Self-Medication Practices with Antibiotics among Second Year Medical Students of Government Medical College, Raigarh, Chhattisgarh

Background: Self medication practice especially using antibiotics has tremendously increased in the society that leads to unwanted consequences such as drug resistance. Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the self-medication practices with antibiotics among the second year medical students of Government Medical College, Raigarh. Materials and Methods: It was a questionnaire based descriptive study. A prevalidated questionnaire, which contained both open and close ended questions were given to the second year medical students. Data were analyzed using Excel sheet and results were expressed as counts and percentages. Results: Females outnumber males in this study, 27 versus 20. The most common indication for which self-medication was opted was fever with cough and cold. The information about the antibiotic was obtained from a past prescription from a physician. The most common antibiotic that was used by most of students was azithromycin. Conclusion: There was a high level of self-medication with antibiotics in our study, but this high level of self-prescription seen is also having some disadvantages, as improper duration of use might lead to development of resistance.

 

Keywords: Antibiotics, Azithromycin, Co-Prescription, Drug Resistance, Self-medication