Abstract
The use of herbal medicines or drugs without professional prescription is a recurrent practice in several regions of Brazil. This action generates risks to the user, such as intoxication, masking of disease symptoms and important pharmacological interactions. The objective of this study was to analyze the profile of phytotherapeutic and drug use, without professional prescription, among residents of the municipality of Santa Cruz, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. Thus, a field survey was carried out through the application of a semi-structured questionnaire in the Likert scale model to 180 residents. The majority were women (80%), the predominant marital status were married (56%) and 44% were 49 years of age or older. It was observed that the target population has a low level of knowledge about self-medication, besides a constant consumption of Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs NSAIDs without prescription. In addition, respondents do not have the habit of questioning health professionals, increasing of the self-medication. Therefore, health education actions are necessary in order to clarify the population, the change of habits in this practice, in search of a better quality of life. Key words: Self-medication, medicinal plants, plant-drug interactions.
Highlights
Drugs and phytotherapics are frequently used as professional prescription in several Brazilian cities, justifying itself for several reasons, among them, easy access to products, public health service and influence of the media or people close to users
It is inferred that the use of drugs and phytotherapics without professional prescriptions can lead to potential intoxications to the user as well as interactions between the two, which may compromise the therapeutic goal (Castel-Branco et al, 2015; Lessa and Bochner, 2008)
The study aimed to investigate the profile of users of basic health units in the municipality of Santa Cruz, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil on the use of medicines and phytotherapics without professional prescription
Summary
Drugs and phytotherapics are frequently used as professional prescription in several Brazilian cities, justifying itself for several reasons, among them, easy access to products, public health service and influence of the media or people close to users. In this context, therapeutic resources are used on their own, and this. In the search of relief of health problems, the population makes use of medicinal plants. Many of these uses have been oriented through empiricism, that is, in popular knowledge, which may not have the desired therapeutic purpose (CastelBranco et al, 2015). The study aimed to investigate the profile of users of basic health units in the municipality of Santa Cruz, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil on the use of medicines and phytotherapics without professional prescription
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