Families' approach to practice of phytotherapeutics for children

Plants have been used for therapeutic purposes since ancient times. Recently, the tendency towards nature and herbal products has been increasing all over the world. People use herbal products for themselves as well as their children. Questionnaire consisting of questions about the use of phytotherapeutics in children was prepared and it was made face-to-face to the families in Ankara. In this study, demographic information such as age, education level, marital status, income level of the people and herbal product usage, what kind of diseases it is used in, ways to learn about phytotherapeutics, research methods and ways of obtaining herbal products, consultions with health professionals, their thoughts about herbal products, were obtained and interpreted by statistical analysis. According to the obtained results, 18% of the families have children with chronical disease and 86% use herbal products. 81% of families apply herbs or herbal products for their children. Herbal product use is higher in men than in women. Phytotherapeutics are mostly used for cold, cough, gas pain symptoms. Herbal products are mostly obtained from herbalists. Suggestions of friends, family and relatives are effective in herbal product preferences. In addition, experience of people who suffer and benefit from the same disease is considered as an important criterion by families. The most preferred herbs are linden, mint and garlic. 80% of families benefit from herbal products and 82.5% of them research whether it is safe before using herbal products. 53% of families use herbal products without consulting a physician or healthcare staff, 59% think that herbal methods are effective and safe and feel better when they use herbal products. As a result, it is thought by families that herbal methods are more natural and have less side effects than medical drugs. With the data obtained, it was aimed to determine the approaches of families, to provide guiding information to health professionals and families.