Abstract :
Background: Self medication with analgesics is prevalent worldwide among medical students due to easy
availability of drugs. Present study was done to assess Knowledge, Attitude, Practice and Perception of
Self Medication of Analgesics among MBBS students at Dr. B. R. Ambedkar Medical College, Bengaluru.
Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 3rd Term MBBS students of Dr. B.
R. Ambedkar Medical College, Bengaluru in November 2019. A Pre-designed validated questionnaire was
used to collect relevant information on self medication of analgesics. Data was analysed using descriptive
statistics.
Results: 78.4% of 3rd term MBBS students practiced self medication with analgesics. Students had some
knowledge regarding definition of self medication 84.8%, and side effects of analgesics 75.9%. They had
no knowledge regarding dose, duration of treatment timing of drug administration, drug interactions and
banned analgesics.
Common reason for using analgesic self medication was headache (75.8%) and Nonsteroidal
Antiinflammatory drugs (80.6%) were commonly used. Analgesics were used for quick relief (67.7%)
and source of information was from previous doctor’s prescriptions (64.5%). Students stopped taking
analgesics after symptoms disappeared (83.8%). Students agreed that self medication is acceptable for
medical students (48.1%).
Conclusions: This study has found that self medication with analgesics was common among undergraduate
medical students for minor illness. It is necessary to create awareness and educate students regarding
dangers of analgesic self medication.
Keyword :
Self medication, Analgesics, Medical students, Medical textbooks, Internet.