The prevalence and causes of self-medication among college students

SUBADRADEVI J , NITHYA P , RAGUL A , VIGNESHWARAN M

Self-Medication, College Students, Prevalence Rate, Causes.

ABSTRACT: Self-medication is an important and unavoidable part of self-care, also the first choice that comes to one’s mind when suffering due to common health problems. The improper practice of self-medication may cause adverse drug reactions, incorrect medications selection, medication duplication, drug interactions, drug dependence, drug abuse, over and/or under dosing, and resistance to microbes. This study aims to evaluate the prevalence of self-medication practices and related causes among college students in a specific Tamil Nadu region. A prospective observational study was conducted among college students. The Institutional Ethics Committee approved the study. Totally 499 students were included. Among them 277 male and 222 female were participated in this study. The prevalence of self medication was 38.68%. The most important causes for self-medication were needed quick relief (50.25%), due to doctor fee (44.45%), doctor’s clinic for from home (38.86%), to save time (32.12%), old prescription (30.05%) and medication in their home (30.10%). While assessing the sources of information friends and relatives, internet, post exposure, from pharmacist/medical professional were the main sources. The primary reasons for self-medication were cold, fever, headache and cough. Drugs commonly used for self medications included NSAIDs, Antihistamines, antibiotics and other class of drugs. Even though self-medication is a convenient choice for minor illnesses and acute emergencies, inappropriate use can potentially cause harm to health. The use of self-medications should not be encouraged and hence health professionals, especially pharmacists, should offer health education to improve awareness about the inappropriate practice of self-medication.

Published Paper   E-Certificate

"The prevalence and causes of self-medication among college students", IJNRD - INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF NOVEL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT (www.IJNRD.org), ISSN:2456-4184, Vol.9, Issue 10, page no.a584-a593, October-2024, Available :https://ijnrd.org/papers/IJNRD2410061.pdf

Volume 9 Issue 10, October-2024

Pages : a584-a593

Paper Reg. ID: IJNRD_300296

Published Paper Id: IJNRD2410061

Downloads: 00026

Research Area: Pharmacy All

Country: Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India

Published Paper PDF: https://ijnrd.org/papers/IJNRD2410061

Published Paper URL: https://ijnrd.org/viewpaperforall?paper=IJNRD2410061

ISSN: 2456-4184 | IMPACT FACTOR: 8.76 Calculated By Google Scholar | ESTD YEAR: 2016

An International Scholarly Open Access Journal, Peer-Reviewed, Refereed Journal Impact Factor 8.76 Calculate by Google Scholar and Semantic Scholar | AI-Powered Research Tool, Multidisciplinary, Monthly, Multilanguage Journal Indexing in All Major Database & Metadata, Citation Generator

Publisher: IJNRD (IJ Publication) Janvi Wave

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License and The Open Definition