements) among patients with different eye problems.
Methods::
One hundred ninety two patients were asked to participate by answering questions and recording the responses on standard questionnaire form.
Results::
Of the 192 patients surveyed 130 (67.71%) have been using CAM. Of those using CAM 60.94% were using vitamins, 34.38 % were using dietary supplements, and 7.81% were using herbal remedies. 6.15% were using all three types of CAM, 40% were using two of the three different types of CAM, and 53.85% were using at least one type of CAM. 67.69% of the patients using any type of CAM find them helpful for their general health, 16.92% thought the CAM they were taking did not help to improve their health, and 13.08% of patients did not know there has been any benefit for them taking CAM. 55.38% of patients were advised by their doctor to take CAM.
Conclusions::
More than half of our patients were using CAM and nearly half of them used them for non-serious medical conditions, health promotion or disease prevention. It is important for physicians to be aware of CAM that patients are using in order to better advise them about the impact of these therapies on their ocular health.
Keywords: clinical (human) or epidemiologic studies: prevalence/incidence