Objective: The aim of this study is to evaluate the complementary and alternative medicine methods, the prevalence of their use and to assess the factors that influence using unconventional therapies in children with atopic dermatitis.

Materials and Methods: The study was conducted between November 2012-May 2013. The data collection form was prepared which consisted 34 questions. These questions were posed to mothers of children with atopic dermatitis who were followed at least three months in pediatric allergy outpatient clinic. The data were recorded in SPSS for Windows v.16. Descriptive statistics, Mann Whitney-U, Fisher`s exact test and logistic regression analysis were used. p< 0.05 was considered as significant.

Results: The study included fifty children. 46% of patients have used complementary and alternative medicine. The most common methods were prayer, herbal medicines and application of saliva. The most common reason to apply these interventions was defined as inability to benefit from medical treatment (47%). 13% of users thought complete response and 30% partial response. Complementary and alternative medicine interventions were suggested to 68% of the patients. The family elders and friends were the most common proposers. The level of family income, educational levels of mothers and fathers and the type of the family were not related to frequency of complementary and alternative medicine use (p> 0.05). The severity of the atopic dermatitis was different between two groups and complementary and alternative treatment use increased in the patients with severe atopic dermatitis (p< 0.05).

Conclusion: The use of complementary and alternative medicine in the children with atopic dermatitis is very common. The physicians should have knowledge about these methods.