More than half of Australians use alternative medicines, wrongly believing a government agency has tested them before being sold, a study suggests.
The survey of more than 3000 South Australians found 52.2 per cent use complementary and alternative therapies, such as herbal remedies, aromatherapy and Chinese medicine.
Forty-eight per cent of participants wrongly assumed such treatments were independently tested by a body like the Therapeutic Goods Administration.
About half of those questioned took alternative and conventional medicines on the same day.
And 53.2 per cent failed to tell their doctor they were using alternative therapies, so could not be warned about potential side effects or drug interactions.