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Introduction: Over-the-counter (OTC) drugs are more commonly used than prescription drugs for self-medication worldwide.The Advantages of OTC drugs are decreased doctor visits and lower costs compared with prescription drugs.Overuse of OTC drugs can lead to adverse reactions, drug interactions, overdosing, and other medication-related issues.Method: A cross sectional survey was conducted among 2 nd year medical students, in the form of pre-test containing questions about OTC drugs.After sensitization on the same topic, same questions were provided in the form of post-test and results were analysed.Result: Out of 250 students, 217(87%) students responded in pre-test while 220(88%) responded during post-test.During test, 39% were female and 61% were male.Most common ailment is fever for which self-medication has been done.We found significant improvement in knowledge and in attitude after sensitization about the use of OTC drugs.Majority of students (80%) agreed that self-medication should not be done. Conclusion:We concluded that majority of participants practiced self-medication.Awareness and dangers of misuse of OTC medications among all participants was less.Therefore, it is suggested that proper education/awareness programs should be implemented regarding self-administration of OTC drugs.
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Kushwaha et al. (2024) studied this question.
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