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Journals / International Journal of Traditional and Complementary Medicine Research / 2026 / Volume: 7 Issue: 2

Herbal Remedy Usage Habits of Patients Applying to the Headache Clinic

Erkan Özduran(Sivas Numune Hospital, Department Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation)0000-0003-3425-313X
Leyla İyilikçi(DOKUZ EYLUL UNIVERSITY)0000-0002-9055-7018
Vesile Öztürk(DOKUZ EYLUL UNIVERSITY)0000-0002-9784-6779
Muge Mercan Kara(İzmir City Hospital)0000-0002-3912-8082
Yüksel Erkin(DOKUZ EYLUL UNIVERSITY)0000-0002-5859-2817
Oktay Faysal Tertemiz(İzmir City Hospital)0000-0002-6131-1756
Edip Gönüllü(IZMIR BAKIRCAY UNIVERSITY)0000-0002-7751-3758
İlhan Celil Özbek(UNIVERSITY OF HEALTH SCIENCES, KOCAELİ DERİNCE HEALTH RESEARCH CENTER)0000-0003-0508-8868
Volkan Hancı(DOKUZ EYLUL UNIVERSITY)0000-0002-2227-194X
Pages
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Publication Date
2026-08-14
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AI Summary & Key Takeaways

AI Insight
⚡ TL;DR(Too Long; Didn't Read)

Given limited patient awareness of potential adverse effects, healthcare providers must understand herbal pharmacokinetics and drug interactions to ensure safe treatment.

📌 3 Key Takeaways

🎯
Objective & Hypothesis:Aim: Although the widespread use of unguided herbal remedies as alternative therapies is increasingly common, it poses significant risks of adverse drug interactions and side effects.
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Key Findings & Data:Material and Methods: Following ethics approval, this cross-sectional study evaluated sociodemographics, attitudes, recommendation sources, and side-effect awareness via face-to-face surveys with 133 participants (June 2022–December 2023), recording unanswered items as missing data.
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Conclusion & Impact:Given limited patient awareness of potential adverse effects, healthcare providers must understand herbal pharmacokinetics and drug interactions to ensure safe treatment.
🔬Design:Survey & Empirical Study
📍Scope:2022 Verileri
⚙️Variables:Headache · herbal remedy · herb-drug interaction

Abstract

Aim: Although the widespread use of unguided herbal remedies as alternative therapies is increasingly common, it poses significant risks of adverse drug interactions and side effects. This study aimed to investigate the patterns of herbal remedy use, particularly in the management of a common health complaint, headache. Material and Methods: Following ethics approval, this cross-sectional study evaluated sociodemographics, attitudes, recommendation sources, and side-effect awareness via face-to-face surveys with 133 participants (June 2022–December 2023), recording unanswered items as missing data. Results: Among the 133 participants, 96(72.2%) were female, 26(19.5%) were male, and 11(8.3%) chose not to disclose their gender due to privacy-related concerns. Herbal remedy use was reported by 35.3%(n=47) of participants, and garlic was identified as the most frequently used herbal remedy. It was determined that 35.3%(n=47) of the participants were consuming herbal remedies and the most commonly used herbal remedy was garlic. No statistically significant relationship was found between gender and education level according to herbal remedy use (p=0.222, p=0.189, respectively). Participants stated that they mostly used herbal remedies to support the effectiveness of prescription drugs they took for headaches. It was determined that the consumers most frequently received advice from doctors regarding herbal remedy use 42.6%(n=20) and only 46.8%(n=22) were informed about the possible side effects of herbal remedies. Conclusion: Gender and education level were not significantly associated with herbal remedy use among headache clinic patients. Given limited patient awareness of potential adverse effects, healthcare providers must understand herbal pharmacokinetics and drug interactions to ensure safe treatment.

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Cite This Article

Özduran, E., İyilikçi, L., Öztürk, V., Kara, M. M., Erkin, Y., Tertemiz, O. F., Gönüllü, E., Özbek, İ. C., Hancı, V. (2026). Herbal Remedy Usage Habits of Patients Applying to the Headache Clinic. International Journal of Traditional and Complementary Medicine Research, Volume: 7 Issue: 2. https://doi.org/10.53811/ijtcmr.1811268

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