Prevalence and patterns of self-medication for skin diseases among medical undergraduate students

Abstract

<p class="abstract"><strong>Background:</strong> Medical students are more prone to self-medication because of background knowledge and easy availability of medication. Dermatological disorders are affecting quality of life in adolescent and can motivate self-medication behaviour. The objective of the study was to study the prevalence and patterns of self-medication for skin conditions in among medical students.</p><p class="abstract"><strong>Methods:</strong> A cross-sectional questionnaire based study was carried out in medical students in western India. A self-administered questionnaire included information on socio-demographic details, general aspects of self-medication behaviour like used for which disease, drugs used, source of knowledge, reason for use etc. and analyzed.<strong></strong></p><p class="abstract"><strong>Results:</strong> Self-medication was prevalent in 90.09% participants for skin conditions. Mean age of participants was 20.35±1.23 years with male predominance. Most common skin conditions/symptoms for self-medication were acne (82.46%), sun tan (52.11%) followed by superficial fungal infections while common hair conditions were hair fall (80.10%) and dandruff (57.07%). The most commonly used drugs for self-medication were topical antifungal drugs (96.07%), sunscreen lotions (91.10%) and topical antimicrobials (80.10%). Most common source of information for self-medication was medical staff and seniors (92.67%) followed by internet (81.15%). Most common reasons for favoring self-medication were perceived the illness as minor/non-serious (62.83%) and time constraint (26.70%). 3.14% participants reported to have some adverse events with the drugs used by self-medication.</p><p class="abstract"><strong>Conclusions:</strong> Prevalence of self-medication for dermatological disorders was alarming high. Self-medication practices are highest for acne, superficial fungal infections, hair fall and dandruff. Proper training of medical undergraduates in diagnosis and treatment of dermatological problems with special emphasis on drug usage aspects are needed.</p>

Prevalence, pattern, source of drug information, and reasons for self‐medication among dermatology patients

“…In some studies like ours, males engaged more in SM. 2,5 While in others, females practiced SM more. 3 This variability in gender prevalence is difficult to explain.…”

“…The age of adult patients who self‐medicate in dermatology ranges from 18 to 84 years 3,5,6 . These studies show that, age has nothing to do with SM.…”

“…This is in keeping with what has been documented. 3,5 This age group is the working class group and those likely to have the money for…”

“…Self‐medication (SM), which is also known as self‐care is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as the use of any remedy by individuals to treat self‐recognized illnesses or symptoms 4 . The reported prevalence of SM among dermatology patients in different countries vary from 20% to 90% 1,3,5‐7 . In Nigeria, there are so far no studies on self‐medication in dermatology patients but in non‐dermatology patients, self‐medication is reported to occur in 85% to 92.6% 8,9 …”

“…14,15 Gender prevalence in self-medication varies being female in some studies 3,6 and male in others. 2,5,10 Skin diseases for which SM occurs include angioedema, which can be life threatening, 16 urticaria, 6 psoriasis, 6,10 fungal infections, 1,3 acne, 2,3,6 keratinisation disorders. 3 Other diseases are eczemas, 1,2,6 inflammatory diseases, 2 bacterial infections, 1 hair disorders, 1 insect bite, and infestations.…”