Cross-sectional descriptive study of topical self-medication in a hospital dermatology department in the state of São Paulo

Prevalence of Self-Medication Among Patients With Common Dermatological Diseases in Saudi Arabia

Introduction  Self-medication is defined as the use of a medication or product to treat, alleviate, or prevent a condition or symptom of an illness or to promote health. Self-management is increasingly used for dermatological diseases, especially chronic inflammatory skin diseases. Hence, it is crucial to be aware of its prevalence and the leading factors of its usage. Therefore, this study aims to estimate the prevalence of self-treatment for dermatological diseases and to determine possible factors associated with its practice.  Methodology  This is a cross-sectional online-based questionnaire study that was conducted in King Fahad Armed Forces Hospital in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. In this study, we included all first-visit and follow-up patients diagnosed with vitiligo, eczema, alopecia areata, and psoriasis. Data analysis was conducted using JMP Statistical Discovery Software, version 15 (JMP Statistical Discovery LLC, Cary, NC).  Results  Of the 203 patients who participated in this study, 91 (44.8%) had vitiligo. Moreover, topical corticosteroids were the most commonly used medications in self-treatment and included mometasone and hydrocortisone, which were used by 143 (41.3%) and 50 (14.5%) patients, respectively. Thirty patients (16.2%) improved with self-treatment, whereas 52 (28.1%) had no improvement. In addition, the most common reason for self-treatment was having mild symptoms of the disease in 97 patients (30.1%).  Conclusion  This study revealed that the prevalence of self-treatment among various dermatological diseases was 53.2%. Topical corticosteroids were the most commonly used conventional medicines, whereas the most common alternative medications used were honey and henna. We found that the most common reason for self-treatment was mildness of the dermatological disease. Family and friends were the most common sources of information.

Prevalence, pattern, source of drug information, and reasons for self-medication among dermatology patients

Self-medication is common with dermatology patients. Yet, studies on this phenomenon are few. The pattern and reasons for self-medication are not clear. The objective of this study was to document the prevalence, pattern, source of drug information, and reasons for self-medication among dermatology patients. This was a prospective cross-sectional study of 468 adult dermatology patients over a 9-month period. A self-administered questionnaire was administered to all new patients to the dermatology outpatient clinic. The questionnaire had questions on sociodemographic data, self-medication, what specifically was used by the patients, source of information, and reasons for self-medication. Data were analyzed using the SPSS 22.0. Statistics such as means, medians, and frequencies. t test and chi-square test are presented. The mean age of the patients was 37.9 ± 16.3. The prevalence of self-medication was 63.7%. The pattern of self-medication was herbal only in 11.7%, western medication only in 45.6%, and western and herbal in 42.6%. Reason for self-medication was easy accessibility in 54%, difficulty seeing a doctor in 16.8%, and difficulty accessing medical care in 13.8%. Source of drug information was Pharmacist in 46.3% and friend in 26.5%. Self-medication was significant in males and in those with inflammatory diseases. Self-medication was common and this was due to ready accessibility of drugs and poor access to doctors. Self-medication was common in males and in those who have inflammatory diseases. The pattern of self-medication was dependent on age and the level of education. Source of information on drugs was pharmacists, friends, and family.

Self-medication with steroids in inflammatory bowel disease

BACKGROUND

The self-prescribing rates of corticosteroids in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients treated with biologicals are unknown.

AIM

To investigate the frequency and modalities of self-medication with steroids in adult IBD patients.

METHODS

Patients with IBD who attended Nancy University Hospital between November 2012 and May 2013 were included in the study. Patients were interviewed using an 11 item questionnaire.

RESULTS

100 patients participated in the survey. In total 15 patients (15%) had already used corticosteroids without medical prescription since their IBD diagnosis and 4 patients of them (27%) used steroids as self-medication while on anti-TNF treatment. The mean total duration of corticosteroid treatment was 24 days (range 1.5-105). In total 4 patients (27%) used corticosteroids more than 10 times without medical prescription (range 1-20). The two main reasons were the need for quick relief of symptoms (n=6) and the unwillingness to consult a physician (n=3).

CONCLUSION

A relatively high proportion of patients with IBD use corticosteroids without medical prescription. Due to their side effects, self-medication may include 'steroid dependency' as it may reflect uncontrolled disease. As steroids have significant side effects and patients may have active disease it is important to counsel patients and to monitor their self-prescribing patterns in IBD patients.

Prevalence of self-medication for skin diseases: a systematic review

Self-medication is the selection and use of drugs without medical prescription, to treat diseases or for symptomatic relief. This article is a systematic review on self-medication in skin diseases. A search was conducted on Virtual Health Library and PubMed databases using predetermined descriptors. Two researchers performed the article selection process independently, with the degree of inter-observer agreement measured by the kappa index. The prevalence of self-medication ranged from 6.0 to 45.0%. Topical corticosteroids were the most commonly used therapeutic strategies for self-medication, as found in the reviewed articles. This study revealed that published data on self-medication in dermatology are scarce, although the findings showed that it was a common practice.

Use of self-medication among adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

We performed a systematic review and proportion meta-analysis in order to investigate the prevalence and the adverse effects of the self-medication among the teenagers.

METHODS

We selected observational studies published from January 1990 until January 2014 that examined the use of self-medication in the adolescents (aged from 13 to 18 years). Keywords used on PubMed, ISI Web of Knowledge and Scopus were 'self medication', 'adolescent*', 'self prescription', 'over the counter preparations' and 'self administration'.

RESULTS

Finally, 15 articles met the inclusion criteria, for a total of 143 213 subjects involved. Overall, 50% of adolescents use to take drugs without consulting a physician. Further analyses stratified by number of drugs used demonstrated that in the studies reporting that adolescents use more than one type of drug the prevalence rises up to 63%. Only one study reported the possible adverse effects related to the inappropriate use of drugs, which were experienced by 31.1% of the females and 19.6% of the males.

CONCLUSIONS

Self-medication use among adolescents is a widespread phenomenon. It would be advisable to give more attention on this public health concern and to promote initiatives, such as mass media campaigns and governmental actions, in order to make the citizens more aware to the risks related to the consumption of drugs without medical consultation. Further studies on adverse effects are urgently needed.