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A growing number of Canadian children with chronic illnesses are being treated with alternative medicines or therapies and parents don't always tell doctors they are using these complementary methods, a new study said on Monday.

In the treatment of chronic illnesses, it is not uncommon for people to use other remedies including herbal, homeopathic, or vitamins that have the potential to interact adversely with doctor-recommended treatment.

A new study published in Pediatrics finds that the use of complementary and alternative medicine, or CAM, is common among children, especially those who have been diagnosed with chronic health conditions such as asthma.

In the analysis, researchers asked 926 Canadian parents at two children's hospitals about their CAM use at 10 separate clinics in Edmonton and Ottawa.

Out of those surveyed, half said their children had used the therapies at the same time they were taking conventional drugs, while 10% tried alternative therapies before turning to conventional treatments and 5% used CAM in place of conventional medicine. However, many parents weren't telling pediatricians that their children were using CAM, which could increase the possibility of dangerous interactions.

Fish oil, for instance, can cause the blood to thin. Combining it with a pharmaceutical blood thinner can result in bleeding. Echinacea, a herb taken by many people to boost the immune system, can counter the effectiveness of chemotherapy used to treat cancer.

Parents of kids were asked to complete surveys in the waiting room before entering for their child's appointment. The children being treated at these clinics were being seen for health conditions in one of the following areas: cardiology, neurology, oncology, gastroenterology, or respiratory health.

The most commonly used CAM therapies included massage, faith healing, chiropractic and aromatherapy, while the most popular products to treat conditions ranging from cancer to asthma and inflammatory bowel disease were vitamins and minerals, herbal remedies and homeopathic medicines.

"Whether we're looking at the general population or at children's hospitals, it seems that complementary medicine use is extremely common," says Dr. Sunita Vohra, lead author of the study and a pediatrician who is chair of the section on integrated medicine for the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Most parents, says Vohra, will deny that their children are taking alternative therapies, even if they are - and not because they want to intentionally deceive their doctors. "They don't think of herbs as medicine," says Vohra. "So doctors should ask parents, what are all the therapies, including complementary medicines, that your child is taking?"