Consumer and Chemist Preferences towards Analgesics and Antipyretics in Drugstores in Nashik City

Abstract

Most drug consumers today show a habit of self medication when it comes to problems like fever and the resulting headache & body ache from it. This may be to get rid of waiting time outside the Doctors cabin or even to save medical checking fees. The same behavior may also be attributed to the unawareness towards complications of self medication among the sufferers. It is always advisory to consult a registered medical professional before getting medicated. The objective of the study was to study the preference of consumers and chemists towards different molecules and brands while purchasing and selling analgesics and antipyretics in Nasik. For this purpose 91 medical store retailers (chemist) were sampled randomly from Nasik city and MIDC area (or close to MIDC) and data were collected from them using a structured questionnaire. The data were analyzed using various statistical techniques. It was revealed that paracetamol was the drug of choice sold to patients complaining fever and body ache while Crocin and Combiflam were the most demanded brands by similar kind of patients. It was further analyzed that Nise was more preferably recommended by chemists to such patients without a proper prescription.