Self-medication practice of antihistaminics H1 blocker among undergraduate medical students in a tertiary care hospital

Abstract

Background: Self-medication is a widely prevalent practice in India. It assumes a special significance among medical students as they are the future medical practitioners and differ from general population as they are exposed to the knowledge about drug and diseases. Self-medication is very common among the medical students, and from previous studies, it was seen that antihistaminic was commonly taken as self-medication. Aims and Objective: The aim of the study is to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice of self-medication among undergraduate medical students toward antihistaminics. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study was conducted among the 300 undergraduate medical students of 2nd and 3rd year from July to December 2018 after taking the approval from the Institutional Ethical Committee. Results: It was found that 200 (90%) respondents practiced self-medication. Most common conditions for taking antihistaminic self-medication were allergic rhinitis (39%), sinusitis (34%), motion sickness (7%), urticaria (14%), and insect bite (6%). Most common reasons for seeking self-medication were mild illness (50%), time-saving (33%), cost-effectiveness (11%), and urgency (6%). Commonly used H1 antihistaminics were cetirizine, levocetirizine, fexofenadine, loratadine, hydroxyzine, and promethazine; main source of their knowledge was from their medical textbooks (50%), internet (30%), and parents and friends (20%). Most of the students reported that antihistaminics were safe drug, the only side effects that they reported were sedation, drowsiness, and lack of concentration, and second-generation antihistaminics were costly. Conclusion: Undergraduate medical students commonly use antihistaminic as self-medication because they are having easy access to knowledge related to the antihistaminics and their adverse effect. We as a faculty should ensure that students practice self-medication only when he/she knows the advantages and disadvantages of self-medication.