Abstract
BackgroundSelf-medication (SM) is the practice of consuming medication without the consultation of physician. The drugs most commonly self-medicated are paracetamol, analgesics, ranitidine, oral rehydration solution and antibiotics. The objective of the study was to assess the SM status and its causes in Pokhara valley of Nepal.MethodThe study was conducted among the people residing in Pokhara metropolitan city. The study duration was of 4 months from April to July, 2018. The study population were patients attending health general and oral health screening programs at Baidam, Birauta, Hemja and Pame areas of Pokhara. Structured questionnaire was used to collect demographics of the patients and the details of the usage of self-medication.ResultOut of 201 patients, 38.2% patients were found to be self-medicating. The most common illness sought for SM was ache (headache, body ache) in 50% subjects followed by cough and cold in 31% and gastritis in 23%. Paracetamol was the drug consumed by 16 subjects followed by nimesulide by 11. Lack of knowledge about the disadvantages of SM led to self-medication in 65% of respondents. The personnel most commonly consulted for medication were pharmacists (60%).ConclusionThe trend of SM is high in Pokhara valley. The comedics were consulted most often for SM due to lack of knowledge of consultation to physicians. The public should be made aware about SM.
Highlights
Self-medication (SM) is the practice of consuming medication without the consultation of physician
The trend of SM is high in Pokhara valley
The public should be made aware about SM
Summary
Self-medication (SM) is the practice of consuming medication without the consultation of physician. Most of the government hospitals, relied upon by 3/4th of the country’s population, are not well equipped and unable to fully deliver services to the public This is contributing highly to the practice of SM by consuming medications with consultation of paramedics [2, 3]. Due to the increment in the literacy rate, people are being aware about the Pokhara valley is located in Western part of Nepal. It has 33 wards with population span of 4.2 million. People were self-medicating mainly with non- steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) They were consuming these drugs for body ache and headache. Consumption of such medications was attributed to self-knowledge, suggestion of relatives and consultation with local comedics [4, 5]
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