Knowledge, attitude and practices of medical students about self-medication for acne

Abstract

Background: Acne is most prevalent in adolescent girls. Self-medication for acne is most common in medical students. This study was done to evaluate the knowledge, reason, perception and pattern of self-medication for acne among undergraduate medical students.Methods: A cross-sectional study included medical students of the second phase and final phase (part I and part II). A pretested questionnaire was given to them which included questions on knowledge, attitude and practice about self-medication for acne.Results: In present study, out of 200 girls, 142 (71%) girls were affected with acne while 58 (29%) were not affected by acne. A112 (56%) girls were using allopathic medicines, 32 (16%) girls were using homeopathic medicines, 28 (14%) girls were using ayurvedic medicines while 28 (14%) girls were using other non-specific things. clindamycin was used by 104 (52%) girls, adapalene + benzoyl peroxide gel was used by 26 (13%) girls, clindamycin + nicotinamide gel was used by 12 (6%) girls, toothpaste was used by 42 (24%) girls while Aloe vera gel was used by 76 (38%) of girls. The reason for self-medication was mild nature of illness in 130 (65%) of girls, 96 (48%) girls did it to save the time, over the counter availability of medicines was the cause in 88 (44%) of girls, getting medicines from their previous prescription was seen in 52 (26%) of girls, 64 (32%) of girls did it to save the cost of consultation, 44 (22%) did it after getting knowledge from pharmacology book while 30 (15%) of girls felt embarrassed to tell their own symptoms.Conclusions: Self-medication for acne is quite high among medical students. Self-medication is part of self-care so it should be encouraged for minor illness. But should be based on thorough knowledge and restricted to over the counter drugs.

Assessment of Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices Regarding Self-medication for Acne Among Medical Students

“…Acne is a very common skin condition affecting teenagers and adolescents worldwide. The prevalence of acne in our setup was found to be 69.9%, which was consistent with the findings of Talanikar et al [7]. Comparably, a study conducted in Karachi showed a prevalence of 55.9% among the students [8].…”

“…The most common reason for self-medication in our study was the mildness of the condition (34.3%), followed closely by easy availability (30.1%). The mild nature of the disease has been reported as the most common reason in many studies [6-7]. Acquaintances (seniors/friends/members of the family) were the most frequently cited source of information in our study (55.8%).…”

Prevalence of dermatological self‐treatment among medical doctors of a Spanish hospital

“…The published works on self-medication in Dermatology are scarce 5,6,[14][15][16][17] and those that focus on self-treatment among healthcare professionals are even less numerous. 2,3,[18][19][20][21] A systematic review published in 2014 about selftreatment of skin lesions in the general population showed a variable prevalence, which ranged between 6% and 68% in the different studies. 5,6 Other studies not included in this systematic review also focusing on the self-treatment of different concrete dermatoses in the general population obtained higher percentages of selfmedication, although they oscillated in a wide range, between 33% and 77%.…”

“…In those articles, selftreatment prevalence was between 50% and 77%. 2,3,[19][20][21] It should be noted that these studies included cosmetic products, medicinal herbs and other home remedies and alternative medicines that were excluded in our survey. In fact, these nonpharmacological medicines were used by a significant number of the medical students evaluated.…”

“…The published works on self‐medication in Dermatology are scarce 5,6,14–17 and those that focus on self‐treatment among healthcare professionals are even less numerous 2,3,18–21 …”