title: Dermatologic manifestations of complementary therapy.
abstract: The dermatologic manifestations of complementary therapy include reactions to herbs used orally and topically for treating skin disease, cutaneous reactions to drugs used orally and topically for treating other diseases, and reactions to alternative interventions. The safety of alternative medicine is in question. Unlike approved drugs, the quality, efficacy, and safety of herbal medicines is not regulated. Herbal medicines may be misidentified and contaminated with a variety of substances. The following review identifies and categorizes therapies according to their common uses with their adverse reactions.
authors.affiliation: The Department of Dermatology, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, 3501 Ryan Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19103, USA. jawitkow@bellatlantic.net
authors.forename: Joseph A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Witkowski
authors.forename: Lawrence Charles
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Parish
mesh_terms: D000284:Administration, Oral; D000287:Administration, Topical; D016907:Adverse Drug Reaction Reporting Systems; D000529:Complementary Therapies / Q000009:adverse effects*; D017453:Dermatitis, Irritant / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D019587:Dietary Supplements / Q000009:adverse effects; D003875:Drug Eruptions / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008517:Phytotherapy / Q000009:adverse effects; D010946:Plants, Medicinal / Q000009:adverse effects*; D011379:Prognosis; D018570:Risk Assessment