Assessment and Evaluation of the Problem of Self-Medication among First Year Medical Students of Skims Medical College, Bemina

BACKGROUND:Self-medication is a state when a person uses a substance to self-administer treatment for physical or mental ailments. There are some drugs in the market that one can buy without a prescription. These are safe and effective when taken as per the directions on the label and as directed by the General Practioner.The most widely self-medicated substances are these over-the-counter drugs.The Self medication is quite common practice in general and particularly among medical students. However self-medication can be quite harmful as well . AIM : To assess and evaluate the problem of self-medications among the medical students of first professional MBBS in SKIMS Medical College ,Bemina,Srinagar. SUBJECTS AND METHODS : This is a questionnaire-based, descriptive study. A prevalidated questionnaire was prepared and each student was asked to fill up the Performa and then the data was analyzed.A total of 100 First year medical students of SKIMS medical college participated in the study after taking proper verbal consent. RESULTS:Out of the 100 respondents, 50 (50%) were males and 50 ( 50 %) were females . The age group affected was 12-19 years. 74% of students practiced Self medication and the source of medication was local chemist (52%) or from drug pharmacy (22%). 55% of the affected students are aware of side –effects of self medication as most of them read the leaflet before taking medicine (67%). However, 72% of the affected students take advice from others before taking the medicine.The reason for self medication by medical students is due to mild illness (43% cases ) and past experience (27% cases ) and the students found selfmedication providing quick relief in common illnesses. Headache (66%) followed by common cold (30%) , sore throat (25%) , fever (23%) Acidity (22%) etc were the most common symptoms for which self medication was taken.Among drugs Paracetamol (58%) followed by anti-cold(23%),antibiotics(22%), cough syrup (21%) , antacids(20%) were the main self medicated medicines.Most common age of students for starting self-medication were 16 years(26%) followed by 15 years(21%) ,18 years(12%)etc. Only 15% of the students have some knowledge about trade name , course and dosage of drugs.Only 31% of students are aware about completing full course of antibiotic. About 47% students had a view that they are influenced by medical knowledge for self –medication.The Students' knowledge about the benefits and risks of self-medication was adequate although it was relatively poor so far as adverse effects of overall drugs were concerned(43%). Important disadvantages of self-medication mentioned were the risk of using inappropriate drugs ,dosage, course and adverse effects of drugs. CONCLUSION:self-medication seen in present study among the first year medical students is about (74 %) and is more or less comparable to studies from other parts of the world. The result emphasizes the amount of problem in the young medical students about self-medication and lack of awareness about dosage, course of drugs & side effects. Hence more strict regulations are needed to avoid more healthcare problems and have a responsible pattern of self-medication.