Abstract
The objective of the study was to analyze the prevalence of self-medication among users of Basic Health Units in the city of Monte Alegre – Rio Grande do Norte State, Brazil. A descriptive exploratory study was carried out, through the application of structured questionnaires, with 125 people. It was observed that 83% of the interviewees practiced self-medication, of these, 34%, they did it monthly. The main justifications for this practice were: difficulty accessing health services (50%), financial reasons (28%) and lack of time (22%). The most used drugs were: analgesic (63%), anti-inflammatory (13%) and sedative / hypnotic (7.0%). Most (55%) claimed to have no or little knowledge about the meaning of self-medication. This demonstrates the need for health education actions in order to educate the population about the risks of this practice, since it can lead to masking of symptoms of diseases, drug interactions and intoxications that compromise the health of the user. Keywords: Health. Drug. Use.
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