DOCUMENTING SELF MEDICATION HISTORY IN ADULT PATIENTS IN A TEACHING HOSPITAL IN URBAN SOUTH INDIA

Self medication is intake of drugs for treating oneself or to relieve any illness or condition, without professional supervision. The professional help may not be the first step after diagnosis of disease. All drugs can be toxic and their rational use in therapy is based on a calculable risk. The aim of this study is to find out the prevalence of self medication in patients who are presently suffering from any illness and have come to our hospital seeking professional help. A cross sectional questionnaire based study was planned involving adult patients in various departments of our teaching hospital, after obtaining institutional ethical committee clearance. 22.5% of the patients resorted to self medication practices before they came to our hospital. 51.89% of people who self medicated were graduates or post graduates and 24% of them had completed high school education. NSAIDs were the commonest drug group which was self medicated, followed by antibiotics. The cause for self medication was reported to be self gathered information (36%), non serious illness (19%), easy availability (18%) and cost effectiveness (11%). Health education of the public and regulation of pharmacies may help in bringing about responsible self medication practices and curbing the misuse of antimicrobials.