Conventional and Alternative Treatments Might Not Mix Well

Complementary and alternative medicine treatments are used widely in children, often in conjunction with conventional treatments. Researchers at a pediatric emergency department in Toronto interviewed 1804 families of children (age range, 0–18 years) about use of natural health products (NHPs; e.g., vitamins, herbal remedies, homeopathic medicine, probiotics) and conventional prescribed and over-the-counter (OTC) medications. The researchers identified potential interactions between NHPs and conventional drugs or other NHPs based on a search of three online drug information databases.

During the 3 months before the interview, 44% of children used prescribed medications, 26% used OTC medications, and 45% used NHPs or visited complementary pro…