Applications of Traditional Medicine Among Patients Attending the Chest Disease Clinic

Objective: Among various traditional practices for respiratory complaints, the most common one involves the consumption of herbs in different forms. Method: Patients who visited the chest diseases clinic (n=204) were asked whether they used herbal remedies as a part of traditional medicine, aside from the treatments provided at the clinic. Results: The rate of traditional medicine application for their health complaints among the patients was 39.7% (81/204). The most frequently used applications were ginger tea (18.5%), lemon juice (18.5%), pine cone syrup (16%), and carob molasses (14.8%). Patients mainly used traditional medicine for chest pain (50%), phlegm (47.1%), cough (43.1%), and shortness of breath (35.4%). The use of traditional medicine was significantly lower in patients experiencing shortness of breath (35.4% of those who used folk medicine compared to 64.6% of those who did not, p=0.001). The frequency of traditional medicine use was 50% in sarcoidosis patients, 43.1% in asthma patients, and 30% in COPD patients. Among regular medication users, the rate of traditional medicine use was 41.5%. Conclusion: In addition to regular medication use for respiratory complaints and diseases, patients also included traditional medicine applications at an average rate of 40%. When questioning the use of regular medication and/or traditional medicine of patients, valuable information will be obtained regarding both their compliance with treatment and the possible benefits and harms of the traditional medicine products they use.