Although only a small percentage of Americans use homeopathic medicines, those that do are typically very happy with the results, according to a new survey by researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital reported in the American Journal of Public Health.

The survey finds that homeopathic medicines are primarily used by a small segment of the U.S. population for common, non-life-threatening conditions such as the common cold or back pain.

It also shows homeopathy users, particularly those who also report visiting homeopathic practitioners, find the use of these products helpful and that they tend to use a greater variety of complementary and integrative medicine techniques.

"The information provided by this survey is important to regulatory officials at the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) and the FTC (Federal Trade Commission), both of which have inquired about the public use and perception of these products," said lead researcher Dr. Michelle Dossett, of the Benson-Henry Institute at MGH.

"Since most people purchase these products over the counter without physician guidance, it is reassuring to see that most use them for non-serious, self-limited conditions."

Homeopathy is a centuries-old system of medicine based on the idea that highly diluted substances can be used to treat symptoms similar to those that would be caused by large doses of those substances in healthy people.

Although homeopathic medicines are usually stocked near supplements on drug store shelves, they are regulated differently from supplements, going through formal approval by the Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia Convention of the United States and conforming with FDA guidelines for good manufacturing practices.

The study analyzed data from the National Health Interview Survey, conducted annually by National Center for Health Statistics of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The 2012 survey included a number of questions about participants' use of alternative medicine was completed by more than 34,500 adults. The respondents who reported using homeopathy were more likely to be white, female, married, highly educated, aged 30 to 44 and live in the western U.S. than those who did not use homeopathy.

While two-thirds of the 718 respondents who used homeopathy ranked it among their top three therapies, only 140 (19 percent ) reported seeing a homeopathic practitioner during the preceding year.

One third of homeopathy users reported using homeopathy to address specific health conditions, most commonly head and chest colds. Those who did see a practitioner were significantly more likely to report that it had helped their health problem "a great deal," the survey showed.

"We were a bit surprised to see how few homeopathy users reported seeing a practitioner, but I don't think that is concerning since most use is for conditions that will resolve on their own and homeopathic medicines are generally very safe," said Dr. Dossett, a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.

"Our data suggest that the likelihood of people using these products for serious conditions without input from a healthcare professional is low, and data from other groups suggest that most CIM use is in addition to, not in place of, conventional treatment."