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Apr 15, 2021
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Apr 15, 2021
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Abstract

The  aim  of  our  study  was  to  assess the  knowledge  of  medical  students  about  OTC drugs.


Materials & methods


150  students  who  are  in  2nd  year  MBBS  studying  at  MVJ  Medical  College  and  Research  Hospital,  Hoskote  were  given  a  questionnaire  covering  about awareness & various  aspects  on  usage  of  OTC  drugs  &  responses  obtained  were  noted.


Results


120 (80%) students knew that OTC means Non-prescription drugs.  Among  150  students,  only  (54%)  used  OTC  &  majority  of  them  have  taken  treatment  from  physician in  the  past  6  months. The  frequently  reported  illness  that  prompted  self-medication  included  respiratory diseases  [cough, cold, sore throat,  pharyngitis,  tonsillitis  etc.]  & viral fever.  Majority of  them  obtained OTC  by  telling  the  drug  name  -  self  decision  (64%),  telling  symptom  (11.33%),  showing  old  prescription  (8.66%)   &  10 (6.66%) students  have  practiced  self-medication  by  advice  from  an  herbalist  /  Ayurveda.  Most  common  reasons  for  self-medication  was  its  less  time  consuming  (43.33%)  &  previous  experience of similar  illness  (26.66%)  which  lead  to  repeated  use  of  self-medication  for  same  problem  in  (82%)  students.  Commonly used self-medication was analgesic (97.33%).  Gastrointestinal  side  effects  (47.33%)  &  sedation (39.33%)  were  more  with  OTC  drugs  used.  We  have  found  that  (51.33%)  people  share OTC  among  relatives  and  friends.  About (81.33%) students  were  aware  about  precautions to be  taken as  per  instructions  &  label, whereas (57.33%)  students  knew  about  possible  drug  interactions  /  contraindications  of  OTC  drugs.


Conclusion


Even  though  self-medication  was  not  common  among  our  students  because  most  of  them  were  aware  about  OTC  drugs  their  advantages  &  disadvantages,  it’s  inevitable  to  stop  its  usage  among  the  public.  The  intervention  will  require  better  education  of  public  and  health  professionals  to  avoid  the  irrational  use  of  drugs.

Keywords

Over the counter drugs (OTC) / Self-medication Awareness Questionnaire

Article Details

How to Cite
DrSwapna R Nayaka, & DrSabariAnand J V. (2021). A questionnaire based study to assess the knowledge of 2nd year medical students on self-medication / OTC. International Journal of Research in Pharmacology & Pharmacotherapeutics, 6(2), 127-133. https://doi.org/10.61096/ijrpp.v6.iss2.2017.127-133
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